Second Edition: Prof. V. S. Mallar Legal Aid Competition, 2023, A Joint Initiative By Centre for Environmental Law Education Research & Advocacy (CEERA), NLSIU, Bengaluru & Department Of Justice, Ministry Of Law And Justice: Register By 20th June 2023

Who Are The Organisers?

The Centre for Environmental Law Education, Research and Advocacy (CEERA), National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru. established in 1997 is a research centre that focuses on research and policy advocacy in the field of environmental law. Building an environmental law database, effectively networking among all stakeholders, undertaking training and capacity development exercises, providing consultancy services and building an environmental law community are CEERA’s main objectives. It enjoys the support of the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, other Ministries, international organisations, the Bar and the Bench in India.

Department of Justice is a part of the Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India & it is one of the oldest Ministries of the Government of India.The functions of the Department of Justice include the appointment, resignation and removal of the Chief Justice of India, Judges of the Supreme Court of India, Chief Justices and Judges of the High Courts and their service matters. In addition, the Department implements important schemes for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary, setting up of Special Courts for speedy trial and disposal of cases of sensitive nature (Fast Track Special Court for cases of rape and POCSO Act), E-court Project on computerization of various courts across the country, legal aid to poor and access to justice, financial assistance to National Judicial Academy for providing training to the Judicial Officers of the country. The functions of Department of Justice are given in Allocation of Business (Rules), 1961.

The Legal Aid Clinic Competition shall be a 4 (four) month-pronged Competition. Further, access to legal education is a necessary corollary to the right of free legal aid. With the advancement of digital technologies, this right has become all the more accessible. Legal aid clinics, particularly those functioning under the aegis of educational institutions, play a pivotal role in improving community access to legal information and education and in engaging the youth in mass literacy dissemination efforts.
The endeavor of the second edition of this Competition is to further augment and strengthen the activities of the legal aid cells across the country to spread essential legal awareness by conducting awareness drives and various other creative initiatives and campaigns to bring to the fore the presence of informational asymmetry contributing directly to the lack of legal awareness

What Are The Details Of The Competition?

• Eligibility: All clubs and legal aid Clinics/committees housed in any institute. We encourage Management, Commerce institutions also to partake in this competition. NSS, NCC, Scouts Units are also encouraged to participate in this competition
• Team composition: The representatives of the participating institutions for all purposes and for the entire duration of the competition shall comprise the following:
  • 1 Faculty Coordinator/Advisor/NCC/NSS Officer
  • 1 Student Coordinator
  • Maximum of 08 other students, who will formulate the Core Team
  • Other Students, whose participation may be certified by the Participating Institutions
• Last Date for registration: 20th June 2023
• Registration form: CLICK HERE to fill out the registration form
• Registration fee: The registration fee for a team is INR 5,000/- (Rupees Five Thousand Only)
• Awards & Prizes:
  • Winners-Best Legal Aid Clinic: INR 25,000
  • First Runners Up- Best Legal Aid Clinic: INR 20,000
  • Second Runners Up-Best Legal AID Clinic: INR 15,000
  • Best Faculty Coordinator Award: INR 10,000
  • Best All INDIA Legal Aid Clinic Student Lawyers: INR 10,000
• Important Dates:
  • Launch of the competition: 1st July 2023
  • Submission I: Speed mentoring videos & report on street vendor engagement: 30th August 2023
  • Submission II: Video recordings of no-profit partnering, report on Lok Adalat engagement, and report on prison clinic:15th October 2023
  • Four online legal aid workshops: July-October 2023
  • Submission IIiI: Submission of final report 30th October 2023
  • Announcement of awards & felicitation ceremony: 26th November 2023

For More Information:

For any query contact to Mr. Vikas Gahlot: +91 72908 07345, Mr. Jaibatruka Mohanta: +91 90825 10813 and all emails to be sent to – ceera@nls.ac.in

CLICK HERE For The Brochure

CLICK HERE To Visit The CEERA Website

CLICK HERE To Visit The NLSIU, Bengaluru Website