Mooting Guide: Preparing for and Participating in a Moot Court Competition, Study notes of Law

Download Mooting Guide: Preparing for and Participating in a Moot Court Competition and more Study notes Law in PDF only on Docsity! MOOT BIBLE M O O T T I L L YO U D R O P ! K IN D LY S P O N SO R E D B Y H E R B E R T S M IT H F R E E H IL LS 2 0 2 0 / 2 0 2 1 2 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 We are Charlotte Chan and Melanie Mills, your Mistresses of the Moots for 2020/2021. We are dedicated to provide you the best mooting experience. It’s our job to organize the three internal mooting competitions and run the mooting skills workshops, and ensure that they run smoothly. The three internal competitions are as follows: • First-Year Mooting Competition • Internal Mooting Competition • Commercial Moot Competition MESSAGE FROM THE MISTRESSES OF THE MOOTS • Hyunki Ahn • Hafsa Bukhari • Edwin Chan • Chong Ying Xuan • Mary Collingridge • Nicolle Coote • Ivy Ganguly • Emma Gribbin • Joe Hing • Sanjana Hegde • Kaneeka Kapur • Talia Menzies • Kye Li Ong • Maya Patel • Jess Shipley • Eunice Soo • Fatima Soomro • Berlinda Tan • Kushni Ulapane • Ama Weerakkody • Chloe Wilkes • Li Zhu To give you a further insight into our role, we select workable moot problems, appoint dates and times for all the moots, inviting moot judges (including practitioners, partners from our sponsor firms or even Supreme Court Judges!). We also lead a subcommittee of over 20 strong and passionate mooters to judge and clerk our internal competitions; while sending them as representatives of the university in external competitions such as the Landmark Chambers Property and Judicial Review Moots, ESU-Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition etc. Mooting has been an incredibly important part of both of our journeys here at Warwick Law School, and we are eager to share our passion for mooting with you. We genuinely believe in the benefits you can gain from partaking in the activity. Mooting can seem daunting at first, but once you understand the basics, and have jumped the hurdle of trying it out for the first time yourself, it becomes great fun - We hope that you all enjoy the experience enough to apply for the subcommittee! To make sure you can enjoy mooting as much as possible, we are committed to providing our mooters with extensive support, so that all your questions can be answered in an accessible place. Alongside our Moot Mentor Scheme and our workshops, we have also compiled some handy resources, including this comprehensive guide and sample moot court documents. Please do not hesitate to contact us in person or via messages, or email [email protected] should you have any queries about mooting, or should you need any further help and/or support. We hope you enjoy your time here at Warwick. We look forward to seeing you at our events! HAPPY MOOTING! Best wishes, Charlotte and Melanie M E E T O U R S U B C O M M I T T E E F I R S T - Y E A R C O M P E T I T I O N This competition is only open to first-year students and is meant to be the start of the mooting adventure for most of you! All the problems and cases in this moot will be on criminal and tort Law - core modules that Law students will study in their first year. The Grand Final is usually judged by a barrister or a partner from our sponsor firms. The Competition will run throughout Weeks 4 to 9 of Term 1, and will consist of 5 rounds: two Preliminary Rounds, Quarter Finals, Semi-Final and a Grand Final. I N T E R N A L M O O T I N G C O M P E T I T I O N The annual Internal Competition is the biggest and the most prestigious competition at Warwick, often seeing over 100 entries. The Grand Final is often held at the UK Supreme Court - judged by one of the most highly regarded judges in the country. In the past, Warwick has welcomed Supreme Court Justices Lord Kitchin, Lord Walker, Lady Hale, Lord Mance and Lord Clarke to judge the final of our Internal Competition. This Competition is open to all years and all disciplines, and will take place in Weeks 2 to 7 of Term 2. C O M M E R C I A L M O O T C O M P E T I T I O N The moot problems will be on commercial law, and specifically contract law. This Competition is a great opportunity to develop commercial awareness and to learn about Commercial Law in practice. Moreover, a partner from Herbert Smith Freehills will judge the Finals - so there is opportunity to network too! The Competition is open to all years and all disciplines will take place in Weeks 5 to 9 of Term 2. F