9TH ZENITH INTERNAL MOOT COURT

COMPETITION, 2024
 RULES AND REGULATIONS
TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 3

GENERAL RULES.................................................................................................................. 3

PART-A ..................................................................................................................................... 3

1. ELIGIBILITY.................................................................................................................... 3

2. TEAM COMPOSITION ................................................................................................... 3

3. REGISTRATION .............................................................................................................. 4

1. WITHDRAWAL ................................................................................................................ 4

PART-B ..................................................................................................................................... 5

5. MEMORIAL/ WRITTEN SUBMISSION ...................................................................... 5

6. COLOUR SCHEME AND FORMAT OF MEMORIAL............................................... 6

7. MEMORIAL EVALUATION ........................................................................................... 7

PART – C .................................................................................................................................. 7

8. ORAL PLEADING ROUND ............................................................................................ 7

9. TIME DURATION ............................................................................................................ 8

10. STANDARDS ................................................................................................................... 8

11. DRESS CODE .................................................................................................................. 8

12. SCOUTING ...................................................................................................................... 9

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13. EVALUATION OF ORAL PLEADINGS ...................................................................... 9

PART -D .................................................................................................................................... 9

14. FINAL RESULTS & RANK LIST ................................................................................. 9

PART –E ................................................................................................................................. 10

15. CODE OF CONDUCT .................................................................................................. 10

16. FINAL DECISION ........................................................................................................ 10

17. MISCELLANEOUS ...................................................................................................... 10

ANNEXURE ZIR – 1 ............................................................................................................. 11

1. EVALUATION OF MEMORIAL (PART A)................................................................. 11

2. EVALUATION OF ORAL ROUND (PART B) ............................................................. 12

3. LIST OF DEDUCTIONS (PART – C) ........................................................................... 13

ANNEXURE ZIR - 2 ............................................................................................................. 14

MEMORIAL FORMAT ........................................................................................................ 14

OTHER FORMATTING SPECIFICATIONS .................................................................... 15

ANNEXURE ZIR - 3 ............................................................................................................. 16

LIST OF IMPORTANT DATES ........................................................................................... 16

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 INTRODUCTION
• The Zenith Internal Moot Court Competition (hereinafter referred to as ‘ZIMCC’) is a
Moot Court Competition organised by the Moot Court Association (hereinafter referred
to as ‘MCA’) for all the students studying in the five-year B.A. L.L.B or B.B.A L.L.B
program of Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad (hereinafter referred to as ‘SLSH’).
• The 9th edition of ZIMCC will be held on 21st April, 2024.
• Aimed at giving a platform to all students to showcase their research, drafting and oral
pleading skills by competing with each other, the ZIMCC will test their understanding
of contemporary legal issues and also provide a platform for students to develop their
legal knowledge. Hence, these rules:

GENERAL RULES

PART-A
1. ELIGIBILITY
1.1 The participant shall be a bonafide student of SLSH.
1.2 The team or its member(s) will be ineligible if there is a bar on their participation
on account of a disciplinary action related to an external moot participation or a
previous edition of Zenith/ Zeal.

2. TEAM COMPOSITION
2.1 Each team shall comprise three (3) members, with two (2) designated speakers and
one (1) designated researcher.
2.2 Two member teams are strictly prohibited except in the case of unforeseen
circumstances.
2.3 Participants are expected to choose their teams after careful consideration, and
excuses related to team composition shall not be entertained unless unforeseen
circumstances mandate otherwise.
2.4 The unforeseen circumstances mentioned in 2.2 and 2.3 will include but not
restricted to medical emergencies.
2.5 The decision taken by the MCA and the Faculty In-Charge of MCA shall be final
and binding with respect to any disputes that may arise.

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3. REGISTRATION
A student has to register for the competition according to the following procedure –

3.1 Open the Google form titled ‘9th Zenith Internal Moot 2024 Registration Form’ by
clicking here. (hereinafter referred to as ‘ZIMRF’)
3.2 Fill in the form as instructed.
3.3 Ensure to submit one ZIMRF per team, multiple registrations are liable to rejection.
3.4 After the last day of registration, each team shall be allotted a Team Code on the
designated day as stated in the List of Important Dates.
3.5 Students should register for ZIMCC within the stipulated date and time as
mentioned in the List of Important Dates (Annexure ZIR-3).
3.6 Any delay in the registration procedure, and/or partial compliance with the given
procedure, and/or undertaking the registration procedure post the expiration of the
scheduled dates of registration, and/or non-compliance with the registration
process will be deemed as an invalid registration.
3.7 The power to waive the condition mentioned in clause 3.6. lies with the MCA and
the Faculty In-Charge of the MCA.

