‘Justice delayed is justice denied’ was the topic that Maharaja’s Law College, Ernakulam, selected for a unique contest.
In a first of sorts, the college had organised a national competition in Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism from February 9 to 11.
Out of the dozen colleges that participated, School of Indian Legal Thought, Kottayam, won the trophy. Justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair, judge, High Court of Kerala, inaugurated the three-day programme.
In the preliminary round, the teams, consisting of three members, competed with each other as claimant, respondent and arbitrator.
In the semifinals, the participants were given a problem, asked to prepare the script and then solve it. Eminent judges assessed their arbitration skill. Civil cases were chosen for the competition.
“Delayed justice is no justice. But generally that is what happens in most cases. Thus alternatives have to be found out. This competition was to develop arbitration and out-of-court settlement skills of students,” said one of the organisers. Maharaja’s Law College regularly conducts moot court competitions, seminars, workshops, etc.