O R M A T O F I N T E R N A L C O M P E T I T I O N S You will need to moot in pairs for our competitions. Nonetheless, you can enter individually and be matched with a partner. We operate with a central scoring system, as apposed to knock-out rounds; so for our preliminary rounds, you will be scored as a pair and you will not ‘win’ or ‘lose’ a moot at this point. Instead, the eight highest-scoring teams will then progress to the Quarter Finals. Furthermore, every team will be allocated mooting mentor, who will be an experienced mooter from the subcommittee. S U B C O M M I T T E E A N D E X T E R N A L M O O T S After you have accumulated enough mooting experience in your first year, you can then apply to the Mooting Subcommittee, where you will have the opportunity to represent Warwick in external competitions. We endeavour to enter as many competitions as possible; in the past, we have sent teams to compete in Landmark Chambers Moots, ESU- Essex Court Chambers National Competition, OUP & ICCA National Competition, Jessup Moot, Vis Moot, as well as in various intervarsity moots. W O R K S H O P S We strive to provide as much support and resources to our mooters as possible; therefore, we will equip you with all the insights and knowledge you will need before you moot. Every year, we hold a comprehensive ‘How to Moot’ Workshop to introduce the moot journey and what to expect from moots. On top of that, we have introduced two new sessions aiming to give in-depth guidance as to how to research and prepare for your arguments, as well as tips on advocacy and courtroom etiquette. 5 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 M O O T I N G A T W A R W I C K 6 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 Mooting gives students the opportunity to enhance their legal research skills, learn to develop and defend an argument, and also improve their advocacy skills. • Amongst the many skills you can develop through mooting, it especially nurtures your ability to explain what may be very complex legal material in a pithy manner. • The legal research involved in the background preparation to the explanation of the law means that you will carry out the most minute trawl through the relevant law • You will gain the quality of being able to explain orally, concisely and persuasively, the meaning of complexities understood only by specialists. • Being a lawyer, in its very essentials, involves the ability to justify and explain any course of action that you propose to take on behalf of your client - and mooting is the perfect means to hone your ability to interpret and present complex legal material. G A I N I N VA LUA B LE A DVO C AC Y A N D LEG A L S K I LL S W H Y MOOT ? C O M P L E M E N T YO U R A C A D E M I C K N O W L E D G E J O B O P P O R T U N I T I E S Mooting is also beneficial to your studies as we try and base our moot problems on areas of law that will be covered within the Law course. For Law students, this is invaluable for your revision. There is no better way to understand a particular point of law than to spend hours researching it, and then presenting it in a formal setting. T R A N S F E R A B L E S K I L L S To name a few skills that mooting helps to train: • Public speaking • Problem solving • Ability to think quickly on your feet, especially when responding to judicial intervention and doing your rebuttals ... and many more! T E A M W O R K • Mooting is meeting – it is an enjoyable sociable occasion to get together with friends and colleagues to test interesting issues of law and to test advocacy skills in competition • Regardless of whether you are a lead or junior counsel, you will discuss the issues raised by the moot problem with your partner. In so doing, you will tend to get the essence of the issues with which you have to deal – No stone will be left unturned • You will learn to appreciate the deepening of thought, ideas, cross-lights; dispute and practice in dispute; co-operative thinking and practice in consultation, which all happens in group work. • Experience in mooting is a very impressive addition to your CV • Whilst mooting is a time-consuming activity, your dedication highlights to employers that you have great time management skills and commitment skills. No matter what profession you choose to pursue, the transferable skills are vital. • If you wish to become a barrister, mooting experience is essential. If you apply for pupillage, and have not participated in mooting at some point, the interviewing panel will certainly ask you