Mooting and Debating

A moot court competition simulates a court hearing, in which participants analyse a problem, research the relevant law, prepare written submissions, and present oral argument. Moot problems are typically set in areas of law that are unsettled or that have been subject to recent developments.

The procedure imitates that followed in real courts: the judge enters, the mooters and the judge bow to each other, the clerk announces the matter, the mooters give their appearances and are then called on in turn to present their submissions, the judge asks questions of the mooters, the court adjourns, and the judge then returns to deliver a brief judgment and some feedback.

Mooting is not the same as public speaking or debating, although it shares some common elements with these activities. It is a specialised application of the art of persuasive advocacy. At the Department of Law we believe that mooting is an essential part of the academic study of the law as an undergraduate programme. A common misconception is that studying law is mainly a matter of memorizing data. It is true that there is a lot to remember but lawyers exist to use the law, not just to know it, and the main way that lawyers use the law is by making legal arguments. A central aspect of legal education is learning to make a proper legal argument. This is a creative activity and calls for originality and inspiration as well as information and accuracy.

Through a combination of teaching, learning in the classroom and mooting we hope to create the right environment for our law students to explore the art and science of making a good legal argument.

We propose to use mooting as part of in-course assessments and to also conduct an annual mooting competition from this academic year onwards.

The Department encourages students to take part in debating activities. It recommends the parliamentary style of debating as the best possible format of debating to engage in public policy debates.

The Department will, as far as possible, support student participation in national and international debating and mooting competitions.