National Legal Drafting Competition, 2026 by Mohammad Abdul Bari Institute of Juridical Science: Register by Nov 30
Mohammad Abdul Bari Institute of Juridical Science (MABIJS), through its Moot Court Society, invites law students across India to participate individually in the National Legal Drafting Competition, 2026, featuring four drafting categories.
Contents
hide
About Mohammad Abdul Bari Institute of Juridical Science
Mohammad Abdul Bari Institute of Juridical Science (MABIJS) is a private law college located at Maniknagar, Domkal, Murshidabad, West Bengal. Established in 2008 by the Maniknagar Social Welfare Society, the institute is affiliated with the University of Kalyani, approved by the Bar Council of India and recognised by the State Government.
Add LawBhoomi as your preferred source on Google.
MABIJS offers a five-year integrated B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) programme. The institute aims to provide quality legal education by bridging the gap between theory and practice, promoting cultural, legal and ethical values, and fostering the rule of law and the objectives enshrined in the Constitution of India. It envisions nurturing legal professionals capable of building successful careers in India and abroad through a well-equipped learning environment.
The MABIJS Moot Court Society is a student-faculty body dedicated to nurturing advocacy, legal research, drafting and professional ethics through moot courts, competitions, workshops and academic engagement.
About the Competition
The MABIJS National Legal Drafting Competition, 2026, is organised by the MABIJS Moot Court Society under the aegis of Mohammad Abdul Bari Institute of Juridical Science.
The competition aims to provide law students with an opportunity to demonstrate and develop their practical legal drafting abilities through simulated legal problems based on contemporary legal issues and professional legal practice.
Explore LawBhoomi's free law library for students and lawyers.
Unlike conventional moot court competitions, which primarily assess oral advocacy and memorial preparation, this competition focuses on the preparation of legally sound, procedurally appropriate and professionally structured legal documents.
Participants will have the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of substantive law, procedural law, legal research, analytical reasoning and professional drafting conventions.
Mode: Hybrid (the final drafting defence round will be conducted online).
Eligibility
The competition is open to students pursuing either a three-year LL.B. or a five-year integrated LL.B. programme from a recognised university or institution in India.
The eligibility requirements are as follows:
- Students enrolled in recognised law institutions are eligible, irrespective of their semester or year of study.
- Participation is permitted individually only.
- Each participant must satisfy the prescribed eligibility requirements.
- A participant may register for only one drafting category.
- A participant will not be permitted to change their category after the registration deadline without prior written approval from the organisers.
- The organisers reserve the right to verify the academic credentials and institutional affiliation of any participant.
Objectives
The competition seeks to:
- Promote practical legal education through professional legal drafting exercises.
- Develop participants’ ability to translate factual circumstances into legally sustainable documents.
- Encourage independent legal research and critical analysis.
- Enhance knowledge of substantive and procedural laws applicable in India.
- Familiarise participants with professional standards of legal documentation.
- Encourage precision, clarity and logical organisation in legal writing.
- Create a platform for interaction between law students, academicians and legal professionals.
Drafting Categories
Participants must select one of the following four categories while registering.
Category I – Civil Litigation Drafting
Join live law courses and learn directly from legal professionals.
This category will assess participants’ ability to prepare civil litigation documents in accordance with applicable substantive and procedural laws.
Indicative documents include:
- Plaint
- Written Statement
- Application for Temporary Injunction
- Application under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
- Civil Revision Petition
- Any other civil procedural document specified in the proposition
Category II – Criminal Litigation Drafting
This category will assess participants’ understanding of criminal law, criminal procedure and the drafting of appropriate judicial applications.
Indicative documents include:
- Regular Bail Application
- Anticipatory Bail Application
- Criminal Revision Petition
- Discharge Application
- Criminal Appeal
- Any other criminal procedural document specified in the proposition
Category III – Constitutional and Writ Drafting
This category will assess participants’ ability to prepare constitutional remedies and related legal documents.
Indicative documents include:
- Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India
- Public Interest Litigation
- Counter-Affidavit
- Rejoinder Affidavit
- Constitutional Challenge Petition
- Any other constitutional document specified in the proposition
Category IV – Corporate and Commercial Drafting
Discover the latest legal jobs and career openings.
This category will evaluate participants’ understanding of commercial transactions, contractual obligations and corporate legal documentation.