why. • At the same time, we want to get rid of the idea that mooting is only suitable for those who wish to pursue the Bar. Mooting is also very important for aspiring solicitors, for all the legal skills that it develops; it is particularly beneficial in the interviewing process and nonetheless an impressive skill. • Non-legal employers might not appreciate what mooting is, but if you are able to explain it to them, they respond very positively to it. A F T E R A L L , T H E AT T R AC T I O N O F M O OT I N G I S T H E S I M P L E F U N O F TA K I N G PA R T ! P L AY I N G L AW Y E R FO R T H E DAY, D R E S S I N G U P A N D P R E S E N T I N G I N S T Y L I S E D CO U R T RO O M E T I Q U E T T E . . . 7 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 Mooting has been an integral part of my first year at law school. As a fresher, I was sceptical about mooting at first as it typically can seem quite overwhelming, especially with all the thorough legal research and the formal etiquette that is expected. However, once broken down into smaller segments, I promise you it will be the best thing that you do. I’d highly recommend at least giving it a good go as the experiences and qualities that I now possess after mooting are invaluable, from preforming confidently enough to inf luence the court’s decision, to analysing the respective areas of law, to familiarising myself with the key law databases. Not to mention, the feeling that you get after cracking a case is unrivalled and thus something you should absolutely try! - hafsa bukhari, Mini-Mistress of the first year coMpetition 20/21 “MESSAGES FROM OUR MINI -MASTER AND MINI -MISTRESSES” Experience is the teacher of fools. As someone who’s had her fair share of stuttering and anxiety- filled delivered speeches, mooting was like the realistic aunt in family parties telling you what to do with your life and setting your priorities straight. You will be excited and terrified at the same time, and it is a hell of an experience! - berlinda tan, Mini-Mistress of the first year coMpetition 20/21 Mooting is certainly a highlight of uni life. It’s an opportunity for you to shine and also a vital experience for a legal career. Every time you stand up and begin your speech, it feels like a tenor singing an aria or playing a Champions League. You can’t f ind the excitement, joy and valuable experience anywhere else... - edWin chan, Mini-Master of the internal coMpetition 20/21 As someone who stumbles and fidget a lot when it comes to oral advocacy, my participation in the first year mooting competition was a first step to overcoming that hurdle and stepping out of my comfort zone. I was fortunate to have two really passionate and dedicated mentors who not only introduced me to mooting and ways to deliver it well, but also show me how much mooting can hone ones personal confidence and to be quick in thought. Plus, I also found out that the adrenaline rush one gets from mooting is rather satisfying! - kye li ong, Mini-Mistress of the internal coMpetition 20/21 Hi mooters! As a fresher, mooting seemed quite daunting at first. But, I quickly learned how enjoyable competing in moots can be. It’s an amazing experience which gives you the chance to develop your advocacy skills, your researching skills, and your legal knowledge. Mooting also helps to set you apart from other students, giving you an extra edge when you come to write your applications. But, most importantly, it’s really fun! Please feel free to message me if you have any mooting related questions or queries! - eMMa gribbin, Mini-Mistress of the coMMercial Moot coMpetition 20/21 Welcome future mooters, if you have doubts on whether you should join mooting, think no further! Taking a leap of faith by joining the mooting competitions in my first year was indeed an eye-opening experience. Believe me, your mooting journey will both be a fun and exciting one. Happy mooting! - eunice soo, Mini-Mistress of the coMMercial Moot coMpetition 20/21 1 0 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 • One thing that they all have in common is that they have reached appellate level. This means that only points of law are arguable; they do not involve issue of fact or evidence as would be the case at trial. The moot problem contains facts of the case, the decision(s) of the lower courts and the grounds of appeal. • The hypothetical case is devised in order to highlight particular issues of doubt in the law. • These issues of doubt may arise from case law or statute and are referred to as grounds