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Symbiosis Law School, Pune, a constituent of Symbiosis International University, successfully organized the First Symbiosis Law School, Pune - International Criminal Trial Advocacy Competition, 2016, (SICTA) from 18th to 20th March, 2016 at Symbiosis Law School, Pune.
Inauguration Ceremony of the competition was held in the Moot Court Hall of Symbiosis Law School, Pune on 18th March, 2016 at 5 pm. The competition hosted teams from 18 law schools including 5 international law schools such as the Sussex Law School, UK and Kuwait International Law School.
Inauguration ceremony had Justice (Retd.) J.A Patil, Chairman ‘Adarsh’ Commission and Adv. P. P. Hegde, Advocate, Karnataka High Court, Former Chairman, Karnataka State Bar Council as Chief Guest and Guest of Honour respectively.
Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Fulbright Scholar, Director, Symbiosis Law School, Pune, Dean, Faculty of Law, Symbiosis International University apprised the audience that SICTA 2016 seeks to afford the participants a unique opportunity to practice their advocacy skills in a controlled simulation of the International Criminal Court, before experts and scholars associated with this respected yet non-conventional domain.
Guest of Honour, Adv. P. P. Hegde, set the tone for the rest of the competition by emphasising the need for a common criminal procedure code globally in order to achieve justice for victims of international crimes.
Justice (Retd.) J.A Patil, spoke about the importance of developing proper advocacy skills which are lacking in lawyers today by sharing his own experiences about cases that he had presided over the span of his career.
Final round of the competition on 20th March witnessed Government Law School, Mumbai, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow & Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar battling for the trophy. It was adjudged by Hon’ble Mr. Justice M. Jaichandren, Judge, Madras High Court, Justice Mohan Pieris, Former Chief Justice and Attorney General, Sri Lanka and Dr. Anna Marie Brennan, Consultant, Trial Chamber, International Criminal Court, The Hague.
Valedictory ceremony had Hon’ble Thiru. Justice M. Jaichandren, Judge, Madras High Court as the Chief Guest. Ceremony began with the felicitation of the honourable guests on the dais by Dr. Gurpur.
Dr. Anne Marie Brennan thanked Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, faculty members and students of the college for the warm hospitality extended to her. She congratulated the college for successfully organising this mega event in a very professional manner.
Hon’ble Justice Mohan Pieris, began his speech by appreciating the enthusiasm and excitement of the students and participants in the competition. He also explained how International Criminal Law is not an easy subject to understand and he was marvelled by how beautifully the competition was carried out. Further, he congratulated Dr. Gurpur and her team for the fantastic job that they did and learning opportunity they provided for everyone. On a concluding note he expressed his gratitude by thanking the organizing team for inviting him to the competition and for the warm and hospitable environment.
Speaking on the occasion, Hon’ble Mr. Justice M. Jaichandren, mentioned that it was a close win and complimented the participants of the competition. He acknowledged that the competition was the first of its kind, being a moot organized in the subject of International Criminal Law. He reminisced his teaching days, and articulated the importance of soft skills in the field of law. He wished the students luck for the future.
Then came the most awaited moment where Prof. Atmaram Shelke, faculty-in-charge, Moot Court Association, SLS, Pune finally announced the awards. The best memorial award was bagged by Akarshitha Yagi, Prashanth Nadaraj and Anisha Gupta from School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. Best student advocate award went to Tanishtha Vaid, GNLU, Gandhinagar. Shri P.V Ramanayya Memorial Best Prosecutor Award went to Prashanth Nadaraj, SLCU, Christ University. Best Student Advocate Final Round went to Aashna Shah, GLC, Mumbai.
Best International Team award was bagged by Ryan Dowding, Susana Raquel, Silva Cardoso and Leyla Benali from University of Sussex, United Kingdom. Second Runner-up Award went to Apurv Singh, Ashray Behura and Ashish Singh from RMLNLU, Lucknow. Ujwal Mohan, Tanishtha Vaid, Sudipta Purkayastha from GNLU bagged the first runners up position and the winners of SICTA, 2016 were Janak Panicker, Ashana Shah and Masira Shaikh from GLC, Mumbai. The winners received Glittering Trophy, Books and a grand cash prize of Rs. 50,000.
The grand finale came to an end with the vote of thanks by Dr. Bindu Ronald. SLS, Pune also hosted the 6th edition of its Annual Alumni Meet, 2016 on the same day from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm in its Multi-Purpose Hall with Hon. Mohan Peiris, Former Chief Justice & Attorney General, Sri Lanka as the Chief Guest and Dr. Abhijit Deshpande, Officiating Registrar and Director, Board of University Development, Symbiosis International University as Guest of Honour.
Adv. Sampath Bulusu, Alumni Convener, SLS, Pune and all the esteemed and distinguished alumni of Symbiosis Law School, Pune also graced the occasion.
