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AUTHORITIES

The following sources for citation of cases should be adhered to where possible and are listed in descending order of priority

»THE LAW REPORTS (The most authoritative reports and the only series to include argument of Counsel)

»THE WEEKLY LAW REPORTS

»THE INDUSTRIAL CASES REPORTS

»Other series of law reports
Extract from Practice Statement (Supreme Court: Judgments) [1998] 1 WLR 825
“When authority is cited, whether in written or oral submissions, the following practice should in general be followed. If a case is reported in the official Law Reports published by the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England & Wales, that report should be cited…If a case is not (or not yet) reported in the official Law Reports, but is reported in the Weekly Law Reports or the All England Law Reports, that report should be cited. If a case is not reported in any of these series of reports, a report in any of the authoritative specialist series of reports may be cited.”
 
Where an authority is is not available in any of the 3 major series listed above and there is any doubt that the opposing team will be unable to get hold of a particular case, the team must make a copy of the case available to their opponents at the time authorities are exchanged. This authority must also be made available to the Moot Court. Please ensure that any unusual cases are copied and sent to the judge 3 days in advance of any round, this is essential for the semi and final, and it is down to the judges discretion if he would like copies of any other cases.

There should be no more than 8 cases cited by each team.

These should all be catalogued in a “List of Authorities”, which must be made available to your opposing team and the Moot Court. Any case referred to within the selected moot problem for any round if cited by either team will count as one authority in itself.
Only cases should be listed as authorities.

If a team intends to rely on Statutes or other forms of legal literature the sources must be disclosed to the opposing team at the same time as authorities are exchanged.

If a case has been heard in more than one court (e.g. Court of Appeal & House of Lords) it counts as one authority although the team must include all case references.
Lists of authorities must be exchanged by opposing teams at least 3 working days before the Moot. This should be done by fax or if agreed beforehand, by e-mail. Both parties must confirm receipt immediately by telephone.


In the Semi-Finals and Final lists of all authorities to be cited must be exchanged between competing teams and delivered to the Council’s Offices at least 5 working days before the Moot is to take place.

It will be the responsibility of the Appellant to arrange a suitable time to do this. Each team is responsible for making three copies of their authorities, one for themselves, one for their opponents and one for the judge. These should be brought to Megarry House on the day of the Moot. The Council is prepared to reimburse teams for photocopying expenses upon the production of a valid receipt.