of appeal. • It is divided up into two entirely self-contained grounds of appeal, from the judgment of an imaginary judge at first instance, the intention being that one person on each side will argue each ground. • In arguing the grounds of appeal, they are described as making submissions. • Counsel for the Appellant must argue for the grounds of appeal, whereas Counsel for the Respondent must argue against each ground. • Participants will be required by the grounds of appeal to argue whether the legal rule applicable to the facts of the moot problem is different from, or the same as, the rule which was applied by the judges in the leading case. T H E M O O T P R O B L E M M O OT P R O B L E M S A R E F I C T I O N A L L E G A L C A S E S T H AT C A N B E O N A N Y A R E A O F L AW, B U T A R E T Y P I C A L LY S E T I N A R E A S O F L AW T H AT A R E U N S E T T L E D O R T H AT H AV E B E E N S U B J E C T TO R E C E N T D E V E LO P M E N T S . SECTION 03 - PREPARING FOR A MOOT IN THE COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION) R (RESPONDENT) v Walcott (APPELLANT) Jamie Stevens was the leader of a gang of white youths, the “Leamington lads”, who were suspected of being involved in a number of racially motivated assaults. A group of black youths, the “Cov demons” including Eddie Walcott, decided to take revenge for these assaults by attacking Mr Stevens and his gang. In the course of the fight, Mr Walcott, who was armed with a knife, stabbed Mr Stevens in the stomach. Although Mr Steven’s injury was serious, there is medical evidence that it would not have been life-threatening had he received prompt hospital treatment. Mr Stevens, however, refused to go to the hospital because he was disgusted at the prospect of being touched or attended to by black medical staff. He was also afraid that he would be recognised as the perpetrator of various serious assaults on black medical staff near the hospital. Mr Stevens therefore received no medical treatment and subsequently died of his injury. Mr Walcott was charged with Mr Stevens’ murder. At trial, Mr Justice Gravel relied on the case of R v Blaue [1975] 1 WLR 1411 in directing the jury. He directed them to consider that if the initial stab wound could be regarded as the operative cause of Mr Stevens’ subsequent death, then Mr Walcott would be guilty of murder. He further instructed them to disregard Mr Stevens’ refusal to seek medical treatment and his unmeritorious reasons for doing so, if this operative cause was found. The appeal is brought on the following grounds and is limited to the direction Mr Justice Gravel gave to the jury: (1) The present case was distinguishable from Blaue which was concerned with situations where the victim had valid reasons for refusing particular medical treatment. Different considerations applied where there was an unreasonable refusal to seek any medical treatment and where the reasons for doing so were unconnected to the nature of the medical treatment. (2) It was open to a properly directed jury to conclude that Mr Stevens had voluntarily chosen to bring about his death and that his conduct amounted to a novus actus interveniens which broke the chain of causation and relieved Mr Walcott from criminal liability for Mr Stevens’ death. 1ST GROU N D O F APPE AL 2 N D GROU N D O F APPE AL JUDGMENT AT FIRST INSTANCE 1 1 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 S A M P L E M O OT P RO B L E M THE COURT HEARING THE APPEAL 1 2 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 I N T E R P R E T I N G T H E P R O B L E M • Read through the problem carefully. • Highlight or make notes of the case facts and a timeline of the facts to get this clear in your head, in relation to your point of appeal. • Some facts may seem trivial to start with but will play a crucial part in the argument - every fact is in the problem question for a reason! • Remember that the facts are not in dispute and so you cannot argue against them. • Very rarely will a ground of appeal in a moot be concerned with a contest as to how undisputed law applies to facts. Rather, a moot is generally a contest as to the proper law to be applied to undisputed facts. R E S E A R C H I N G T H E P R O B L E M • First of all, identify the relevant area of law! • Take notes of what the contentious legal issues are (e.g. poisoning, insanity plea, easement dispute) and the parties involved in the legal issues. Re-read the facts of the case and ensure you have identified ALL contentious issues • Consult secondary