Competing with 16 colleges from across the world at this international commercial mediation event, the four-member negotiating team made it to the quarterfinals, while the mediator broke into the top four.
While it missed out on the finals, VMS was declared the second best team as its entire group of negotiators and the mediators made it past the CDRC preliminaries. Only one other college achieved the feat, while from the remaining colleges, only individual members made it through and not the whole team.
John Samuel, Elton Furtado, Shannon de Almeida and Tammana Aurora had to face four intense negotiation rounds against
colleges from Lebanon, Istanbul, Georgia and Vienna to storm into the quarters, where they lost to Sáo Paulo, Brazil. The judges commended the four negotiators for their teamwork at every session, planning their strategies in cohesion and always looking in command through their role plays, which left top law universities in anxiety.
Mediator Jonathan Rodrigues, a third-year LLB student, did everything he could – from using an orange to playing a Beatles track – to crack into the top four mediators. Mediating between two parties from different cultural backgrounds requires special skills, and Jonathan went beyond the textbook tricks.
The competition problem, borrowed from the Willem C Vis arbitration moot, was based on a fictional commercial business dispute between two companies.
Negotiator Shannon, a third-year LLB (Hons) student, stated, “I was very apprehensive when I saw all the teams gather at the inaugural function. The sight of some teams with not one, but two coaches was intimidating. Being among the youngest participants and with very little negotiation background, we had to rely on our greatest strength – our teamwork. We were five smart brains and we had to work together to reap something out of all the time and energy we invested during our summer vacations. It paid off; we inspired each other and impressed everyone out there.”
Negotiator Elton Furtado echoed her views, “We held our own against some of the best colleges and it felt really awesome to be the only college besides the overall winners (Bonn University, Germany) to get past the preliminary rounds in both categories (negotiation and mediation). People started noticing us and recognized our feat, knowing that we had come there without any professional coach or expert. I am proud to have been part of the CDRC Vienna team.”
“It was a tremendous experience to be a part of such a vast global community of amateur and expert mediators from Australia, USA, England, Ireland, Singapore, Poland, Ukraine, Austria, Germany, Brazil, France, Turkey, and Lebanon. Importantly, we were not the only ones representing India/Asia in Europe; there was National Law University (Delhi), which didn’t make it past the preliminaries. We as a team believe that, on a given day, we are as smart, skilled and talented as national law schools, if not better. With a little support and encouragement, Salgaocar College can shine in India and abroad,” said Jonathan.
Negotiator Tammana, a fourth-year LLB (Hons) student, said, “We believe that ADR or out-of-court settlement is picking up in the world. The little brush with the global community of negotiators and mediators has broadened our minds and inspired us to be ambassadors of the concept here in India. We would love to share our experience, advise and guide any company/enterprise/association/institution that takes a fancy to the concept of mediation. We shall also strive to spread awareness and create a vibe in Goa. There is a lot to do and we are raring to go.”
“Getting out there gives you a different perspective. It’s more than the competition; it’s about the give and take of ideas and cultures. We got to tell them about Goa and learn so much more about life itself. On behalf of my team, I acknowledge the support and confidence from our principal Dr K S Rao, ADR Board Chairperson Prof M R K Prasad, Professor B S Patil and other faculty members. We also appreciate the audience granted to us by Dattaraj Salgaocar and his effort to help us financially. There were others who came forward to help us out monetarily and believed in us, and we remain eternally indebted for securing us on our first trip abroad,” concluded negotiator John, a third-year LLB (Hons) student.
