India Wins 16th Leiden Sarin International Air Law Moot Court Competition

The 16th Leiden Sarin International Air Law Moot Court Competition was held in Athens, Greece, from April 25 to 27. The competition, the only air law moot court event in the world, was organised by the International Institute of Air and Space Law, Leiden University, and the Sarin Memorial Legal Aid Foundation, Chandigarh.

This year’s edition was organised in collaboration with the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, which acted as the local host. The national India rounds were held earlier in February at the Army Institute of Law, Mohali, presided over by Chief Justice (Retd.) S.S. Sodhi, president, Sarin Memorial Legal Aid Foundation.

In Athens, over 13 countries participated, and after two days of intense arguments and deliberations before leading aviation legal experts, the finals were held between NLU Jodhpur from India and the East China University of Political Science and Law.

The finals took place at the grand Parnassos Literary Society Central Event Hall in Athens. NLU Jodhpur, arguing from the respondents’ side, was adjudged the winning team. The team consisted of Anshita Tiwari (also adjudged the best oralist), Sarah Singh, and Raghunandan Nagaraj. The East China University of Political Science and Law team comprised Fangyuan Hu, Zining Chen and Jiayi Li.

In his welcome address, Nitin Sarin, Trustee and air law specialist, noted that it was the only moot court competition globally dedicated to air law.

He mentioned that this was the fourth time India had won the event in its 16-year history. Manmohan Lal Sarin, secretary general, added that the Sarin Memorial Legal Aid Foundation was established in memory of late H.L. Sarin and late R.L. Sarin.