research sources, such as class textbooks, practitioner texts, legal databases (LexisNexis/ Westlaw), Halsbury’s Laws, and journal articles (on legal databases or Google Scholar), in order to gain an understanding of the law. Please note that class textbooks are NOT suitable authority for the court, they are only helpful in explaining the legal concepts and pointing you in the right research direction; use practitioner texts instead (see the list in the useful resources document) • Identify primary sources (case law and statutes) that relate to your set of facts. Do this after consulting secondary research sources, as you will find cases/legislation relating to a particular area within these. Another good way to identify relevant cases is to find one relevant case and then look in the ‘cases referring to this case’ and ‘cases considered by this case’ sections within the case page on legal databases. Make a list of relevant cases – the issues in moot problems are often directly related to facts in cases which have already been decided. • Confirm that the authority is still good law. Use Westlaw Case Analysis, Lexis Case Search to check that your cases are still good law and provide the most current, direct authority available for your set of facts. Do not use an overruled judgment – the judge will penalize you if you are misleading the court. 1 5 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 SECTION 04 - LEGAL SKILLS FOR MOOTING B I N D I N G P R E C E D E N T S English courts operate in a system whereby the decisions of superior courts must be followed by inferior courts. In short, decisions of the Supreme Court are binding on all domestic courts but not itself, and decisions of the Court of Appeal are binding on all courts except the Supreme Court, including itself. B I N D I N G P A R T S O F A J U D G M E N T All statements in a judgment can be categorised as either ratio decidendi (the legal reason behind the decision) or obiter dicta (other things said). Only the ratio of a judgment is binding. Courts are bound to consider statements made obiter and they often are highly persuaded by them, but they are not bound to follow them. To work out whether a statement is ratio or obiter, start by assuming that it is obiter unless all of the following are true: 1. The statement comes from a judgment in the majority (but is usually a combination of what is agreed on by all majority judges); 2. The statement is directly applicable to the facts of the case in question; and 3. The statement leads directly to the eventual conclusion of the judge. A R E S T A T U T E S B I N D I N G ? Because of parliamentary sovereignty, all Acts of Parliament are binding on all courts, and no judge may depart from statutory law if it is applicable to the case. Statutes are, however, open to interpretation by the courts. P A R T I E S T O T H E C A S E The names of the parties differ based on the type of case in question. The appellant is always the party bringing the appeal, and the respondent is always the party responding to it, but you may hear the parties referred to in other ways: Criminal cases: • The defendant: the accused party • The Crown: the prosecuting party, • The complainant/victim: the aggrieved party Civil cases: • The claimant • The respondent Matrimonial cases: • The petitioner • The respondent H I E R A R C H Y O F L A W R E P O R T S 1. The Official Law Reports (AC, QB, Fam, Ch) 2. The Weekly Law Reports (WLR) 3. The All England Law Reports (All ER) 4. Subject-based / Specialist law reports 5. Official transcripts 1 6 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 A DVOCACY P OIN T ERS SECTION 05 - ADVOCACY & ETIQUETTE M O OT I N G I S A G A M E A N D S H O U L D B E F U N , B U T I T I S I N M A N Y R E S P E C T S A S E R I O U S G A M E • I t i s s e r i o u s i n t h e w ay t h a t e ve r y o c c a s i o n f o r p u b l i c s p e a k i n g a n d e ve r y i n t e l l e c t u a l c o m p e t i t i o n i s s e r i o u s • I t i s a l s o s e r i o u s b e c a u s e t h e l a w i s s e r i o u s – yo u a r e n o t i nvo l ve d i n a r e a l c a s e , b u t e ve n hy p o t h e t i c a l f a c t s c a l l f o r u s t o i m a g i n e r e a l h u m a n l i ve s , a n d s h o u l d b e c o n d u c t e d w i t h d u e r e s p e c t f o r t h e s e r i o u s n e s s o f t h e i s s u e s a t s t a ke A G O O D A DVO C AT E I S A LWAYS A H U M A N E C O M M U N I C ATO R – O N E W H O D O E S N OT M O OT AT T H E J U D G E , B U T M E E T S W I T H T H E J U D G E – N OT O N LY