4. WITHDRAWAL
4.1 Failure on the part of a participant and/or team to submit written
submissions/memorials (hereinafter referred to as ‘memorial’ or ‘memorials’)
within the prescribed timeline or submitting the memorials after six hours of the
deadline having lapsed for any reason whatsoever will be regarded as withdrawal
of participation from ZIMCC. Thereafter, no claim shall subsist for them.
4.2 Failure on the part of a participant and/or team to be present on the day of oral
pleading for any reason whatsoever will be regarded as withdrawal of
participation from ZIMCC. Thereafter, no claim shall subsist for them. No
subsequent or further opportunity for pleading shall be organised for the team
and/or participant on a later date.
4.3 A team may formally withdraw from the 9th ZIMCC by filling the 9th Zenith 2024
Withdrawal Form (hereinafter referred to as Withdrawal Form) before the deadline
as stated in the List of Important Dates (Annexure ZIR-3). The Withdrawal Form is
available here.

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 PART-B

5. MEMORIAL/ WRITTEN SUBMISSION

5.1 SUBMISSION
5.1.1. Every team is required to prepare a Memorial for BOTH sides (i.e.,
Plaintiff/Petitioner/Applicant/Appellant and Defendant/Respondent). The Memorial
should be addressed to the respective court of competent jurisdiction.
5.1.2. The page limit for the ‘Arguments Advanced’ in the memorial shall be twenty (20)
pages.
5.1.3. The teams will have to submit copies of their memorials electronically, as well as
physically. Each team shall submit three (3) hardcopies of memorials from each side
(Plaintiff/Petitioner/Applicant and Defendant/Respondent) and the same must be
stapled/ spiral bound accordingly.
5.1.4. Teams should submit their memorials both in Word and PDF format.
5.1.5. The size of each file shall not exceed 10 MB.
5.1.6. Teams should upload their memorials on the Google form by clicking here. Every
memorial being submitted must be named as per the following naming convention:

ZN (Team Code)- P/R (Petitioner or Respondent, depending on the memorial

being submitted)>

(For instance, if your Team Code is 01 and the Memorial being submitted is on behalf
of the Petitioner, the Memorial File (both Word and PDF) should be named as ZN01-
P.)

5.1.7. To be able to submit the memorials through the form mentioned in 5.1.6., it is necessary
for the team participant(s) to be logged in to Institutional Mail ID.
5.1.8. The team shall submit the Written Submission on the date as specified by the Moot
Court Association. No excuses for extension of time or delayed submission, shall be
entertained under any circumstance.
5.1.9. Any possible extension or change in date or time shall be solely at the discretion of the
MCA and the Faculty In-Charge of the MCA.

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 5.2 PLAGIARISM
5.2.1. It is the duty of participants to ensure that the memorial is not copied, in whole or in
parts.
5.2.2 For a detailed understanding of the concept of plagiarism, please visit:
https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/plagiarism
5.2.3. If found plagiarised, the memorial shall not be evaluated, and the team may even be
disqualified based on the circumstances.
5.2.4. A participant found using any material without proof, without any authenticity, without
mentioning/citing the source of the information, or presenting someone else’s work as
their own shall attract serious consequences, extending up to disqualification.
5.2.5. The MCA and the Faculty In-Charge of MCA reserves the right of hearing in the cases
mentioned in 5.2.3. and 5.2.4.
5.2.6. The decision of the MCA and the Faculty In-Charge of MCA shall be final and binding
on all the participants.

5.3 CLARIFICATIONS ON THE MOOT PROPOSITION

5.3.1. ‘Clarifications’ mean explanation published by the MCA on the moot problem, at any
point of the time of the competition or a query posed by any competing team within
the given deadline.
5.3.2. Clarifications can be sought on any part of the moot proposition by filling the form
(hereinafter referred to as Clarifications form) available here.
5.3.3. The Clarifications form should be filled before the deadline. Thereafter, no
Clarifications can be sought.
5.3.4 The MCA, after due consultation, reserves the right to decide whether or not a question
deserves to be clarified.
5.3.5. The MCA shall publish a list of Clarifications as per the stipulated date in Annexure
ZIR – 3.

6. COLOUR SCHEME AND FORMAT OF MEMORIAL

6.1 In case of a memorial being submitted on behalf of the Appellant/Claimant/Plaintiff,
the cover page shall be in BLUE whereas, for Respondent/Defendant, the cover
shall be in RED.
6.2 For format of the memorial, please refer to Annexure ZIR-2.

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 6.3 Citation style of the memorial shall be Bluebook System of Legal Citation 21st
Edition.
6.4 No team shall reveal their names or any other means of identification on the
memorial.
6.5 The sole means of identification on the memorial shall be the Team Code. The Team
Code should be placed on the top right hand-side of the cover page only.
6.6 Non-adherence to the prescribed format shall attract penalties including but not
limited to the disqualification of the team.

