The Network for International Students (NILS),

Bangladesh Chapter
Presents

2nd International Humanitarian Law (IHL)

Moot Court Competition 2020
17-19 December, 2020

Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition

 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020

1. INTRODUCTION:
The Network for International Law Students (NILS) Bangladesh is going to present the 2 nd
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Moot Court Competition. The competition is scheduled to
be held on 17-19 December 2020.This competition is one of the segments of 2nd International
Law Fest 2020 organized by NILS Bangladesh. This IHL Moot Court Competition seeks to raise
awareness of the laws of war crimes, genocide and crime against humanity. This moot involves
submission of written memorials and oral presentation of some legal issues against an opposing
counsel before a bench of judges. The moot problem is fictitious, and the main problems are
brought before the pre-trial Chamber of International Criminal Court (ICC). This IHL Moot
Court Competition is going to be organized by NILS BD with Event Support by CSGJ,
Liberation War Museum with a view to involving law students from different institutions from
home and abroad in order to develop their mooting, research skill and for promoting knowledge
of International Humanitarian Law. This competition is also a dedication to the commitment to
promote peace and humanity around the globe.

The Network for International Law Students (NILS), is an international, independent, non-
political, non-profit making organization run by & for law students among 28 countries in the
world. NILS-Bangladesh is the recognized national chapter of the Network for International Law
Students (NILS) in Bangladesh and an award winner as Best Chapter of the Year among 28
countries of NILS Domain. With member in 48 universities of Bangladesh, NILS Bangladesh
promotes the goals of NILS & organizes different workshops, seminars, competitions (Legal
Debate & Moot), conference, Law Journals and legal awareness programs to contribute in legal
education as well as the attempt of enhancing skill to develop inherent potentiality and increase
the opportunity of law students nationally & internationally. Its motto is to make law students
academically committed, legally skilled and socially responsible.

Liberation War Museum (LWM) has established a Center for the Study of Genocide and
Justice (CSGJ) aiming to organize and promote research, documentation, study, education and
networking on genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Bangladesh and
other parts of the world.
Page | 1
Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition
 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020

1.1 Definitions:
The following terms shall have the corresponding meanings unless otherwise specified:
‘Competition’ shall refer to 2nd International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition 2020.

‘Competition Problem’ shall refer to the facts and issues released by the organizers of the
Competition with its clarifications and corrections.

‘Competition Rules’ shall refer to the official rules of the Competition as amended from time to
time.

‘Memorial’ shall refer to the memorandum of written submissions submitted by any

participating team as per the Competition Rules.

‘Organizing Committee’ (hereinafter to be referred as O.C.) shall refer to the committee

appointed for the administration and conduct of the Competition including any other authorized
persons for the events leading up to the Competition by NILS Bangladesh.

‘Team Registration Number’ (hereinafter to be referred as TRN), a unique team number that
will be given by the organizing committee after registration.

‘Official Email’ shall refer to the official email id of the 2nd International Humanitarian Law
Moot Court Competition, i.e. nilsbangladesh@gmail.com.

GENERAL RULES:

1.2 Eligibility:

Exclusively for the law students of:

• All students from recognized public and private law schools perusing LL. B/LL.M from home
and aboard are eligible to participate.
• Students enrolled in a program of study leading to an advanced post-graduate degree in a legal
field (e.g. Ph.D., D.Phil., and J.S.D.) or received such a degree are not allowed.
• Each participating team shall comprise of three (3) members where, one of the two (2)
Speakers shall be designated as Mooters/Counsels and one (1) member as Researcher.

Page | 2
Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition
 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020

• Law school/university who have nominated one team from the institution will directly register
themselves by paying registration fee mentioned.
• Law school/university can register for more than one (1) team. In this regard, such
university/law college/ School shall send a separate mail to the official email of OC by 8 th
November 2020 mentioning such teams by registered team 1/2/3. OC has the authority to
select one or more teams from such multiple teams from one institution.
• After the deadline of the registration, team confirmation mail along with Moot problem, Team
Code and Written Memorial Submission Deadline shall be accomplished by OC.