S P E A K I N G , B U T L I S T E N I N G W I T H G R E AT C A R E • Stand with upright posture to address the moot court, for submissions, or whenever the judge is addressing you • Try to keep your hand movement to a minimum! While it can be useful to emphasise a point, excessive gesturing can distract the judge and detract from your delivery. • Good eye contact • Although it is tempting to read off a script, please do not - try to make the moot like a conversation with the moot judge • You are welcome to take bullet point notes into a moot, however try not to rely on your notes too much • Laptops / tablets may not be taken into a moot, unless for assistance, say with a visual impairment • Good pace and tone of delivery • Do not speak too quickly or too slowly • Speak with confidence in your submissions, even if you do not personally believe in what you are arguing! • State your submissions slowly, clearly and sufficiently loudly to enable them to be written down by the moot judge • At the end of each submission, summarise everything that you have just said, to emphasise your point to the judge. • Avoid using abbreviations for the printed or written references • Avoid interrupting another mooter’s presentation at all costs Warwick Law Society is committed to ensuring that mooting is an activity that is available to all of its members. As such, if you have any special requirements, please do contact the Mistresses of the Moots and they will endeavor to accommodate them. For example, if you have a medical reason which makes you unable to stand for submissions, or requires you to use a laptop, this is no problem at all. 1 7 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 A D D R E S S I N G T H E P A R T I E S It is important to refer to refer to everyone in the correct manner during a moot: • The parties: The Appellant/Respondent; or Mr/Mrs X; • The judge: Your Ladyship/Lordship (instead of ‘you’); My Lady/Lord (instead of their name); • The opposing counsel: My Learned friend • Your co-counsel: My Learned colleague, or My learned lead/junior counsel M O R E R U L E S O N O R A L A D V O C A C Y Aside from the special terms used to address the parties, there are a few more points to remember when presenting your submissions: • “I am much obliged” instead of “thank you” • When referring to cases, the ‘v’ in the name of the case is pronounced ‘and’ (or ‘against’ in the alternative), NOT ‘versus’ or ‘vee’ • ‘R’ in criminal cases is stated as ‘the Crown’ • Examples: • R v Gibbins and Proctor: ‘the Crown against Gibbins and Proctor’ • Tulk v Moxhay: ‘Tulk and Moxhay’ • Judicial Titles • Smith J: ‘Mr/Mrs Justice Smith’, or simply ‘Justice Smith’ • Smith LJ: ‘Lord/Lady Justice Smith’ • More on referring to judges according to their titles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_ titles_in_England_and_Wales R E B U T T A L • Rebuttals are an opportunity for the Appellant counsels to rebut the Respondent’s submissions. They are not for merely repeating your points again, or making submissions that you did not have time for earlier. • When Counsels for the Respondent are making their own presentations, the Appellant should annotate the points to which they may wish to make reply. • Do not counter the Resondent’s submissions in a disorganised manner. A good way of structuring your rebuttal is to firstly outline very brief ly the points that you are going to make, and then proceed with the rebuttal, one point at a time. You must catch what they have said, and outline why it supports your case and damages theirs. You are allowed to refer the judge to particular points within your bundle, in order to support your case, as long as you are not repeating your own submissions again. • Even if the Respondent has made no points to which you feel compelled to reply, and you are content that nothing in the Respondent’s presentation will cast doubt upon your main submissions, exercising your right of reply gives you an opportunity to point out the weaknesses in the Respondents’ case and to reiterate the strengths of your own. • It is possible to prepare a rebuttal: when preparing for your arguments, anticipate what the Respondent will argue and carefully analyse their skeleton argument, then you can pre-empt their submissions before they have even begun, and further disprove their point in your rebuttal. R E S P O N D I N G T O J U D I C I A L I N T E R V E N T I O N S A N D Q U E S T I O N S • During the moot, the judge will ask you questions. The judge is not asking you questions