Centre For Alternative Dispute Resolution, RGNUL Presents 8th RGNUL Sports And Entertainment Law Mediation Competition (SEMC), 2026

ABOUT RGNUL

Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Punjab, was established by the State Legislature of Punjab by passing the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab Act, 2006 (Punjab Act No. 12 of 2006). The Act incorporated a University of Law of national stature in Punjab, thereby fulfilling the need for a Centre of Excellence in legal education in the modern era of globalization and liberalization.

ABOUT THE CENTRE

The Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (CADR) at RGNUL has been established to promote students' and researchers' interest in Alternative Dispute Resolution constituting of dispute resolution methods like Arbitration, Negotiation, Mediation and Conciliation. It aims to promote and develop ADR as a vehicle for socioeconomic and political justice. The ultimate objective of the Centre is to strengthen the ADR mechanism in the country by emerging as a platform for students to further their interest in the field. A strong team of teachers and students is working towards achieving this end.

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

To further its avowed aim, CADR has been organising the RGNUL Sports and Entertainment Law Mediation Competition (SEMC) since 2019. SEMC is one of India's most premier competition in the field of mediation, pitting the best budding ADR enthusiasts against one another. We are delighted to announce the Eighth Edition of the RGNUL Sports & Entertainment Law Mediation Competition 2026, organised by the Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution, Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab. The competition is scheduled to take place from 7th to 8th March, 2026, in online mode and 3rd to 4th April, 2026, in offline mode. The competition will host teams from all across India, chosen based on the experience and accomplishments of the universities in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution. The objective of the competition is to instill soft-skills of mediation and commercial awareness in law students, particularly in the field of Sports and Entertainment Law.

FORMAT OF THE COMPETITION

The 8th SEMC will be conducted in a hybrid format, with online preliminary rounds and in-person quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals at the lush campus of RGNUL Patiala, Punjab. Universities interested in sending more than 1 team are requested to express their intention by sending an email to cadr@rgnul.ac.in. The allocation of the second slot is contingent on the availability of the total number of slots available with the Centre. It should be noted that the allocation of slots to any university will be a decision made solely by CADR-RGNUL, and shall be final and binding. Each participating team shall consist of a Client-Counsel pair (i.e., the Negotiating Team) and one student as the Mediator.

ELIGIBILITY

The competition is open to full-time law students (5-year and 3-year course) registered in any university in India for the academic year 2025-2026. The competition is not open to LL.M. students.

REGISTRATION DETAILS

Universities/Colleges interested in sending their teams must complete the two-step process consisting of Provisional Registration and Final Registration. The provisional registration can be done by filling out the Google form on or before 11:59 p.m., 12^th February, 2026. The Organizing Committee will notify the selected universities through a confirmation mail for final registration. The Final Registration Form and Payment Link will be provided in the confirmation mail.

The Registration fee for the competition is INR 12,000/- per team (exclusive of GST). Please note that this fee is non-refundable. Final registration of the team is subject to the successful payment of the registration fee within the stipulated time.

IMPORTANT DETAILS