Indicative documents include:
- Memorandum of Understanding
- Non-Disclosure Agreement
- Shareholders’ Agreement
- Commercial Agreement
- Joint Venture Agreement
- Service Agreement
- Any other commercial document specified in the proposition
Note: The organisers will specify the exact document to be drafted in the respective problem proposition. The above lists are indicative and do not authorise participants to independently select a different document.
Formatting Requirements
Participants must adhere to the following formatting requirements:
| Particular | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Paper size | A4 |
| Orientation | Portrait |
| Font | Times New Roman |
| Main text size | 12 pt |
| Footnote size | 10 pt |
| Line spacing | 1.5 |
| Alignment | Justified |
| Margins | 1 inch on all sides |
| Citation style | OSCOLA 4th Edition or the specific style prescribed by the organisers |
| File format | PDF and DOCX |
| Language | English |
Additional formatting instructions:
- The document must be properly paginated.
- Headings and subheadings must be appropriately numbered and arranged.
- All statutory provisions, judicial authorities and other legal sources relied upon must be accurately cited.
- Participants must maintain consistency in formatting and citation throughout the document.
- Decorative elements, institutional logos and personal identification details must not be included in the submitted draft.
Word Limit
The maximum permissible word limit is 3,500 words.
The following will be excluded from the word count:
- Cover page
- Index or table of contents
- List of abbreviations
- List of authorities
- Footnotes and endnotes
- Annexures and schedules, where permitted
The word count will include the substantive body of the legal document, including pleadings, grounds, arguments, clauses and prayers, as applicable.
Participants must not exceed the prescribed word limit. Material exceeding the limit may attract deductions or other penalties at the discretion of the Evaluation Committee. Participants must not compromise essential legal requirements merely to reduce the word count.
Evaluation Process
Each submission will be evaluated by a panel appointed by the organisers. The Evaluation Committee may comprise academicians, practising advocates, legal researchers and other persons with relevant professional expertise.
The evaluation will be conducted anonymously wherever practicable. Each submission will be assessed according to the prescribed evaluation rubric. Judges will independently evaluate the legal correctness, practical applicability, structure and drafting quality of the document. The organisers may appoint more than one evaluator for a submission.
The decision of the Evaluation Committee will be final, subject to the provisions of the official Rulebook.
Evaluation Criteria
Each submission will be evaluated out of 100 marks.
| Evaluation Parameter | Marks |
|---|---|
| Understanding of facts and identification of legal issues | 15 |
| Applicable law and legal research | 20 |
| Structure and drafting technique | 20 |
| Legal reasoning and grounds | 15 |
| Reliefs sought and procedural correctness | 15 |
| Language, clarity and precision | 10 |
| Formatting and citation compliance | 5 |
| Total | 100 |
The evaluation parameters will be assessed as follows:
A. Understanding of Facts and Identification of Legal Issues – 15 Marks
Assessment of the participant’s ability to understand the factual background, identify relevant legal issues and distinguish material facts from immaterial facts.
B. Applicable Law and Legal Research – 20 Marks
Assessment of the correct identification and application of relevant statutory provisions, judicial precedents and other legal authorities.
C. Structure and Drafting Technique – 20 Marks
Assessment of the document’s professional structure, logical arrangement, appropriate headings, drafting conventions and completeness.
D. Legal Reasoning and Grounds – 15 Marks
Assessment of the strength, coherence and legal sustainability of the grounds and reasoning incorporated in the document.
E. Reliefs Sought and Procedural Correctness – 15 Marks
Assessment of the appropriateness of the reliefs, prayers, jurisdiction, maintainability and compliance with relevant procedural requirements.
F. Language, Clarity and Precision – 10 Marks
Assessment of legal language, grammatical correctness, clarity, conciseness and professional expression.
G. Formatting and Citation Compliance – 5 Marks
Assessment of compliance with the prescribed formatting, pagination, citation and technical requirements.
Shortlisting and Final Round
The organisers may shortlist the highest-scoring participants in each category. The shortlisted participants will be invited to participate in a final presentation and drafting defence round.
During the final round, participants may be required to:
- Explain the structure and legal basis of their draft.
- Identify applicable statutory provisions.
- Defend their choice of legal grounds and reliefs.
- Explain the procedural correctness of the document.
- Respond to questions from the judging panel.
The final round will be conducted online. The number of shortlisted participants will be determined by the organisers and communicated officially.
Failure to attend the final round without prior approval may result in disqualification from consideration for the final awards.
