Law Event
Constitutional Law Moot Court
Farhaan Uddin Ahmed
To commemorate the Constitution Day on 4th November, this year the Moot Court Society of BRAC University organized the Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition 2011, it was the first of its kind and was a success to a great deal. The event was held between 11th and 12th November, 2011. A total of fourteen universities both public and private from all over Bangladesh participated. The participating universities were ASA University Bangladesh, BRAC University, Daffodil International University, Dhaka International University, Eastern University, Jagannath University, Leading University (Sylhet), Premier University (Chittagong), South East University, Stamford University, Sylhet International University, University of Chittagong, University of Dhaka and Uttara University. Each team consisted of two members; one was the petitioner and the other respondent.
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This year the Moot Problem was based on the issue of Secularism which is now a topic of debate in our country. According to the moot problem, article 2A of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh which recognizes Islam as the state religion was challenged by a writ petition issued by the petitioners for being in violation of the Principle of Secularism, Supremacy of Constitution, Fundamental Principles and the Basic Structure Doctrine.
The first day took off in BRAC University with the registration of the teams followed by two rounds of submissions by the mooters one by one. Each team got a chance to make their submissions as the petitioners and respondents. Each mooter was given seven minutes to make his or her submissions and then he or she was questioned for about three to four minutes by the judges for clarification. Mr. Justice Obaidul Hasan; Mr. Justice Dr. Quazi Reza-ul Hoque and Mr. Justice Md. Ruhul Quddus were the judges for the first round. Mr. Justice Dr. Syed Refaat Ahmed and Madam Justice Dr. Naima Haider judged the second round.
The first day saw a great show by the mooters and was a great learning experience for all, as the honorable judges gave valuable advices to the mooters. At the end of the day the top four teams were announced who were going to compete in the final rounds the following day. Amazingly two teams from BRAC University and two teams from Dhaka University made it to the finals.
The next morning the audience and the mooters geared up and took their places at the Auditorium of BRAC Center Inn for the extremely high quality submissions that were to be made by the mooters from both the petitioner's and the respondent's side. The Chief Guest for the day was Professor Ainun Nishat, the Vice Chancellor of BRAC University. The finals consisted of two rounds where each team got a chance to make submissions as the petitioners and respondents. The finals were judged by Mr. Justice Mirza Hussain Haider; Mr. Justice Tariq-ul Hakim and Madam Justice Farah Mahbub. They adjudged the finals in an exemplarily fashion, providing valuable advice and suggestions throughout the two rounds. After a short break at the end of the finals, the closing and prize giving ceremony began with much anticipation among all. Dr. Tureen Afroz the Advisor of MCS-BU welcomed all, followed by an enthusiastic speech by M. Sanjeeb Hossain, former President and lifetime member of MCS-BU. The Honorable Judges gave everyone a few words of encouragement, followed by a speech by Dr. Shahdeen Malik the Director of School of Law, BRAC University. Then the Judges gave away the certificates of participation to the teams. Then the Chief Guest Dr. Ainun Nishat the Vice Chancellor of BRAC University shared a few words with everyone.
After the wonderful speech, the moment had arrived for the declaration of the results. Dr. Tureen Afroz announced the results and the Chief Guest gave away the awards. The first award was for the Best Fighter for 2011 it was given to the team which gave a tough competition but could not make it to the finals, the best Fighters were adjudged to be the Southeast University, who were ranked fifth, overall. Dhaka University Team 1 was adjudged the 3rd Runner-up, Dhaka University Team 2 was adjudged the 2nd Runner-up and BRAC University Team 2 was the 1st Runner-up. Then the champions were announced to be BRAC University Team 1 consisting of Kazi Tuney Binte Zinnat and Monira Nazmi Jahan. The 'Advocate of the Year 2011' was adjudged to be Kazi Tuney Binte Zinnat of BRAC University. Thus the event came to an end.
The event brought a new dimension to mooting in Bangladesh and it was the first of its kind dealing with Constitutional law. The competition strengthened the intellectual partnership among the law students and faculty members of various universities in Bangladesh. Everyone took something valuable away from this tournament most notably, the experience to treasure for the rest of their lives
The writer is a Law Student at BRAC University.