to try and catch you out, but rather to ensure that you have the opportunity to convey all of your knowledge, because sometimes questions prompt mooters into saying things which they would otherwise not say. Remember to stay calm, and if you are unsure about what the question means, politely ask the judge to rephrase it, and they will do so. • When answering questions, it is really impressive to refer to authority within the bundle. This means that you need to know your cases and statutes back to front, and be able to direct the judge to the correct section, quickly and accurately. The best way of doing this is to answer the judge’s question in a sentence, ask whether they would like to be taken to the appropriate authority, and then going into more detail.Alternatively, sometimes it is good to answer a question using a policy argument. • Always remember to make sure that you address the judge’s questions directly, and stay relevant to the ground. • It is again useful to pre-empt any questions the judge may ask, and write bullet points in your notes with relevant authorities from your bundle. • Judicial interventions are made to train your ability to think on your feet - do not try to avoid tough questioning by telling the judge you will answer his/her question later in your submissions and insist on following the argument you have prepared (even if you believe the argument f lows better that way); nor try asking the moot judge’s permission to take their ‘client’s further instructions’. 2 0 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 • Wear smart and professional clothing / business attire • Be polite and courteous whilst the other team are speaking • Do NOT pull faces or laugh, even if you do not agree with what the Respondents are saying at all • On no account should you register any reaction when it looks as though your opponents are performing badly or the judge is dissatisfied with their sumissions - this can be extremely offensive. • Do not speak/whisper to your partner. Instead, you may write notes quietly and discreetly to your partner regarding the law. • If you run out of time when making your submissions, you may politely ask the judge for some extra time, to brief ly finish your submissions. This does not mean that you will be given extra time; it is at the judge’s discretion • Always refer to the judge properly 2 1 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 E T IQU E T T E P O IN T ERS 2 2 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 SK EL E TON A RGUMEN T SECTION 06 - WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS A S HORT DOCUME NT OUTLINING YOUR C A S E; IN PARTI CUL AR , IT DE TAIL S THE SUB MISS I ONS THAT YOU WILL B E MAKING AND THE AUTHORITIE S WHI CH YOU WILL B E RE LYING UP ON . • It is a useful tool for both the judge and the mooters themselves. They are used by real counsels in real courts. It is advisable to look at our sample skeleton argument before putting your own together. • One skeleton argument must be produced per team, and it has to be sent to your opposing counsel and the judge 24 hours prior to the moot. • Do not include everything that you plan to say! The recommended maximum length of skeletons for Warwick’s internal competitions is two A4 pages. • You should arrange the outlines of your submissions in a logical order: beginning with the lead counsel’s first submission and ending with the junior counsel’s last submission. There is no limit as to how many submissions you can make on each ground of appeal, however we recommend 2 or 3 per mooter. There is also a limit of 8 authorities per team. • You must include every authority that you plan to use, and may not reply upon something that is not included in your skeleton, or the other side’s skeleton. 2 5 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 A FOLDE R CONTAINING ALL OF THE AUTHORITIE S THAT YOU HAVE CITE D IN YOUR S KE LE TON ARG UME NT. IT IS G IVE N TO THE J UDG E B E FORE THE START OF A MOOT, AND MOOTE R S DIREC T THE J UDG E TO VARI OUS LOC ATI ONS WITHIN THE BUNDLE DURING THE IR SUB MISS I ONS . SECTION 07 - COURT BUNDLE B U N D L E C H E C K L I S T • PRESENTED IN A BLACK RING BINDER/LEVER ARCH FILE • CONTENTS PAGE • Clear ly number each page • List the authorit ies and corresponding page numbers ( in order of reference) • COPY OF CASE FACTS • COPY OF SKELETON ARGUMENT • COPIES OF YOUR AUTHORITIES • Print off the ful l law repor ts , and not transcript or summar y or headnotes • Ensure that you are printing off the same copy of the