The final ranking will be determined on the basis of the written evaluation and final-round performance. The organisers will announce the final-round marking distribution before the commencement of that round.
Nature of Submission
Each participant must submit one principal legal document corresponding to the category selected.
The submission must:
- Reflect the form, structure and professional conventions applicable to the particular legal document.
- Be legally coherent, factually consistent and procedurally appropriate.
- Demonstrate the practical application of legal principles to the facts provided.
- Not be an essay, research paper, case comment or general discussion of the legal issue.
Supporting schedules, annexures or relevant documents may be included only where appropriate to the principal draft and permitted by the proposition.
Originality
All submissions must be original work prepared specifically for this competition.
Participants must not copy, reproduce or substantially imitate another person’s work without proper acknowledgement. The use of previously submitted competition drafts, published pleadings or sample legal documents as a substitute for independent drafting is prohibited.
All external sources, including statutes, judicial decisions, commentaries and academic publications, must be appropriately acknowledged.
Fabricated judicial authorities, incorrect citations knowingly presented as genuine and invented statutory provisions will constitute serious misconduct.
Similarity Policy
The permissible similarity threshold is 10%. All submissions may be subjected to plagiarism or similarity-detection software.
Properly cited quotations, statutory provisions, standard legal terminology, case names and conventional legal expressions may be excluded from the final similarity assessment, where appropriate.
Similarity will be assessed in context and not merely on the basis of the numerical percentage generated by software. The Evaluation Committee will have the authority to independently examine suspected instances of plagiarism.
A submission found to contain substantial unattributed copying may be rejected or disqualified.
Artificial Intelligence Policy
Participants must independently undertake the substantive legal research, legal analysis and preparation of the draft.
The following conditions will apply:
- Generative AI tools, including ChatGPT and other AI-assisted drafting platforms, must not be used to generate or substantially rewrite the substantive portions of the submitted legal document.
- Limited use of digital tools for spelling correction, grammar checking, formatting and non-substantive proofreading may be permitted.
- Participants will remain fully responsible for the accuracy of all legal provisions, judicial authorities, citations and factual statements.
- The use of AI tools to fabricate case laws, statutory provisions or legal authorities is strictly prohibited.
- The permitted AI-use threshold is 10%, subject to the nature of the tool, the type of assistance and the applicable assessment methodology.
- Participants must disclose any permitted AI assistance in the prescribed declaration.
- AI-detection reports will not, by themselves, constitute conclusive proof of misconduct. Any suspected violation will be reviewed by the Evaluation Committee.
- Concealment of prohibited AI-generated substantive drafting may result in disqualification.
Professional Conduct
Participants are expected to maintain professional standards throughout the competition. The following acts will constitute misconduct:
- Plagiarism or substantial unauthorised copying.
- Fabrication or misrepresentation of legal authorities.
- Submission of false academic or registration information.
- Disclosure of participant identity in an anonymous submission.
- Unauthorised collaboration with persons outside the registered team.
- Obtaining or attempting to obtain confidential evaluation information.
- Attempting to influence judges or members of the organising committee.
- Using prohibited AI tools to prepare substantive portions of the draft.
- Misrepresentation of another person’s work as one’s own.
- Any conduct that undermines the fairness, integrity or reputation of the competition.
Penalties
Depending on the nature and seriousness of the violation, the organisers may impose one or more of the following penalties:
- Warning
- Deduction of marks
- Rejection of submission
- Disqualification from the competition
- Withdrawal of awards or certificates where misconduct is discovered after the declaration of results
- Restriction from participation in future events organised by the institution, where justified
The decision will be taken after providing the concerned participant a reasonable opportunity to explain the circumstances, wherever appropriate.
Declaration of Originality
Every participant must submit the following declaration along with the final draft.
Declaration
We hereby declare that the legal draft submitted by us for the MABIJS National Legal Drafting Competition, 2026, is our original work prepared specifically for this competition.
We further declare that:
- The submission has not been plagiarised or substantially copied from any existing work.
- All legal authorities, statutory provisions and external sources relied upon have been appropriately acknowledged.
- No fabricated or knowingly misleading legal authority has been incorporated.
- We have complied with the prescribed Artificial Intelligence Policy and have disclosed any permitted AI assistance.
- We have not received unauthorised assistance in preparing the substantive portions of the draft.
- We have read and agreed to abide by all provisions of the official Rulebook.
