New Delhi: The Surana and Surana India National Rounds of the 26th Stetson International Environmental Moot was successfully organised by Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) in association with Surana & Surana International Attorneys in virtual mode from February 11-13.
The Stetson Moot is one the world’s largest moot court competitions which is dedicated to environmental issues. The national round of Stetson is an important tier for the competition and a platform for identifying the top teams which would represent India at the Stetson World Rounds.
Speaking on the value of such events, Prof (Dr) S.G. Sreejith, Executive Dean, Jindal Global Law School highlighted in his address at the Valedictory Ceremony on February 13, “Stetson, apart from giving a fantastic opportunity to students to build on their oral and written skills, also gives them the opportunity to build an environmental consciousness. I’m truly grateful to Dr Vinod Surana for choosing Jindal Global Law School, O.P Jindal Global University, as the site for holding the Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition”.
Speaking at the Valedictory, Preetam Surana, Head (Admin), Litigation and Arbitration Practice & Head of Academic Initiatives, Surana & Surana International Attorneys also highlighted the importance of moots like Stetson which are organised by them as part of their Academic Initiatives Programme.
He said: “Our academic advocacy initiatives are a part of our practice of social accountability which began in 1996 and we are now in our landmark 25th year. Our foray into organising moot court competitions in association with top law schools and universities has yielded satisfying experience in helping improve research, writing and argument skills of the participating students, besides sensitising students in the unsettled areas of law.”
This year the national rounds witnessed the participation of 20 teams from leading law schools across India. The final round on February 13 witnessed the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore emerging victorious.
The team from National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Hyderabad was the other finalist. NALSAR, Hyderabad and NLSIU, Bangalore along with the National Law Institute University (NLIU), Bhopal and Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Punjab will be advancing to the world rounds scheduled on April 2022 at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida.
The Competition was judged by eminent panels comprising of environmental policymakers, practitioners and academicians. The Final Round of the Competition was argued before the distinguished panel comprising of Professor (Dr.) Timo Koivurova, Research Professor, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Finland and Member of the IUCN’s Commission on Environmental Law; Dr Priya Pillai, Legal Consultant, International Law Specialist, and Head of Asia Justice Coalition Secretariat; Ambassador Prof. Gudmundur Eiriksson, Professor of Law, Jindal Global Law School and Former Judge, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS); Professor (Dr.) Charu Sharma, Professor of Law, Jindal Global Law School and Professor (Dr.) Veronica Rebreanu, Professor at the Department of Public Law, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania.
The theme for this year’s moot proposition was ‘Protected Areas and Armed Conflict’.
Speaking at the Valedictory, Professor (Dr.) Timo Koivurova mentioned how such a theme “introduce(s) young and aspiring lawyers from all across the world to how the international community views the themes of conservation, human security and armed conflict, thereby persuading them to think and assess complex issues within the fields of international environmental law and international humanitarian law and the intersection between the two. These intersections are also necessary to be explored — as environmental law and concerns don’t exist in silos.”
In similar vein, Prof Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik, Registrar, O.P Jindal Global University is his address observed that, “Much like any other moot, Stetson seeks to capture and highlight the burning issues of the day. The study of environmental law is nothing but a desire to achieve agency that can make lives of all of us better, not by objectifying nature but by being a part of it.”
IANS