The final event of the maiden criminal law moot court competition organised by Madurai Bench of the Madras Bar Association (MMBA) here on Sunday saw some intense arguments.
The two-day event concluded as School of Law of SASTRA University, Thanjavur, secured the first place and School of Excellence of Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Chennai, came second.
Fifty four students from 18 colleges across the State participated in the event which saw high participation of students from Government Law Colleges, gaining the approval of several serving and retired judges. T.S. Sivagnanam, Judge, Madras High Court, who was the chief guest, said “Owing to bureaucratic issues, there are over 150 vacancies in teaching jobs. The short-staffed colleges still managed to train their students and encouraged them to compete in the event.” First-time participants should treat such competitions as a simulated-courts and improve their performance every time.
Speaking about the education system, he said open universities and unaccredited universities posed a challenge to those undergoing five years of extensive training.
“Earlier, there was a divide between an erudite lawyer and those who were not practising law. Now, colleges are churning out lawyers and the competition is very high,” he said.
It was important for students to attach themselves to the offices of senior advocates to get an insight into the practice and skills need for the vocation, he added.
K.N. Basha, retired judge of Madras High Court, said the competition was well organised and the atmosphere resembled a real court hall. Another Judge, M.S. Ramesh, remarked about the research involved in such competitions and said that more such events would breed young talents.
MMBA president K. Samidurai said more such competitions would be conducted regularly in the future in association with N. Natarajan Charitable Trust.
