STUDENT BAR ASSOCIATION 2016 - 17

INTERNAL CLIENT
COUNSELLING ELIMINATION

2016 - 2017

OFFICIAL RULES

INTRA COLLEGE ROUNDS

 INTERNAL CLIENT COUNSELLING COMPETITION, 2016 - 2017

INDEX

1. DEFINITIONS FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE ELIMINATION: .................................................... 2

2. ORGANISATION OF THE ELIMINATION ................................................................................ 3

3. PARTICIPATION AND ELIGIBILITY....................................................................................... 4

4. LANGUAGE.......................................................................................................................... 4

5. PARTICIPANT REGISTRATION .............................................................................................. 5

6. JUDGES ............................................................................................................................... 5

7. CONDUCTION OF INTERNAL ELIMINATION ........................................................................ 5

8. TIE – BREAKER METHOD ................................................................................................... 6

9. APPLICABLE LAW ............................................................................................................... 7

10. PARAMETERS FOR JUDGING THE PARTICIPANT .................................................................. 7

11. SCOUTING ........................................................................................................................... 8

12. PENALTIES & DISQUALIFICATION ...................................................................................... 9

13. ALLOTMENT OF ELIMINATION ............................................................................................ 9

14. HOARDING AND MISPLACING OF LIBRARY BOOKS & RESOURCES ................................... 10

15. COPYRIGHT ....................................................................................................................... 10

16. DE MINIMIS RULE ............................................................................................................ 11

Official Rules | Student Bar Association | Intra College Rounds

Page 1 of 12
 INTERNAL CLIENT COUNSELLING COMPETITION, 2016 - 2017

1. DEFINITIONS FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE ELIMINATION:

The following terms have the corresponding meanings:

1.1 "CLIENT”:

a) Selection of Clients.

The Organizers are responsible for selecting persons to play the role of the clients of each of
the sessions and rounds of the Elimination. All Clients will be given absolute and uniform
information about the Consultation Situations.

b) Orientations and Briefing for Clients

Organizers would be conducting an orientation on basic information and Elimination Rules

for the clients in advance of the date of the Elimination. But, each client will be supplied with
a packet containing the consultation situation and a detailed confidential memorandum
concerning the client’s background and concerns, only on the date of the Elimination. There
will be no direct consultation between the Judges and the Clients at any point of time.

1.2 "ELIMINATION" means all the Internal Elimination which will be conducted in the
academic year 2016-2017 for the purpose of selecting a Team to represent Symbiosis
Law School, Pune in various Client Counselling, Mediation, Negotiation and ADR
Eliminations.

1.3 “COURT MASTER” means the student appointed by the Student Bar Association for
conducting the affairs of the court room.

1.4 “DISQUALIFICATION” means that the Participant will not be allowed to participate in
the Elimination, and could be banned to participate in any future Mooting Activities
organised by Student Bar Association of Symbiosis Law School, Pune.

1.5 “JUDGE” means any person(s) appointed to evaluate a participants’ Client

Counselling Session.

1.6 “STUDENT BAR ASSOCIATION” is a student body headed by a faculty in-charge which
conducts, administers and regulates all mooting activities in the institute.

Official Rules | Student Bar Association | Intra College Rounds

Page 2 of 12
 INTERNAL CLIENT COUNSELLING COMPETITION, 2016 - 2017

1.7 "FACULTY IN CHARGE" means the Professor-in-Charge of the Student Bar

Association of Symbiosis Law School, Pune.

1.8 "PENALTIES" means Raw Points deducted for any Rule violation pursuant to Rule 14.

1.9 "PARTICIPANT" means an eligible student recognized by the Student Bar Association
who competes in the Elimination, pursuant to Rule 3.

1.10 "RULES" means the Official Rules of the Elimination and any applicable
Supplementary Rules.