1.3 Official language:

The official language of the moot court competition shall be English.

1.4 Registration
Teams are required to complete their Registration by 8th December 2020 by 23:59 hours
The Registration shall be done by payment and filling up Google Docs application form provided
by OC.
Registration Fees:
1. Each national moot court team must pay registration fee: BDT. 1000+20. (With bKash
charge). Foreign team must pay registration fee: 50$. However, a foreign team can apply for a
special waiver of the registration fees. Application must be sent to official mail within
registration deadline.

Procedure to Register:

i) Team shall click on:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdD4rQjD1lqSMRNugPrGjnF4c16Ori169trYB-
K3dh7IXx9xA/viewform to register.
ii) Before bKash payment (national participants) must contact the mentioned bKash number and
after the payment each team is required to send a SMS mentioning (university name,
transaction ID, mobile number & email address). Once the application form is submitted, the
OC shall send a payment confirmation massage to the teams to their contact mail. [Within
24 hours of payment completed with registration form].

Page | 3
Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition
 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020

iii) After payment all international participants must send an email to the official mail by
mentioning in the subject line “Payment Completed”. Once the application form is submitted,
the OC shall send a payment confirmation mail to the teams to their contact mail. [Within
48 hours of payment completed with registration form].
iv) The Registration shall be deemed complete only when the teams are paying the appropriate
registration fee by the deadline and after the registration form is duly filled.
v) If any team is not selected by OC for eligibility criteria or for selecting particular team from
multiple teams of one institution, OC will refund back their payment.

Registration Deadline: 8th November 2020

Payment Methods:

All national teams are requested to pay the registration fees through the following manner;

bKash Payment Number: +8801839241997

Contact person: Mohammed Sajjad
All international teams are requested to pay the registration fees through the following account;
Account Name: Luthfunnahar Shancyi
Account Number: 4015-053826-300
Routing No: 020262981
SWITF Code: ABBLBDDH

1.5 Changes to Registration

In general, once the information of the Team Members and Team Advisors are registered, Teams
may not make any changes, whether additions or substitutions, including the contact and mailing
information. In regards with special circumstances, any request to make a change must be
submitted to official mail with an explanation of the reason for the requested change.

1.6 Dress Code

The dress code for the participants during the virtual E-moot rounds of the competition shall be
Black and White formals for gentlemen and ladies.

Page | 4
Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition
 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020

1.7 Competition Platform

Due to COVID-19 pandemic the 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020 will be held through
Zoom platform and known as ‘Virtual E- Moot’.

2. MEMORIAL RULES:

2.1. Submission of Memorials

 Each participating team shall prepare both memorials in English.

 Teams are required to submit soft copy of the memorials via email to the Organizers before
the deadline specified by the OC in its further mail. Failure to do so will result in
disqualification from the competition. [Please note that NO HARD COPIES ARE TO BE
SUBMITTED].
 Cover page of the Prosecution shall be in Blue color and Defense will be in White Color.
 Each Team participating in the Competition must prepare memorials on behalf of the
Prosecution and on the behalf of the Defense.

2.2 All memorials shall be prepared in the following specifications: -

i. Cover Page;
ii. Table of Contents;
iii. Index of Authorities;
iv. Statement of Jurisdiction;
v. Questions Presented;
vi. Statement of Facts;
vii. Summary of Pleadings; and
viii. Pleadings (including Prayer).
[NOTE: The Table of Contents must be hyper-linked for the ready reference of the Judges.]

