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Symbiosis Law School, Pune, a constituent of Symbiosis International University, hosted the inaugural ceremony of three-day event ‘Symbiosis Law School, Pune- National ADR Tournament, 2017’ on 6th October, 2017.
Tournament began with the auspicious lighting of lamp by dignitaries on the dais including Chief Guest, Hon’ble (Retd.) Justice P. Venkatarama Reddi, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India; Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Director, SLS-P, Dean, Faculty of Law, SIU; Dr. Bindu Ronald, Deputy Director, (Academics) SLS-P; Dr. Santosh Aghav, Faculty-in-Charge, SLSP-SBA, Prof. Shirish Kulkarni, Co- Faculty-in-charge, SLSP-Student Bar Association (SBA); and Prof. Nitin Kumar, Co-Faculty- in-Charge, SLSP-SBA.
Dr. Shashikala Gurpur welcomed the Chief Guest Hon’ble (Retd.) Justice P. Venkatarama Reddi and the participants. She expressed her gratitude to the Chief Guest, the former Chairman of the Law Commission of India, for his significant contribution to the law commission. Dr. Gurpur apprised the audience that this ADR tournament, a brainchild of SBA, is the first of its kind. “The college secured 200 mooting laurels in the past one year, including rank no.1 in Mooting Premier League and the second position in the Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court competition, to name a few”, she said. She concluded by saying that in SLS, P the pedagogy used to assess student abilities has gone beyond the scope of conventional practices to competitions such as these.
Steffi Mary Punnose, Convener, SLS-P, SBA introduced the necessary guidelines and the background of the tournament.
Hon’ble (Retd.) Justice P. Venkatarama Reddi, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India spoke about his old bond with the university. He also mentioned his old comradeship with the Director by virtue of having worked together in the Law Commission of India. Speaking about ADR, he said, “It is a matter of undeniable relevance to both the justice system & the society and an indispensable mode of redressal to the consumers of justice. Today it has become a part of our constitutional ethos and legal culture, an advent which is in pursuance of the ultimate goal, which is an access to justice by all, as prescribed by Art. 39(A) of the Constitution. Section 89 of the CPC also embodies the referencing of pending disputes to one or other modes of ADR. Hence, events and competitions like these provide the future legal professionals with the much-required exposure in the field.”
Speaking about Lok-Adalat, he said that this court sponsored initiative has become a popular forum to resolve certain categories of litigation despite its many drawbacks, the crux of the matter lies in the overburdened docket, lack of speedy delivery of justice and proper adherence to time schedule; resulting in the dilapidation of the quality of justice delivered. He stated that it is our duty to foster the constitutional goal enshrined in Article 39(A). “With the dawn of the millennial age, ADR has cemented its presence in the legal field as a means to achieve the goal of hassle free and speedy justice,” he said.
The inaugural ceremony came to a close with the vote of thanks delivered by Dr. Bindu Ronald.
