DMUCS-TIB Anti Corruption Moot Court Competition 2017 held at DU
Varendra University from Rajshahi emerged as the champion team
Dhaka University Moot Court Society (DUMCS), the pioneer mooting institution in the country, in collaboration with Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), organised the Anti Corruption Moot Court Competition from December 7-9, 2017 at the University of Dhaka (DU). Law students from 16 different public and private universities across Bangladesh participated in this first of its kind moot court competition on anti corruption issue.
The three-day long event kicked off with the inauguration ceremony on December 7. The opening ceremony was inaugurated by Professor Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman, Vice Chancellor at DU. Among others, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director at TIB, Professor Dr. Md. Rahmat Ullah, Dean, Faculty of Law at DU, and Professor Dr. Borhan Uddin Khan, Chairman, Department of Law at DU, attended the ceremony as special guests. They in their speeches appreciated the joint initiative of TIB and DUMCS in hosting the competition and urged the students to raise their voices against corruption as well as to strike down corrupt practices from our daily lives.
The preliminary rounds took place on December 8 where the teams battled it out against each other to reach the quarter finals. Following the preliminary rounds, the top eight teams qualified for the quarter finals. The participants got themselves acquainted with the practical courtroom experiences and challenges by participating in the competition. Furthermore, it enabled them to widen their horizon of legal and analytical knowledge. With their articulate rhetoric and well-analysed arguments and counter arguments, they raised their strong voices against corrupt practices and sought solutions via legal means on such a pressing issue.
The top four teams from the quarter finals advanced to the semi final round. The teams were from University of Dhaka, University of Chittagong, State University of Bangladesh and Varendra University. The semi final round took place on December 9. After an intense battle in the semi finals, the top two teams proceeding to the final round were University of Dhaka and Varendra University.
Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, Justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain and Justice Md. Miftah Uddin Chowdhury - honourable Judges of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh adjudicated the final round. Following a nail-biting final in the courtroom, Varendra University from Rajshahi emerged as the champion while University of Dhaka was adjudged as the runner-up.
The closing ceremony was chaired by Justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain, while Justice Md. Miftah Uddin Chowdhury, Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman and Dr. Borhan Uddin Khan were the special guests. Apart from the champion and runner-up teams, University of Chittagong won the Spirit of the Moot award, University of Dhaka won the Best Memorial award, Md. Jahid Al Mamun from DU won the Best Researcher award and Sanjana Hoque Mifta from CU won the Best Mooter award.
The distinguished guests of the closing ceremony lauded the depth of research and articulate oral submissions of the participants during the competition and advised them to stay in the process of continuous learning. Citing many instances of corruption in Bangladesh, they expressed their gratitude towards TIB for their endeavours towards curbing corruption and bringing these instances to light to ensure justice.
THE EVENT WAS COVERED BY ALI MASHRAF, A STUDENT OF LAW AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DHAKA.