Formatting Specifications: (For Body Text)

a) Font type: Times New Roman

Page | 5
Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition
 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020

b) Font size: 12

c) Line spacing: 1.5

d) Body of text: Justified

For Heading:

a) Font type: Times New Roman

b) Font size: 14

For Cover Page:

a) Font type: Times New Roman

b) Font size: 16

a. Length: The limitation on length must be kept in check on the basis of the following
stipulations:

i. The statement of facts, including section headings must be no longer than 1 page.
ii. The summary of pleadings may not be longer than 1 page.
iii. The total length of the Pleadings, including the section/sub-section headings, prayer, and
any associated footnotes, must be no longer than 15 pages.

b. Team Code:

 The team code must be ascribed on the top right corner of the cover page. Team Code will be
provided by OC on the registration confirmation mail.
 The Written Submission shall nowhere mention any particulars of the team, except the Team
Code.
 There must be no mention of Name, Contact number, Email id, University name etc in the
memorial.
 There must be no mention of institution of the team in the oral submission. Team will be
identified as Team Code.

Page | 6
Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition
 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020

c. Citation Form

Citations appearing in the Index of Authorities and text or footnotes of the Memorial must
include a description of each authority adequate to allow a reasonable reader to identify and
locate it in a publication or other source of general availability. Teams are allowed to use the
OXCOLA citation form.

d. Compendium:

If a team is interested to submit the COMPENDIUM during the competition, it has to be

submitted to the organizing committee through e-mail at the time of memorial submission. No
COMPENDIUM during the competition shall be accepted without such submission. The
Compendium should only be one PDF file, for easy accessibility of the judges.

3. RULES FOR ORAL PLEDINGSAND PROCEDURES:

The Competition shall consist of four oral Rounds and one Researcher Test*:
1. The Preliminary Round (Two Rounds - Prosecution & Defense);
2. The Quarter- Final Round (One Round);
3. The Semi Finals (Two Rounds); and
4. The Grand Finale (One Round).
First three rounds will be organized on 2nd day (18th December 2020) of the event. Final round
will be organized on 3rd day of the event (19th December 2020)
*RESEARCHER’S TEST: Researcher’s Test would be conducted online on 17 th December
2020 (1st Day of the event). All designated Researcher are allowed to take the test. Based on
the researcher test “Best Researcher” Award will be provided. Time will be provided later
by email corresponding.

3.1 Rules for the Preliminary Rounds: Virtual E-Moot

 All participating teams in the competition will be divided by the Organizers into groups,
depending on the number of teams participating.
Page | 7
Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition
 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020

 Teams shall argue cases against each other; the matching of teams will be decided by a
draw prior to the commencement of the competition.
 During the preliminary rounds, please note that each team shall argue for the both
sides of the case (Prosecution and Defense).
 Time allotted for arguments will be 10 minutes for the Prosecution and 10 minutes for the
Defense. Extra minutes will be given to answer questions asked by the judges. Time will
be stopped at the time of question-answering.
 There will be time allotted for rebuttals. Each team will be allowed 2 minutes for
rebuttals during the preliminary rounds.
 However, in all circumstances, judges have the discretion to stop any team anywhere at
the time of oral submission.

3.2 Rules for the Quarter-Final Round: Virtual E-Moot

 The top eight (8) teams from the preliminary rounds shall qualify to participate in the
Quarter-final. Selection will be based upon the assessment results of the written memorial
and marks awarded by judges for the oral presentations by teams during the preliminary
rounds.
 The teams will be required to argue for only one (1) part; on behalf of Prosecution/on
behalf of Defense in Quarter Final round.
 Each team will be allotted a total of Ten (10) minutes to present their arguments during
the Quarter-final rounds.
 There will be extra time allotted to respond to the questions posed by the judges, as
necessary. In Quarter-final round each team will get two minutes for rebuttal/sur-rebuttal.
 There will be time allotted for rebuttals. Each team will be allowed 2 minutes for
rebuttals during the round.
 Written memorials mark will not be taken into consideration during the marking of
quarter-final round. Only the marks awarded by the judges during the oral round will be
considered to select the semi-finalists.