1.11 “SUPPLEMENTARY RULES” means additional rules or clarifications applicable to the

Participants, which are approved by the Moot Court Faculty in-charge and made
available to all Participants on the Notice Board of the Student Bar Association

2. ORGANISATION OF THE ELIMINATION

2.1. ADMINISTRATION

This Elimination is conducted by the Student Bar Association of Symbiosis Law School,
Pune to select participants who will represent the college in various national and international
mooting activities. All materials developed by SLS for the Elimination, including, without
limitation, the Official Rules, are the sole property of SLS, and must not be reproduced for
any purpose other than participation in or administration of the Elimination without the
express and prior written consent of the Student Bar Association.

2.2. ADMINISTRATOR

The Moot Court Faculty in-charge shall appoint Administrators to conduct the Elimination.
The Administrators must conduct the Elimination consistent with these Rules and in
consultation with the Moot Court Faculty in-charge. The Administrators will not in any way
assist any Participant in the preparation for this Elimination.

2.3. INTERPRETATION OF RULES

Official Rules | Student Bar Association | Intra College Rounds

Page 3 of 12
 INTERNAL CLIENT COUNSELLING COMPETITION, 2016 - 2017

The Moot Court Faculty in-charge shall serve as the final arbiter of the implementation and
interpretation of these Rules and of any Supplementary Rules. SBA reserves the right to
amend or supplement any rule. Any rule means additional rules or clarifications applicable to
the Participants, which must be approved by the Moot Court Faculty in-charge and made
available to all Participants on the Notice Board of the Student Bar Association

3. PARTICIPATION AND ELIGIBILITY

3.1. Participant Eligibility

a) All students who are studying in 2nd to 5th year of 5 year B.A. / B.B.A. LL.B. and 2nd
and 3rd year of 3 year LL.B. in Symbiosis Law School, Pune are eligible to participate
in the Internal Elimination, 2016 upon formal acceptance of application as per the
subsequent Notice issued by the Student Bar Association in pursuance of the
Elimination.

b) Participants who have outstanding debts towards College during previous Moot Court
Eliminations or who have not returned the Library Books borrowed under the
Mooter’s Card during previous Moot Court Eliminations and any other obligations
can be disqualified at any stage in the following year's Elimination until such fees
have been paid or obligations have been met.

3.2. Anonymity of Participant

Participants must not reveal their Names, Roll Numbers, PRN, or any other identification
details to Judges at any point of time during the Elimination. The Administrators shall have a
right to disqualify or impose a Penalty against any Participant who intentionally or
inadvertently discloses his/her Name, Roll Number, PRN Number to a Judge, whether or not
such disclosure occurs during a Client Counselling Session or in any other mode of
communication.

4. LANGUAGE: The Elimination shall be in English language.

Official Rules | Student Bar Association | Intra College Rounds

Page 4 of 12
 INTERNAL CLIENT COUNSELLING COMPETITION, 2016 - 2017

5. PARTICIPANT REGISTRATION

All the eligible participants, as per Rule 2.1(a) need to complete the registration formalities
with the SBA as prescribed in the notice.

6. JUDGES

The Faculty in-charge, or the Administrators in consultation with the Student Bar
Association, will determine persons who are eligible to serve as Judges in any Elimination.

7. CONDUCTION OF INTERNAL ELIMINATION

7.1. Dates of the Elimination: The Elimination shall take place on September 11, 2016.

7.2. Internal Elimination shall consist of two stages: Consultation and Critique Session.

7.3. Consultation:

7.3.1. The consultation period shall be for 10 minutes.

7.3.2. The time period will start from the moment the client enters the chamber.

7.3.3. The time period is meant to be used for inter alia consultation with the client
during which participants are expected to elicit the relevant information,
outline the problem, find the clients expectations and propose a solution or
other means of resolving the problem.

7.3.4. During the consultation, the Participant may use books, notes and other
materials. The Participant may also use office props (Dictaphones, Files,
desktop, furnishings, bookshelves etc.) and any other material to furnish their
consultation room or for other relevant purposes.

