COLOMBO : The National Advocacy Building Program (NABP), being one the latest initiatives of the Moot Court Bench (MCB), is a Program which focuses on developing the legal advocacy skills of law students across Sri Lanka in the two national languages – Sinhala and Tamil.
The NABP was introduced to fill in the lacuna seen in the opportunities presented to law students in the mooting arena in the two national languages.
With the same vision in mind, the Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan Moot Court Competition (SPR MCC) was launched under the NABP – the first ever contract law arbitration moot to be conducted in Sri Lanka’s vernacular languages. The SPR MCC is organized in collaboration with the University of Jaffna and is an intra-university bi-lingual moot catered to all law students at the University of Jaffna. All aspects of the moot – including the moot problem, written and oral submissions and the series of written and oral advocacy workshops covering multiple topics such as an introduction to contract law and arbitration, how to research and referencing, preparing for written and oral advocacy rounds including etiquette, style and general tips – were facilitated in both Sinhala and Tamil. Students were fully occupied during the weekends leading up to the grand finale.
The successful completion of all the phases including the Guide to Moot workshop, series of advocacy workshops, marking of written memoranda and oral rounds were not only an untiring effort by the organizers but also a combination of tremendous support provided by the legal practitioners, academics of Universities of Jaffna and Colombo, alumni of the University of Jaffna and members of MCB.
The preliminary rounds of the SPR MCC were held on 21 and 22 December 2021 with moots happening simultaneously in both languages. The top two teams for each language advanced to their respective final rounds on 23 December after two days of back-to-back rounds. The parallel finals rounds were adjudged by Mr. Chanaka De Silva, President’s Counsel, Prof Indira Nanayakkara, Former Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo and Ms Chamantha Wijekoon Unamboowe, Senior Legal Practitioner (for Sinhala); and Prof Shanthi Segarajasingham, Professor of Commercial Law, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, Ms Thushani Shayanthan, Head of the Department of Law, University of Jaffna and Ms Mathini Vigneswaran, State Counsel, Attorney General’s Department (for Tamil).
“In 2018, I competed for University of Jaffna at the national rounds of the Vis Moot, and it was a fantastic experience that made me realize the value of commercial arbitration. The Vis Alumni who started the Moot Court Bench approached me a year ago to discuss prospects of an advocacy building training program for the students of the University of Jaffna. Giving back talent or treasure is a wonderful way to leave your footprint and help support the next generation of students. As a former lecturer in law at the University of Jaffna I am privileged to have been a Co-Convener of the SPR MCC 2021,” said Ms Ajra Azhar, Attorney-at-Law, during the closing ceremony.
“When I entered the University of Jaffna, in the first year, I convinced myself that I would never do mooting. All that changed when I stepped into the National Training Program of the Vis Moot in 2019 and was recognised with the award for the ‘Spirit of MCB’, a turning point in my life which made me realize that it is possible to be recognized for hard work, but also for initiative and the drive to improve oneself. I am extremely happy that today many other students’ mooting careers are beginning in the same way, or perhaps in a manner even better than mine. That makes my service as a Co-Convener of SPR MCC 2021 a memorable one,” added Ms Mathuri Kathiravelu.
The competition is the first of its kind and a significant step towards the promotion and elevation of legal advocacy across the Island, particularly in the context of Commercial Arbitration – an area of dispute resolution seldom discussed at universities. The development of skills within this area of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) would project Sri Lanka to the forefront of the ADR arena, as well as a hub for international trade. This is but one facet of the MCB’s initiatives, which include programs on: international commercial arbitration, international trade law, and mediation. The MCB Partnership hopes to expand the program to other universities in the coming years, to offer many more students an opportunity to embark on a life-changing experience.
The members of working committee for the SPR MCC were: Rasha Hifzul Rahman, Shannel Gunatilake, Ranudi Premasinghe, Gallage Umayanga, Lakshika Manikkavasakar and David Sahayanathan. With the build-up of such a talented pool of students at the University of Jaffna via the first edition of the SPR MCC, there can be little doubt that this project would move from strength to strength.