Page | 8
Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition
 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020

3.3. Rules for the Semi-Final Rounds: Virtual E-Moot

 The top four teams from the quarter-final rounds shall qualify to participate in the semi-
finals. Selection will be based upon the assessment results of the marks awarded by
judges for the oral presentations by teams during the quarter-final rounds.
 During the semi-final rounds, the teams will be required to argue twice; on behalf of both
prosecution and the defense.
The arrangement of teams selected for the semi-final rounds shall be as follows:
 The team with the highest score in the preliminary round will compete against the team
with the lowest score.
 The team with the second highest score will compete against the team with the third
highest score.
 Each team will be allotted a total of twelve (12) minutes to present its argument during
the semifinal rounds.
 There will be extra time allotted to respond to the questions posed by the judges, as
necessary. In each round, two (2) minutes will be allotted for each team for rebuttal.
 Time limits shall be strictly followed.
Written memorials mark will not be taken into consideration during the marking of semifinal
rounds. Only the marks awarded by the judges during the oral round will be considered to
select the finalists.

3.4. Rules for the Final Round: Virtual E-Moot

 The top two teams from the semi-final rounds will be selected to compete in the final
round of the Moot Court competition.
 The final round of the competition will take place on 3 rd day of the event.
 The sides to be argued by the teams will be decided by a draw of lots prior to the
commencement of the final round of the competition.
 Each team will be permitted to speak for a total of 14 minutes during the final round.
There will be a warning bell at the end of 10 minutes and a final bell at the end of
13minutes.
 There will be extra time allotted to each team, as necessary, to respond to questions posed
by judges.
Page | 9
Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition
 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020

 Each team will have two minutes for rebuttal in each round.
 Written memorials mark will not be taken into consideration during the marking of final
round. Only the marks awarded by the judges during the oral round will be considered.

3.5 Draw of Lots:

Before the Preliminary, quarter-final, Semi-final and the Final rounds, the side on which the
Team will be arguing shall be decided by a draw of lots by the OC. The Teams will be e-mailed
the soft copy of their opponent’s Written Submission prior to the Preliminary rounds.

4. CRITERIA FORASSESMENT:

The assessment of the teams during the Moot Court competition shall be out of 100 marks,
divided as follows:

Written Memorials 30 Marks

Appreciation of Facts and Laws 15 Marks
Advocacy (Arguments, Framing of Issues, expression and articulation) 30 Marks
Use of Authorities and Citations 15 Marks
Question-answer and Court Manner 10 Marks

5. FACTS OF THE COMPETETION:

The Moot Court Competition will be held on an issue of fictitious set of facts connected to any
International Humanitarian law.

6. APPOINMENT OF JUDGES:

6.1 There should be a Judge’s bench in every Moot Court session.

6.2 The Judges of the competition will be selected from the following categories:
•Academicians
• Serving or Retired Judges
• Senior Advocates
• Legal practitioners/ Legal advisers to the Government/diplomats etc.
• University Teacher
Page | 10
Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition
 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020

• Judicial officials.
• Any other distinguished legal scholars.

6.3 The Judges must be aware of the Rules and Regulations of the Competition prior to the
session.

6.4 The Judges must not have any conflicts of interest.

6.5 No Faculty Member, Team Coach or any other person who is directly affiliated with the team
or has any connection to the team cannot act as a Judge in any session of the Competition.

6.6 The Bench of Memorandum shall be distributed to the judges for the purpose of briefing
them on the legal issues addressed in the Moot Court competition. The contents of such are
strictly confidential.

6.7 Judges of the Moot Court competition shall follow Rules, as follows: Judges shall follow the
time limit as closely as possible. Interventions are permitted at any stage of the oral
presentations. However, these interventions must be relevant to the issue.
6.8 Judges are encouraged to provide feedback to the teams regarding their performances, at the
completion of each round.

7. ANONYMITY & IMPARTIALITY:

7.1 Each registered team will be provided with a unique Team Code, which shall serve as their
identification code for the Competition.
7.2 Once the teams have been provided with their Team Code, the Team Code will have to be
mentioned by the teams in all communication(s) with the Organizers. Please note that apart
from the Team Code, the names or logos of their Colleges, Universities or Law Schools shall
not be mentioned anywhere in any communication(s) addressed to the Organizers.

