23RD

M. C. CHAGLA MEMORIAL GOVERNMENT LAW COLLEGE NATIONAL

MOOT COURT COMPETITION, 2016

Archana Stark

Petitioner

V/s.

The Free Republic of Braavos

The State of Lys

The Varys Corporation

Respondents

MOOT PROPOSITION

1. The Free Republic of Braavos is a developing island country located off

the continent of Essos. Lys is one of the constituent States of Braavos as
set out in the Constitution of the Free Republic of Braavos. Nearby islands
include the Republic of Volantis, the Kingdom of Tytos, and the Grand
Duchy of Pentos. Volantis is a great hub of merchant trade, and contains
the head offices of various shipping companies.

2. The traditional source of employment of the population of Braavos was
fishing. The Tullyfish is a very valuable fish for Braavos though not eaten
by the Braavosi it is exported in large quantities to various countries
earning valuable foreign exchange. However, due to overfishing, the catch
of Tullyfish reduced drastically from 2010. By 2013, fishermen were
having problems catching enough Tullyfish to sustain the investment in

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their boats and other equipment. The year 2013 also saw an
unprecedented collapse in the banking system of Braavos. As a result of
these conditions, Braavosi fishermen turned to piracy to supplement their
income. The pirates organized themselves into major gangs called
Khalasar with each one being headed by a Khal. The most fearsome of
these was a Khalasar called the Red Dragons.

3. As Braavos was located close to major shipping routes, this began to pose
a great problem to the shipping in the region. In an attempt to contain
this, a number of countries including the neighboring countries of
Volantis, Tytos, and Pentos deployed their navies in a multinational naval
anti-piracy force to restore stability in the region. However, due to the
scale of the piracy operations, and the nature of the waterways these
measures proved ineffective, as it was not possible for the multination
naval task force to effectively perform its task. In particular, the level of
organization of the Red Dragons ensured that they could strike without
fear.

4. As the problem of piracy in Braavosi waters had now assumed
international significance, 192 countries of the world including Braavos,
Volantis, Quarth, and Pentos attended the Third Conference on the Law
of the Sea to Curb Piracy. At the said conference, it was agreed between
the nations of the world that drastic measures were needed to contain the
piracy problem. Countries therefore agreed to authorize merchant navy
companies to appoint armed private security guards on merchant ships.
These guards became known as the Second Sons.

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5. Accordingly, the Convention on Prevention of Piracy in the Braavosi

Archipelago was signed by the said nations. All the above mentioned 192
countries subsequently ratified the said Convention. Given the threat
posed by the Red Dragons, this came to be known as the Dragon Treaty.
The relevant features of the convention were as under:

a) The preamble declared that the treaty was a measure in continuance
of the universal custom outlawing piracy and was now incorporated
in the common maritime law of all nations to counter the scourge of
piracy;
b) Companies owning ships (who are incorporated in a signatory state)
are entitled to hire armed security guards and place them on their
vessels (if the flag state of the vessel is a signatory to the convention).
(Article 15);
c) The said armed guards shall be private personnel, and shall not be
agents, or members of the armed forces of any country. They shall also
not be considered seamen for any purposes whatsoever. (Article 18);
d) In case of any criminal acts committed by these personnel, they would
serve any sentence in the country of the flag state of the ship. (Article
25);
e) The employers civil liability in any of the wrongful acts committed by
these personnel would be 20,000 Braavosi ducats. The liability is to be
a strict liability and would be enforced by the ordinary Courts of the
place of commission of the offence. (Article 26);

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6. In December 2015, there was then a further renegotiation wherein all the
above-mentioned countries further reduced the liability of the said
companies for acts of the armed personnel to 15,000 Braavosi ducats.

7. In accordance with the convention, in January 2016, the Volantis

Merchant Shipping Act was amended and the following provisions were
added:

a) Section 2 (aa) - Convention shall mean the Convention on
Prevention of Piracy in the Braavosi Archipelago as amended
from time to time.
b) Section 235A Notwithstanding anything contained in any law in
force, an employer shall be liable for any act committed by any
Second Sons in the course of his/her duty/employment only upto
the limits provided for under the Convention. For this provision to
apply the employees must be a party to the convention.

8. The statement and object of the amending Act made it clear that the
purpose of the amendment was to give effect to the mandate of the Third
International Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS-III).

9. In February 2016, the said nations amended the convention to further
reduce the liability of the said companies for acts of the armed personnel
to 10,000 Braavosi ducats.

10. In order to protect its companies, and by offering considerable trade
benefits to Braavos, Volantis convinced Braavos to grant even more

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beneficial terms to Volantian companies. The two countries agreed that

for either a Volantian or Braavosi flagged ship, where the owner was also
a Volantian or Braavosi company, there would be no civil liability for acts
caused by private armed personnel on anti-piracy duty. To formalize this
agreement Volantis and Braavos entered into the Treaty to amend the
Dragon Treaty dated 1st March, 2016 incorporating complete exclusion
of liability for wrongful acts of the Second Sons.

11. This move angered many people in the State of Lys, where a reform
minded Chief Minister, Arvind Snow (of the Winter Party) had recently
been elected. In April 2016, the Regional Govt. of Lys promptly enacted
the Protection of Maritime Trade Act that, amongst other things, once
again imposed a liability of 20,000 Braavosi Ducats for the acts of the
Second Sons on all ships irrespective of their flag state in the territory of
Lys. The said Act received Presidential Assent on 24th April, 2016.

12. On 2nd May, 2016, a Volantian ship, the Andal (owned by the Varys
Corporation, a Volantian company) was sailing in the territorial waters of
Braavos, within 3 nautical miles of the coast of Lys. The sailors noticed a
boat speeding towards the ship. Despite a warning the said boat
continued towards the the Andal. Suspecting this to be a pirate attack,
the Second Sons opened fire on the boat killing the sole person on board.

13. On a complaint being made by the widow of the killed person, Archana
Stark, The Andal was intercepted by the Braavosi Navy and forced to put
into harbor at Lys city. The complaint stated that Archana Starks

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husband who had been killed by the Second Sons was a fisherman. The
two Second Sons who had opened fire on the speedboat were
subsequently arrested by Braavosi Authorities.

14. Archana Stark, on legal advice, filed a Writ Petition in the High Court of
Lys seeking to strike down the relevant legislation. The Varys Corporation
was also made a party to the dispute. The Varys Corporation also filed a
Writ Petition challenging the 'Protection of Maritime Trade Act' and for a
declaration that there is no liability on an owner/employer for acts of the
Second Sons when the ship is flagged in Volantis and the owners are
Volantian. Archana Stark was also made a Respondent. Both matters have
been tagged.

15. Counsel for the Petitioner shall represent Mrs. Archana Stark, while
Counsel for the Respondent shall represent the Varys Corporation.
The present case concerns only these Writ Petitions, and does not involve
criminal liability or the question of actual damages.

16. Apart from the provisions set out above, the Constitution and laws of The
Free Republic of Braavos are in pari materia with the Constitution of India
and the laws of the Republic of India, respectively. The Rules of the High
Court of Lys are in pari materia with the Bombay High Court. Judgments
of the Supreme Court of India and the Bombay High Court are considered
binding in the same manner, as they would be before the Bombay High
Court.

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