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Rules & Guidelines
 » Introduction » Format of The Weekly Law Reports National Mooting Competition
 » Basic Rules of The Weekly Law Reports Mooting Competition »
 » Guidance for Mooters  » Style
 
INTRODUCTION
The competition is open to undergraduate law students and CPE students affiliated to any University or Law College in England or Wales or Scotland.

Each team will consist of 2 students: a Leader and a Junior.

To enter each team must submit an Original Moot Problem with OMP Registration Form (see Moot Problem Guidelines), which must be signed by a teaching member of the Law Faculty at the entering institution. The moot problem can be written by a student or member of staff.

Each team must pay an Entrance Fee of £15.00 to The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting by 9th October 2008 to register for the competition. 

Only when the Entrance Fee, Registration Forms and an appropriate Original Moot Problem with OMP Registration Form (see Moot Problem Guidelines) have been received, will the institution receive confirmation of their inclusion in the competition. 

Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Each University or College can only enter one team.
Format of The Weekly Law Reports National Mooting Competition

The maximum number of teams that can enter the competition is 32. The competition will be organized on a knock-out basis, with five rounds in total. In the event of more than 32 teams applying, selection will be made in the order that we receive the entrance fee and a suitable Moot Problem from the teams. The deadline for completed applications is Thursday 9th October 2008.

To secure your teams place we will need the Registration Forms (parts 1 & 2), the Original moot Problem with the Original Moot Problem Registration Form and the Registration Fee of £15*.

In each round there will be Home (A) and Away (B) teams with the Home team hosting the event (see Host Responsibilities).  There will be approximately 4 weeks between each round and teams will receive their Moot Problems within 5 working days* of their progression into the next round. 

In the First Round all teams will be notified of their opponents and their Moot Problems as soon as all applicants have been confirmed.

For the early rounds, teams will be divided up according to their region unless otherwise agreed.  This is to ensure as far as possible that teams will be mooting against other colleges or universities within a reasonable distance. This is to limit travel expenses and costs as far as possible. From the Quarter-Finals onwards, teams will be mooting on a national basis.
                                                                  
(*Working day shall refer to Monday to Friday excluding Bank Holidays)

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Basic Rules of The Weekly Law Reports Mooting Competition
The competition will be known as THE WEEKLY LAW REPORTS Annual Mooting Competition. The competition will be administered by Louise Carlin at the ICLR and any queries or comments should in the first instance be directed to her at Louise.Carlin@iclr.co.uk

In the event of any dispute The ICLR’s Editor, Mr Clive Scowen will make the final decision.The Editor is responsible for the selection of the Moot problem for each round, and will be responsible for supervision of the draw for the competition to ensure that it is as fair as possible.

Any complaints regarding the organisation of a Moot or the conduct of a team should be put in writing to the ICLR who will then investigate the complaint accordingly. Any complaints should be made to the ICLR within 2 working days of Moot. There will be no appeal against the final decision of the Judge presiding over each Moot.

The winning team in each round must inform the ICLR of the result within 4 working days of the Moot. The pairs who win the semi-finals must be the same pairs who compete in the final. Before the semi-finals, teams can change, but we would encourage teams to stay together throughout the tournament as far as possible. Either the Mooting Contact or the secondary contact must be a member of the teaching staff.
Guidance for Mooters

Most importantly remember that a Moot is designed, as far as possible, to simulate the hearing of a case in an authentic court before a judge.  A Moot is not a debate, it is the Appellant against the Prosecution attempting to persuade the judge of the validity of their argument.

Unlike an authentic court of law however, the winner of a Moot may not necessarily be the one that wins on legal points.  This is because Moots were originally a teaching tool for pupil barristers in the Inns of Court, and they are therefore judged as much on structure and presentation of the argument and how the law is presented to the Moot Court as on which side the facts favour. Remember to research your argument thoroughly and try to anticipate your opponents’ argument.

You are permitted to seek advice from your tutors. 
Style

Since the Moot Court seeks to emulate an authentic court of law, standard court etiquette should be observed at all times:

Be courteous to the judge, addressing him/her directly as “My Lord” and indirectly as “Your Lordship”. Extend the same courtesy to your opponents by addressing them as “My learned friend”.

All Mooting team members should be suitably dressed to appear in court. This means a dark coloured suit and white shirt or blouse with gowns. Only if both teams agree beforehand can gowns not be worn in the Moot Court.