7.3 It is also strictly prohibited to disclose the identity of the participant’s institution in both the
memorial and during oral arguments before the Judges.

8. ONLINE PLATFORM RULES:

8.1 The participants must ensure that they have a strong internet connection with good audio and
video facilities. They are advised to use laptops or PC for the oral rounds. The use of cell
phone is highly discouraged. Though there is no strict bar on use of cell phone by participants
for their convenience.
Page | 11
Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition
 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020

8.2 The background of the participants on video shall be plain and shall not contain any symbols
or any representations.

8.3 The participants (speakers) must ensure that any noise or audio other than the voice of the
participant should not occur during the online oral rounds. It is advisable to plan and prepare
for the online oral rounds in advance accordingly. Organizers shall not take any responsibility
if there is any inconvenience of network on the part of participants during oral submission.

8.4 Participants are encouraged to use latest version of Firefox or Google Chrome for better
browser connection.

8.5 The teams must ensure that they do not disclose the identity of their college at any stage
during the competitions. Any kind of canvassing shall lead to the disqualification of the teams.

8.6 At the time when one participant is speaking, others are expected to keep their microphones
on mute.

8.7 The participants must not start the session before the host.

8.8 The Meeting ID, Password and Link to each session shall be shared with the participants
before each round.

9. MISCELLANEOUS:

9.1 No member of any team or any individual connected with any team will be permitted to hear
the arguments in any court room in which that team is not one of the contesting teams whilst
that team is still in the competition. The Organizers shall take strict action, including
disqualification from the competition, against any team found to be scouting through a team
member or through any other means.

9.2 No coach, advisor or any other non-members of the team can assist the mooters during oral
rounds. The Organizers shall take strict action, including disqualification from the
competition, against any team found to be assisted by a coach, advisor or on-member or
through any other online/offline means during oral submission.

9.3 All Participants are expected to maintain decorum in Court during the rounds of the
competition and are expected to conduct themselves in a manner befitting the legal profession.

Page | 12
Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition
 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020

9.4 The Organizers reserve the right to take appropriate action for any unethical, unprofessional
and immoral conduct.

9.5 The Organizers’ decision as regards the interpretation of Rules or any other matter related to
the competition shall be final.

9.6 In case of any situation not contemplated in the Rules, the Organizers decision on the same
shall be final.

9.7 The Organizers reserve the right to vary, alter, modify, or repeal any of the above rules,
mentioned dates if so required and as they may deem appropriate.

10. AWARDS:

Followings are the trophies &awards for moot court competition:

a) Championship Trophy
b) Runner-Up Trophy
c) Best Memorial Award
d) Best Researcher Award
e) Best Advocate Award
f) Most Promising Team
All participants will be presented with E-Certificates of Participation and all the winners of
awards will be presented with E-Certificates and trophies.

However, OC will take adequate measures to present the real trophies to the award winners
after the competition.

11. CLARIFICATION/COMPLAINTS:

Clarifications for the moot problem must be sent by 25th November 2020 to the official mail that
is nilsbangladesh@gmail.com. Any feedback concerning the organization or conduct of the Moot
Court should be directed directly to the OC, subject of the e-mail must read “Request for
clarification/explanations/complaints” of the competition should be addressed formally, in
writing, to the official mail.

Page | 13
Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition
 2nd IHL Moot Court Competition 2020

12. For further queries:

CONTACT DETAILS

1. For bKash registrations:

Mohammed Sajjad
General Secretary,
NILS BANGLADESH
Contact Number:+8801839241997
Mail: sajjadcu1022@gmail.com

2. For more queries regarding rules of the competition:

Luthfunnahar Shancyi
Vice President (Advocacy),
NILS BANGLADESH
Organizing Head, 2nd International Law Fest 2020
Contact Number: +8801728817456
Mail: sa.shancyi@yahoo.com

Page | 14
Rules, Procedures and Guidelines of the Competition