7.3.5. The time period is to be strictly adhered to but the judges may, in case of any
reasonable circumstances provide an extra one minute to the team after which

Official Rules | Student Bar Association | Intra College Rounds

Page 5 of 12
 INTERNAL CLIENT COUNSELLING COMPETITION, 2016 - 2017

the client would necessarily leave and the post-consultation period would
begin.

7.3.6. If the extended consultation session allows an opportunity for a participant to

gather more information than other participants, these circumstance would be
taken into consideration by the judge(s) in making their decision.

7.3.7. Judge(s) may, in their discretion, penalise participant that allow the interview
session to run longer than the stipulated time period.

7.4. Critique:

7.4.1. After the completion of the Consultation period the judges may question the
participants on matters deliberated upon or mentioned by the participants or
the client during the consultation period.

7.4.2. The judges may ask any question which they consider material and questions
meant to test the participants understanding of the facts and/or law applicable
or applied by the participants in the case.

7.4.3. The time period for this session is 3 minutes and the judges may extend it by
another 2 minutes at their discretion.

7.5. Results

The results shall be declared after completion of all the rounds of Internal Client
Counselling Elimination.

8. TIE – BREAKER METHOD

The marks scored by the participant in the critique session shall be used as a tie breaker
within the same Court Room if there is a tie on the basis of the total score given by the judge.
Any tie between two participants from different court rooms on the basis of their rank, the
total score obtained by the participants

Official Rules | Student Bar Association | Intra College Rounds

Page 6 of 12
 INTERNAL CLIENT COUNSELLING COMPETITION, 2016 - 2017

9. APPLICABLE LAW

The problems shall be broadly based on but not completely limited to the following laws and
participants are expected to have knowledge of any other ancillary laws and procedures:

¶ 1. Consumer Protection Law

¶ 2. Contract Law

¶ 3. Criminal Law

¶ 4. Family Law

¶ 5. Motor Vehicle Law

¶ 6. Tort Law

10. PARAMETERS FOR JUDGING THE PARTICIPANT

10.1. Alternative Courses of Action: Consistent with the analysis of the client’s
problem, developed a set of potentially effective and feasible alternatives, both
legal and non-legal.

10.2. Client’s Goals and Expectations: Learned the client’s goals and initial
expectations; modified or developed these as necessary.

10.3. Client’s Informed Choice: As appropriate, assisted the client in his or her
understanding of problems and solutions and in making an informed choice,
taking potential legal, economic, social psychological consequences into account.

10.4. Description of the Problem: Learned how the client viewed his or her situation,
using a combination of listening and questioning, drawing out both information
and emotions of the client, as appropriate, to develop a reasonably complete and
reliable description of the problem.

10.5. Effective Conclusion: Concluded the interview skilfully and left the client with a
feeling of reasonable confidence and understanding, with appropriate

Official Rules | Student Bar Association | Intra College Rounds

Page 7 of 12
 INTERNAL CLIENT COUNSELLING COMPETITION, 2016 - 2017

reassurance, and with a clear sense of specific expectations and mutual

obligations to follow.

10.6. Moral and Ethical Issues: Recognised, clarified and responded to any moral or
ethical issues which may have arisen, without being prejudicial in judgments.

10.7. Overall Rating: Synthesising the above criteria as relevant in an overall rating,
how do you rate the client counselling?

10.8. Post-Interview Reflection: During the follow up phase, gave evidence of having
recognised their own and the client’s feelings, the strengths and limitations of
their interviewing and counselling skills, their handling of the substantive aspects
of the client’s problems (legal and non-legal), provided for an effective follow-
up.

10.9. Problem Analysis: Analysed the client’s problem with creativity and from both
legal and non-legal perspectives, resulting in a clear and useful formulation of the
problem.

10.10. Working Atmosphere and Professionalism: Established the beginning of an

effective professional relationship and working atmosphere and, if and when
appropriate, oriented the client to the special nature of the relationship, including
confidentiality, explanation of fees and responding to client’s concerns, mutual
obligations and rights, duration and plan of the consultation, etc., in a courteous,
sensitive and professional manner.