7. MEMORIAL EVALUATION
7.1 Every Memorial will be marked on the scale of hundred (100). Detailed criteria for
memorial evaluation are provided for in Part-A of Annexure ZIR-1.
7.2 Non-compliance of the required standards and rules shall attract deductions, please
refer to Part-C of ZIR-1 for the detailed criteria.

PART – C

8. ORAL PLEADING ROUND

8.1 Oral Pleadings for 9th ZIMCC, 2024 will be conducted in an offline mode.
8.2 The participants are to appear for their oral rounds in their designated court rooms.
Each team shall argue only once in the oral pleading round from either side i.e.,
Petitioner or Respondent, based on the draw of lots.
8.3 Draw of Lots is conducted to decide which side (Petitioner or Respondent) a team
would argue from.
8.4 The participants are expected to reach their courtrooms fifteen (15) minutes prior
to the allotted time.
8.5 Kindly note that no team is allowed to carry laptops, iPads, mobile phones or any
other electronic devices inside the courtroom for research or any other purpose. The
participants are allowed to bring Bare Acts and Hard Copies of the Memorials inside
the Courtroom.
8.6 Exchange of memorials is permitted only during the Draw of Lots, and not during
oral rounds.

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 8.7 The judge has the absolute liberty to ask as many questions as they desire and no
objection to the same shall be entertained.
8.8 The Researcher shall not be allowed to plead on behalf of the team under any
circumstance. The Researcher may communicate with the Speakers through paper
chits or any other legitimate means, without disturbing the decorum of the
courtroom.
8.9 It is essential for the researcher to be present during the oral pleadings on 21st of
April, 2024.
8.10 Failure to abide by the conditions mentioned in Rule 8 shall attract penalty
and/or disqualification.

9. TIME DURATION
9.1 Each team shall plead for a period not more than twenty (20) minutes.
9.2 An additional five (5) minutes shall be saved for the questions raised by the judges
and two (2) minutes for rebuttals and sur-rebuttals each.
9.3 The time allotted must be taken care of by the pleader(s). Extra time taken may
attract penalty, unless granted by the judges.

10. STANDARDS
10.1 All the standard moot court mannerisms must be followed as applicable to national
level competitions, keeping in view these rules. They cannot be exempted as they
are a matter of evaluation.

11. DRESS CODE

11.1 The dress code shall be western formals for all participants i.e., white formal
shirt and black formal pants, black blazer, black shoes and a tie. Violation of the
mandated dress code will bar a participant from appearing in the ‘Oral Round’.

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12. SCOUTING
12.1 Sitting in other courtroom(s) or witnessing proceedings of any other team inside
their courtroom is strictly prohibited, and it is a fit case of SCOUTING and will
result in the termination of the suspected individual or participant.

13. EVALUATION OF ORAL PLEADINGS

13.1 The oral pleadings would be marked on a scale of hundred (100) for each speaker
by both the judges in a courtroom.
13.2 The judges will consensually mark the participants on the same scale.
13.3 For the detailed guidelines for the Marking Criteria, kindly refer to the Part-B of
Annexure ZIR-1.

PART -D

14. FINAL RESULTS & RANK LIST

14.1 Post the completion of the memorial submission and the oral pleadings, the MCA
shall publish the final mark list and rank list (hereinafter ‘Zenith Results’).
14.2 Scores of memorials and oral pleadings shall carry equal weightage (fifty percent
each).
14.3 Both the memorial and oral pleading scores shall first be converted into a score
where the denominator shall be 100 for both parameters individually.
14.4 After complying with Rule 14.3., fifty percent average of both the memorial
scores and the oral pleading scores shall be taken into account to calculate each
team's final score.
14.5 The rank list shall be devised based on the score as mentioned in Rule 14.4.
14.6 The Zenith results shall be published within 45 days after the completion of the
oral pleading round.

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 PART –E

15. CODE OF CONDUCT

15.1 Any attempt to contact and/or influence the framer of the Moot Problem shall
attract punishment, including but not limited to disqualification from
participation in future competitions organized by the MCA.
15.2 Any attempt made by any participant and/or team to contact and/or influence the
judge(s) of the Competition shall attract punishment, including but not limited to
disqualification from participation in future competitions organized by the MCA.
15.3 Any misconduct with the judge(s) shall attract punishment, including but not
limited to disqualification from participation in future competitions organized by
the MCA.