Participant 1
Name: ______________________________
Institution: ___________________________
Signature: ____________________________
Date: _________________________________
Submission Guidelines
Click Here To Submit.
All submissions must be uploaded through the official submission link
Participants must comply with the following instructions:
- Both PDF and editable DOCX versions of the final draft must be uploaded, unless otherwise notified.
- File names must follow the prescribed format:
Category_ParticipantCode. - Participants must not mention their names, institution names, personal email addresses or other identifying information anywhere in the draft.
- Each submission must be accompanied by a duly completed declaration of originality and compliance.
- The final submission must be received before the notified deadline.
- Incomplete, corrupted or inaccessible files may be rejected.
- Participants are responsible for ensuring successful submission.
- A submission will not be treated as complete merely because a participant has filled in the registration form.
- Any request for correction or replacement of a submitted draft will be subject to the prior approval of the organisers.
Theme and Problem Proposition
Release of Problem Proposition
The organisers will release the problem propositions through the official communication channels. Each category will have a separate problem proposition containing the relevant facts, background, legal issues and drafting instructions.
Participants must prepare their documents strictly on the basis of the proposition and the applicable law. They may identify and address additional legal issues reasonably arising from the given facts but must not introduce material facts inconsistent with the proposition.
Where assumptions are necessary to complete a draft, such assumptions must be reasonable, clearly identified and consistent with the given facts.
Any clarification regarding the proposition must be sought exclusively through the official communication channel within the prescribed clarification period. Clarifications issued by the organisers will be binding on all participants in the relevant category.
Registration Fee
The registration fee is ₹250 per participant for individual participation in one specific category.
The registration fee, once paid, will ordinarily be non-refundable, except where the organisers cancel the competition or otherwise decide in exceptional circumstances.
Prizes
Awards will be announced separately for each of the four drafting categories.
| Award | Prize |
|---|---|
| Winner – Each Category | ₹2,500 |
| First Runner-up – Each Category | ₹1,500 |
| Second Runner-up – Each Category | ₹1,000 |
Additional award-related provisions:
- Certificates will be awarded to winners, runners-up and other eligible participants, as determined by the organisers.
- Participation certificates may be issued to participants who submit a valid draft in accordance with the competition rules.
- The organisers may modify the award structure before the commencement of the competition.
- The organisers reserve the right not to award a particular prize where submissions do not meet the required standards.
- The decision regarding awards and rankings will be final.
Important Dates
| Activity | Date |
|---|---|
| Release of official notification | 1 November 2026 |
| Commencement of registration | 1 November 2026 |
| Last date of registration | 30 November 2026 |
| Release of problem propositions | 5 December 2026 |
| Final submission deadline | 15 December 2026 |
| Announcement of shortlisted participants | 24 December 2026 |
| Final drafting defence round | 30 December 2026 |
| Declaration of results | 31 December 2026 |
| Distribution of certificates and awards | To be announced |
Key deadlines:
- Registration opens: 1 November 2026
- Registration closes: 30 November 2026
- Last date of submission: 15 December 2026
Late Submission
Submissions received after the prescribed deadline will ordinarily not be accepted.
The organisers may consider exceptional circumstances where a participant establishes genuine technical or other unavoidable difficulties. Any extension will be granted solely at the discretion of the organisers and must be communicated officially.
Registration Process
Click Here To Register.
Participants must follow these steps:
- Complete the official registration form.
- Furnish accurate personal, academic and institutional information.
- Pay the prescribed registration fee.
- Ensure successful submission of the registration form and payment, wherever applicable.
Registration will be considered complete only upon successful submission of the registration form and payment of the prescribed fee.
No registration will be accepted after the notified deadline unless expressly permitted by the organisers.
Registered participants will receive a confirmation email containing their registration details and participant identification code.
Payment Details
UPI ID: purkait.rahulp@oksbi
Contact Details
For queries and further information, participants may contact [email protected]
Queries and Clarifications
All official queries must be addressed to the designated email address or communication channel notified by the organisers.
Participants must not contact individual judges regarding their submissions or evaluation. Clarifications issued by the organisers will be binding upon all participants.
Official Communication
Participants are advised to follow the official communication channels of the MABIJS Moot Court Society for all updates.
Important Links
- Official Website: https://events.mabijs.in
- Registration Form: Register Here
- Final Submission Form: Submit Here
Join LawBhoomi’s 100K+ Community
