Guest Lectures by an Array of Advocates at School of Law, Lavasa

A series of guest lectures were given by Adv. Vismay Shroff, Adv. Kevin Tauro and Adv. Shwetha Bidhuri, Head (South Asia) for Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), Singapore at School of Law, CHRIST, Lavasa on Tuesday, 24^th September 2019 on Arbitration: An Efficient Dispute Resolution Mechanism, in the Smart Room, Central Block. There was also a high level collaborative talk between SIAC and SLCU with Director & Dean, Dr Fr Jossy P George, CHRIST, Lavasa.

Adv. Kevin Tauro, a prospective Ph.D. student accompanied Adv. Shwetha Bidhuri. Kevin a good mooter and teacher and has competed his LLB from GLC, Mumbai and LLM from Mumbai University. He is currently teaching LLB and LLM at MU colleges.

Adv. Kevin Tauro addressed the students and informed them that memo draft and pleading are two very important points to be kept in mind in a moot court. He also spoke at length about ways to conduct a research doctrinal and non-doctrinal. The information shared by Adv. Kevin was received well by the young law students. He gave a detailed information about points to be remembered while drafting a memorial. He rightly pointed out that cover page holds a lot of importance and petitioner and plaintiff should be mentioned in blue and red respectively. The nitty-gritty details included index, how to write the statement of jurisdiction, statement of fact apart from writing arguments were also discussed in detail.

The procedural points were discussed in great detail and proved beneficial for the students. Adv. Kevin discussed about the importance of e-library in the present scenario wherein one can easily access and retrieve a lot of information about a case through an easy access to e-library. He went ahead and gave an overview of moot court rules and regulations and criteria for the same were also discussed.

Adv. Vismay Shroff, Associate of Parimal K. Shroff & Co. Advocates, Solicitors and Notary, Mumbai addressed the law students and gave an insightful lecture. He spoke about Public International Law with specific reference to the relevance of economics in the field of law. He elaborated the concept and further added the benefits it will provide in terms of international law. He inspired the young law graduates and specifically mentioned varied job opportunities after graduation as many more fields are on the rise everywhere. Adv. Vismay mentioned the role of morality in law and clearly articulated that morals and ethics have an indelible impact on humanity and thereby affect the way a country works and functions. 

In addition, he mentioned about the new developments in International Law. Then he elaborated the characteristics features of the International Court of Justice and aptly spoke that `Law is for man, man is not for law’. Adv. Vismay gave valuable inputs about Private International Law with specific reference to principles of private law, choice of law, choice of forum and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements.

Then Adv. Shwetha addressed the spirited students. She has completed her BA, LLB from Guru Gobind Singh IP University, Delhi and LLM from Manchester University, UK and has more than a decade of experience in Investment Arbitration. She has also been a visiting lecturer at Rizvi Law College.

Adv. Shwetha Bidhuri defined arbitration as a cheap and faster methodology that can be applied to a case. She further added that it is an alternate mechanism to dispute resolution, that is agreed between the parties. She is optimistic that this potential field, which is yet to establish its roots at a deeper level in India, can prove beneficial in the long run.
Adv. Shwetha explained that arbitration has different levels associated with it such as negotiation, mediation, expert determination, arbitration, and litigation. Adv. Shwetha elucidated the advantages of arbitration as compared to litigation because it is more efficient and expeditious. It is also comparatively more expert, more enforceable and evenly handed.
The students were given detailed information about arbitration procedures which include the ad-hoc procedure and institutional procedures. Adv. Shwetha also reinforced the life cycle of arbitration, which is initiated with the drafting of the arbitration agreement. She concluded by saying that the four essentials of arbitration can be summarized in a few words. It is a mandatory consequence and excludes the intervention of state. It is a power given to an arbitrator to resolve the dispute by following the correct procedure.

In this context, she elaborated on the contents of an effective arbitration agreement which incorporates submission of an agreement to arbitrate abiding by governing law (contract and arbitration agreement) as part of a pact of arbitration. Adv. Shwetha's lecture ended with a discussion on common issues in arbitration agreement. A briefing was given on commencing an arbitration at SIAC (Singapore International Arbitration Center).

The guest lectures were efficiently coordinated by the faculty members of School of Law, CHRIST, Lavasa under the guidance of their HOD, Dr. Daisy Alexander.