11. SCOUTING

Participant or persons directly affiliated with any Participant must only attend Rounds in
which their Participant is competing. Upon the commencement of the Elimination, participant
would not be allowed to interact with the public before they enter their Court Room and
should be seated in a separate room assigned to them by the Administrators. Participants are
not allowed to interact with any other Participant any time after their Session and
should leave the Venue after completion of the Rounds.

Official Rules | Student Bar Association | Intra College Rounds

Page 8 of 12
 INTERNAL CLIENT COUNSELLING COMPETITION, 2016 - 2017

12. PENALTIES & DISQUALIFICATION

12.1. Client Counselling Session Penalties

The Administrators / Judges shall impose an Oral Round Penalty only when they are satisfied
that an event subject to such Penalty has occurred, if necessary after consultation with the
Court Master. The heads of penalty will be as follows:

¶ 1. Improper courtroom communications

¶ 2. Scouting

¶ 3. Violation of anonymity in courtroom

12.2. Disqualification

The participant will be disqualified from the Internal Client Counselling Elimination on the
following grounds:

¶ 1. Skipping or Missing Client Counselling Session allotted.

¶ 2. Scouting.

¶ 3. Misplacing and Hoarding of Library Books and Resources.

¶ 4. Reveal of Identity (Non-Compliance with Anonymity)

¶ 5. Usage of Electronic Devices

13. ALLOTMENT OF ELIMINATION

13.1. Allocation of all the State / National / International Level Client Counselling,
Mediation and Negotiation Eliminations and other mooting activities would be done
by the Student Bar Association from the Internal Client Counselling Elimination
Pool.

Official Rules | Student Bar Association | Intra College Rounds

Page 9 of 12
 INTERNAL CLIENT COUNSELLING COMPETITION, 2016 - 2017

13.2. If no team is composed in any of the Allotment Session, the said Elimination will
become Open and Non-Internal Client Counselling Elimination Participants may
also apply for it.

13.3. The Student Bar Association will intimate all the Internal Client Counselling
Elimination Participants through Notice and/or, through email about the Elimination
that will be allotted to the Participants under the Internal Client Counselling
Elimination Pool, as soon as the Student Bar Association receives invitation of any
Elimination or mooting activity.

13.4. Date, Time & Venue of the allotment session would be subsequently notified by the
Student Bar Association by way of Notice.

14. HOARDING AND MISPLACING OF LIBRARY BOOKS & RESOURCES

All the participants of the Internal Client Counselling Elimination are here by informed that
they should keep the books taken by them in the same cupboard when they leave the library
or when the use is over. Participants should not be in possession of more than three books at
a time. Anyone found in breach of the above said will be DISQUALIFIED from the Internal
Client Counselling Elimination and punished according to the Guidelines of SIU.

15. COPYRIGHT

Further use and exhibition of these materials, electronically or otherwise, shall be the
exclusive right of Symbiosis Law School, Pune and they shall not be responsible for any
liability to any person for any loss caused by errors or omissions in this collection of
information, or for the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained in
these materials.

Official Rules | Student Bar Association | Intra College Rounds

Page 10 of 12
 INTERNAL CLIENT COUNSELLING COMPETITION, 2016 - 2017

16. DE MINIMIS RULE

¶ 1. The Moot Court Faculty in-charge may promulgate such other measures for the
orderly conduct of the Elimination or to correct deficiencies in the Elimination.
Administrators may in consultation with and upon approval of the Moot Court Faculty
in-charge, promulgate such other measures for the orderly conduct of the Elimination.

¶ 2. The Student Bar Association holds the right to Amend or Change or Incorporate New
Rules or Guidelines in Internal Elimination and/or Challengers with or without prior
Notice to the eligible Participants.

----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x---------

Official Rules | Student Bar Association | Intra College Rounds

Page 11 of 12