The moot court competition was conceived as a platform to enable discussions among students of law and non-law universities across India on issues of environmental preservation as a duty of every citizen and examining the issue of air pollution in the context of stubble farming.<\/p>\n
The \u2018<\/em><\/strong>Committee to Operationalize Suggestions to Teach Fundamental Duties to the Citizens of India\u2019, 1999<\/em><\/strong>under the Chairmanship of Justice J.S. Verma recommended that \u201cduty to vote at elections, actively participate in the democratic governance and to pay taxes should be included in Article 51-A.\u201d\u00a0This Report was directed towards the far-fetched goal of achieving responsible citizenry by emphasising on awareness regarding the provisions of fundamental duties and imparting the same through medium of education.<\/p>\n The National Commission to Review the Working of Constitution\u00a0was set up to pass its expert comments and suggestions on \u2018Effectuation of\u00a0\u00a0Fundamental Duties of Citizens\u2019 <\/strong>determining the crucial question of whether Article 51-A served its purpose, and if not, where have people precisely failed in implementing Article 51-A? The Commission reiterated that\u00a0\u201c<\/em>the first and f<\/em>orem<\/em>ost step required by the Uni<\/em>on and State G<\/em>overnments is t<\/em>o sensitise the pe<\/em>ople and create a general awareness <\/em>of the pr<\/em>ovisi<\/em>ons <\/em>of\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>fundamental duties am<\/em>ongst the citizens <\/em>on the lines rec<\/em>ommended by Justice Verma C<\/em>ommittee. <\/em>Thus, the most crucial requirement remains the need to sensitise the masses regarding their fundamental duties.Though these duties are not themselves enforceable in courts nor their violation, as such, punishable, nevertheless, if a court, before which a fundamental right is sought to be enforced, has to read all parts of the Constitution, it may refuse to enforce a fundamental right at the instance of an individual who has patently violated any of the duties specified in Article 51-A.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Pleadings Rounds<\/strong><\/p>\n The Moot was inaugurated on Friday, 16th<\/sup> October, 2020, by Professor Srikrishna Deva Rao, Vice-Chancellor National Law University Delhi, and Professor G. S. Bajpai, Registrar, NLUD.<\/p>\n 24 teams from across the country, comprising some of the National Law Universities and prominent law schools had been shortlisted on the basis of written submissions submitted by teams from over 115 universities. These teams were judged by India\u2019s top legal minds and professionals who specialise in the nuanced field of environment law and constitutional law. The participants had the opportunity of not only witnessing the highest level of advocacy but also learning from top professionals in the field.<\/p>\n The moot Problem & the rules were drafted by NLUD Alumni, Mr. Tarun Agarwal and Mr. Rakesh Roshan with able guidance from the Faculty Advisor, Dr. Risham Garg.<\/p>\n 4 Teams in Semi-Finals<\/strong><\/p>\n The Judges for the Semi-Finals:<\/strong><\/p>\n 2 Finalists<\/strong><\/p>\n Bench for the Finals<\/strong><\/p>\n Valedictory Session and Awards<\/strong><\/p>\n The Vice-Chancellor NLUD, Professor Srikrishna Deva Rao, welcomed the dignitaries in his welcome address and provided valuable insights into the environmental jurisprudence. Hon\u2019ble Justice Swatantra Kumar, delivered his insightful comments upon the theme of the moot. Mr. Shyam Diwan, Senior Advocate, in his erudite address, gave valuable suggestions to students to consider taking up specialization in Environmental laws.<\/p>\n Hon\u2019ble Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, Chairperson, National Green Tribunal, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India, delivered theValedictory Address on \u201cFundamental Duties and Environmental Jurisprudence: Contemporary Issues\u201d. <\/strong>He delivered an enriching presentation upon the interplay between fundamental duties, environmental jurisprudence balancing the development of the economy and society. The need is to strike a careful balance between the two i.e., economic development on one side and pollution free, healthy environment on the other. A process needs to be developed by which development can be sustained for generations by improving the quality of human life while at the same time living in harmony with nature and maintaining the carrying capacity of life supporting eco-system. Thus, the focus must be at integration of developmental and environmental imperatives and sustainable development remains the only solution and administrative and individual actions ought to proceed in accordance therewith and not de hors<\/em> the same.<\/p>\n The prizes were announced by Professor Srikrishna Deva Rao, Vice-Chancellor NLUD and Dr. Risham Garg, Associate Professor of Law and Faculty Advisor to the Moot Court Competition.The valuable support of the student organizing committee members was much appreciated, who tirelessly, coordinated from different parts of the country. Above all, valuable support from all the Judges, who judged the various rounds, faculty members and students who participated in the event, and certainly the amazing guidance provided by the founder Vice-Chancellor of NLUD, Professor Ranbir Singh.<\/p>\n Winning Team: <\/strong>National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi<\/strong><\/p>\n Runners up: <\/strong>Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad<\/strong><\/p>\n Best Memorial: Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law<\/strong><\/p>\n Best Speaker: Aditi Singh, Army Institute of Law<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n These three days of intense and invigorating pleadings by participants from all across the country allowed deliberation on the issue of stubble burning and its contribution to the air pollution in the NCR region from the perspectives of all stakeholders along with an examination of the legality of a blanket ban on stubble burning.<\/p>\n The Pandemic has thrown at us challenges in various forms. We need to address and tackle them together. This should be based upon mutual trust, respect and concern for each other. Students have demonstrated that they are eager to engage in constructive activities. Institution may find out ways to involve them in pursuits most suitable for their talents that can help in accomplishing their full potential. We strongly believe and assure that NLUD is firmly committed to its obligations towards students and their overall and all-round welfare. Highest standards of fairness and transparency were maintained at all stages of the moot.<\/p>\n We greatly appreciate the participation of the 115 teams from all across the country. We wish them all the best for the challenges that lie ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Reported by Nitya Bansal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8808,"featured_media":237780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lawschoolnews","category-moot_acheivements"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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