Prakhar Tripathi is an alumnus of Symbiosis International University, Pune. Previously a Member of International Law Students Association (ILSA) at Symbiosis Law School, Pune, he shares his vast experience on Mooting and other co-curricular activities along with their role in law school.
Q. You had been into excessive Quizzing and Debating at your school. Was it influential in shaping your decision to become a lawyer?
A. I believe that every student should take up at least one co-curricular or extra-curricular activity throughout his/her education. Quizzing and Debating came naturally to me due to constant encouragement of my parents and teachers at school, at an early stage. I was also fortunate enough to have seniors and classmates who were extremely talented when it came to Quizzes, Debates, and Group Discussions. Their presence has always been a source of motivation for me and encouraged me to keep improving.
There is no denial in the fact that exposure to the above activities has been a major factor to encourage me to pursue Law. Knowledge of subject matter, critical thinking, and ability to construct logical as well as valid arguments are fundamental qualities required by a law student to do justice to the professional course.
Furthermore, all these qualities are also tested in moot courts. Due to my exposer in quizzes and debates, I could comfortably adopt Mooting during my law school.
Q.Having pursued a Certificate Course on European Union Legal Studies(EULS) from Symbiosis Law School, Pune, do you believe that getting certified generally isn’t just a matter of taking a test, filling out some paperwork, and calling it a day but much more?
A. The Certificate Course on European Union Legal Studies has been a prominent course offered by SLS Pune to its students. It revolves around the study of legal structures governing various aspects of EU such as membership, elections, immigration, trade, IPR etc. The course was divided into modules, and for each module we had specialists flying in from various institutions and universities from Europe as well as India to teach us and share their experience on the given subject.
What motivated me to pursue this course was the unique nature of this supranational organization and its potential to present itself as a model for finding solutions to multilateral regional disputes. The European continent has been riddled with wars, rivalries and disputes between nations for centuries. The effects of these rivalries had started to spill over to other parts of the world with the age of colonization. Africa, Middle-East, Indian Sub-Continent, Far-East, every region was a potential conflict zone. And the two world wars had decimated the economies of the entire Europe. Therefore, the Union was formed with the purpose to align the interests of all European states and build an organization and unify them in true essence, so much so that the states were willing to waive off some elements of their own sovereignty.
The year when I took up this course, a lot was happening in Europe. The economies were in a process of coping up from the 2008 Recession. We studied the effects of debts and bailout packages on the economies vis-à-vis the laws governing such relations between parties. The Crimean crisis gave us a good opportunity to understand the strengths and weaknesses of EU as a whole. In the recent past, we have seen lot more complications such as heavy inflow of migrants from war-torn countries which has been a humanitarian as well as an internal security issue for the member states. And in more recent times, a no-deal Brexit will provide us an opportunity to test the effects of leaving the protection of an elaborate economic ecosystem. This, in true essence, will be a litmus test for legitimacy of European Union.
Q. You have been the Researcher of the team representing SLS, Pune in The Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition (2013-14) organised by the International Institute of Space Law. What do you think are the tips and tricks to be a good researcher in a moot court?
A. Mooting is an essential element of law school. We were fortunate enough to be exposed to mooting environment from the very first year. Like any other student, I regularly found myself in the library looking for arguments and case laws for upcoming moots. Over a period of time, I had a chance to experience every aspect of mooting- from organizing moots to participating in them as a Speaker, Research Assistant or a Strategist.
Anyone involved in moots can tell you that there is hardly any difference in role of a Researcher as compared to a Speaker. Therefore, irrespective of nomenclature, each team member is deemed to be a Researcher for the entire Research and Drafting.
It is essential to read the moot problem at least once a day. The team should sit together and read and discuss the problem and try to dissect the entire fact sheet looking for key words and latent elements of the moot problem. Never hesitate of raising simplest of doubts. It will only add value to your perpetration.
To begin with always start researching using simple tools such as Google and dictionaries. Once the researcher is familiar with the basics of the moot problem, it gets easy to chalk out the strategy for further research.
It is advised to then go through commentaries of well-known authors of their respective subjects. They always provide structured research material with relevant provisions of law and their interpretation using relevant judgements. It is greatly applicable in the cases where the area of law is significantly new to the Researcher.
Leave no stone unturned. It is important to make best of the time available for preparation. Efforts should be made to achieve sufficient command on the given area of law and answers to every anticipated questions and rebuttals should be prepared in advance. For instance, my seniors while researching for the Manfred Laches Space Law Moot, came across research materials that were available only in French. So, they took efforts to translate them to English and then use them for their arguments.
My senior once taught me the importance of structure while researching for an argument. It is always good to keep a flowchart that helps you keep track of the progress in research and to ensure that all essential elements are covered while researching.
We must always remember that simplicity is the key. One must always strive to prepare an argument as linearly as possible. The judges will always appreciate a simple and concise argument with most compelling authorities cited. This enables the Speaker to effectively present his/her argument efficiently.
Lastly, give at least 2 to 3 days for Formatting and adding ancillary pages with strict adherence to the rules of the competition. It is always advisable to invest in best quality printing and binding as esthetics do matter (except in cases where there are specific instructions from the organisers).
Q. You are known to have built IPR as one of your areas of interest. What are the issues and challenges IPR lawyers still face while handling cases relating to IPR?
A. I developed my interest in IPR at a relatively early stage. I was fortunate enough to work on a project under Mr. Neeraj Panchal at a Fortune 500 company. He has influenced me greatly and taught me to assess a scenario from multiple aspects to come up with an effective IP strategy. For example, it is not enough to merely ascertain that an Intellectual Property is eligible for protection. Since the process of registration is quite expensive, one also has to determine ‘the geography’ and ‘the level’ of protection required for a particular IP. The objective is to align the IP strategy with business interests of the applicant.
Having said that, the IP regime in India is still developing. People in general have not realized the potential value and effect of an intellectual property from a commercial aspect. Even today, software piracy is rampant. Small artists, musicians and writers are ripped off their rights with little to no consequences. India is still falling behind in terms of patent registrations due to lack research in institutions. This has prevented India from creating a robust ecosystem for protection of IPR within its jurisdiction. Therefore, despite being one of the largest economies in the world and possessing one of the most well-educated demography in terms of science, technology and medicine, we have been unable to create an IPR driven industry so far.
Therefore, a lot has to change fundamentally in order to boost IPR registrations and their enforcement in India.
Q. You are a Management Trainee (Compliance & Legal) at Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation. How is your job like?
A. My duties as Management Trainee at UPMRCL include:
• Nodal administration of legal cases involving the company and drafting replies to legal notice, suite, writ petition, PILs, Land and Service matters.
• Regulation and Conduct of Proceedings of Internal Complaints Committee on Sexual Harrasment.
• Drafting inquiry reports and press releases.
• Nodal administration of PIO cell, drafting replies of RTI applications and prepare representaions for PIO in appeals.
• Negotiation and wetting of contracts, MOUs and lease, service agreement, and High Seas sales agreements.
• My role has been instrumental in drafting Uttar Pradesh Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority Bill.
• Assisting in conducting Board meetings, and Filing Disclosures.
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