16. FINAL DECISION

16.1 The MCA and the Faculty In-charge of the MCA reserves the right to interpret
the rules and decide any disputes that may arise concerning the competition. All
such decisions taken by the MCA and the Faculty In-charge of MCA shall be final
and binding on all participants.

17. MISCELLANEOUS
17.1 The number of participating teams of the of 9th ZIMCC, 2024 eligible to
participate in external National Moot Court Competitions shall be intimated after
the declaration of the results.
17.2 The method for determining participation in external competitions shall be
through Bidding. The team with the better rank for a particular moot shall be
allotted the competition.
17.3 Detailed rules pertaining to information provided in Rules 17.1. and 17.2. shall
be published separately.
17.4 The MCA and the Faculty-In-charge of the MCA reserve the right to change any
of the rules contained herewith or parts thereof, after duly notifying the
participants.

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 ANNEXURE ZIR – 1
EVALUATION CRITERION

1. EVALUATION OF MEMORIAL (PART A)

1.1 Each memorial will be marked on a scale of 100. The memorial would be evaluated
according to the criteria mentioned in 1.2.
1.2 Marking Criteria (Maximum Marks allotted)

S.NO. PARTICULARS MARKS

1. Summary of Facts 10
2. Grammar & Style of Presentation 10
3. Application of laws to facts 25
4. Use of authority 20
5. Proper citation & correct format 10
6. Originality in presentation 15
7. General Impression & Clarity of thought 10
Total marks 100

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 2. EVALUATION OF ORAL ROUND (PART B)
2.1 The oral pleadings would be marked on the scale of 100 per team. The Oral Round
would be evaluated based on the criteria mentioned in 2.2.
2.2 Marking Criteria (Maximum Marks Allocated)

S.NO. PARTICULARS MARKS

1. Knowledge of Facts 15
2. Knowledge of Laws 20
Advocacy
3. 20
{Arguments/Expressions/Articulations/Presentations}
4. Use of Authorities 15
5. Court Mannerisms 10
6. Rebuttal/Sur-rebuttal 10
7. Answer to Court Questions 10
Total marks 100

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3. LIST OF DEDUCTIONS (PART – C)
3.1 In case of any non-conformity with the Rules of the ZIMCC, the following
deductions in the marks awarded shall be considered accordingly.

S.NO. PARTICULARS MARKS

Failure to adhere to the colour scheme of the 1 mark for each
1.
written submissions written submission
0.5 mark for each
2. Failure to place team code as specified
written submission
0.25 for every page
3. Failure to adhere to the page limit exceeded for each
written submission
5 mark for every hour
that passes following
Failure to submit the written submissions within the lapse of deadline
4.
the stipulated time (subject to conditions
of Clause 4.1, Part-A,
General Rules)
1 mark for every non-
compliance of the
5. Failure to comply to the Memorial Format
format, as mentioned
in ZIR-2

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 ANNEXURE ZIR - 2

MEMORIAL FORMAT

The format of the memorial shall be as per the order mentioned below & shall contain the
following:

i. Cover Page
ii. Table of Contents
iii. List of Abbreviations
iv. Index of Case Laws
v. Index of Authorities
vi. Statement of Jurisdiction
vii. Statement of Facts (Not exceeding 2 pages)
viii. Statement of Issues (Sub-issues, if required)
ix. Summary of Arguments (Not exceeding 2 pages)
x. Arguments Advanced (Not exceeding 20 pages)
xi. Prayer (Not exceeding 1 page)

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 OTHER FORMATTING SPECIFICATIONS
For all the pages of the memorial except for the cover page, the following parameters shall be
adhered to:

1. Paper Size: A4
2. Font Type: Times New Roman
3. Font Size: 12
4. Line Spacing: 1.5
5. Body of Text: Justified
6. Margin: 1 inch on all sides (Applicable for Cover Page too)

The following shall be adhered to for the footnotes in the memorials:

1. Font Type: Times New Roman

2. Font Size: 10
3. Line Spacing: 1
4. No additional space between 2 footnotes
5. Body of Text: Justified

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 ANNEXURE ZIR - 3

LIST OF IMPORTANT DATES

Following is the List of Important Dates for the 9th Zenith Internal Moot Court Competition.
The participants are expected to strictly adhere to the same.

PARTICULARS DATES

Release of Notification 4th March, 2024

Last Date for Registration 18th March, 2024

Last Date for Withdrawal 20th March, 2024

Last Date for Seeking Clarifications 20th March, 2024

Release of Team Codes 10th April, 2024

Release of Clarifications (if any) 24th March, 2024

Submission of Memorials (online) 14th April, 2024

Submission of Memorials (offline) 15th April, 2024

Draw of Lots 20th April, 2024

Oral Pleadings Rounds 21st April, 2024

Release of Zenith Results To be announced

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