Raising the level of mediation and negotiation in law schools

Competitions are undoubtedly valuable – they provide students with a platform to demonstrate their skills in a highly competitive environment, encourage quick thinking and build self-confidence. And Indian students perform professionally and brilliantly in every competition held in India and abroad.

Students seem to attach great importance to competitions and their annual results. This means that if students have won certain competitions, there is a feeling that they know or have learned everything about a topic or are improving their skill set.

The issue, however, is whether these competitions deepen their understanding or simply test their surface-level skills.

In most cases, students master the art of winning, but not necessarily the art of understanding. They go to classes, learn techniques and apply them in simulated environments, but do they take the time to delve into the nuances of negotiation and mediation?

Do they develop skills to ask probing questions, reflect critically, and truly understand the complexities of conflict resolution?

Most often the answer is no.