case that you have cited in your skeleton argument • Do not print off the Westlaw or LexisNexis copy, print off the offici al version • You don’t need to print off the whole case – good rule of thumb is to print out the f irst 2 pages, last 2 pages, and any pages that you are relying on, and any pages that you expect the other team to rely upon (basical l y print out any pages that you feel are particular ly important or relevant to your submissions) W H AT IS A BU NDL E? 2 6 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 • When printing legis lat ion, be sure to print the version as of now, not as enacted – Legis lat ion is continuously amended, so ‘as enacted’ legis lat ion may be out of date • Ever ything else – journal art ic les , dict ionar y definitions, news art ic les – should be printed off in ful l and included in the bundle • Please put your authorit ies in order of when they wi l l be used in the moot, not a lphabetical l y ! This makes it easier for the judge to fol low • HIGHLIGHT RELEVANT SENTENCES • Highlight the sentence(s) of the judgment that you are quoting • Tr y not to highl ight large chunks of text • You may not annotate your bundle however • DIVIDERS / PAGE TABS (NOT APPLICABLE FOR E-BUNDLES) • Please use page dividers in order to separate your authorit ies • Each divider should have a different letter/ number on it , which wi l l be the letter of the tab which you wil l refer the judge to • STICKY PAGE MARKERS (NOT APPLICABLE FOR E-BUNDLES) • It ’s a good idea to use st icky markers to help direct a judge to a specif ic page • PAGE NUMBERS • Make sure you have numbered pages c lear ly (especial l y for e-bundles) as you wi l l be referr ing to these page numbers rather than the ones appearing in the case reports *Please see the sample bundle on our website for more reference *Note that rules for bundles var y between external competit ions; this checkl ist is only guidance for our internal competit ions at War wick. B U N D L E C H E C K L I S T ( C O N T I N U E D ) 2 7 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 E-BU NDL E GU IDE 1. DOWNLOADING PDFS OF ORIGINAL CASE REPORTS OR JOURNAL ARTICLES FROM WESTLAW OR LEXIS NEXIS 3 0 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 2. Merge all your authorities into one single PDF: organise them in order of reference 3. Number Pages: this step is very important - you will be referring to the page number shown in the document, and not the one shown in the PDF reader as that can be easily affected by different documents, and will vary from software to software 3 1 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 4. TABLE OF CONTENTS Finally, once you have got your whole bundle and page numbers sorted, create a table of contents (see below); then use the Merge PDF feature again (see step 3.2) to combine everything together, and voilà! TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Case Problem 1 Skeleton Argument 3 R v Blaue [1975] 1 WLR 1411 4 R v Smith [1959] 2 QB 35 10 R v Dear [1996] Crim LR 595 20 R v Cheshire [1991] 1 WLR 844 30 S A M P L E TA B L E O F CO N T E N T S (Ful l sample bundle is avai lable on our website : _____ ) 3 2 M O O T B I B L E 2 0 / 2 1 Mooting has been one of the highlights of my first year. It allowed me to gain really valuable skills such as organisation, teamwork and most importantly both written and oral advocacy skills. I would definitely recommend people to get involved with mooting as it is a great way to consolidate legal knowledge outside of lectures and it is a lot of fun! - sanJana hegde Mooting allowed me to approach the law from a different perspective - it meant I could gain confidence in certain aspects and become familiar with language I hadn’t used before. I learnt more than I ever expected from the feedback given, so that I could apply it in later rounds and improve each time. Mostly, it was a really fun way to be involved - something I’d looked forward to since applying to Warwick and loved whilst participating! - Mary collingridge Personally, Mooting is a way to show myself that I can do anything I put my mind towards. Being faced with public speaking a lot as a law student, while it still scares me, the fact that I have done it before and so I can do it again is a great relief. Mooting is a great way to easily be introduced into practicing public speaking like this, while also giving you many other important skills along the way. - hyunki ahn, quarter- finalist of first year coMpetition 19/20 Mooting has been the most amazing experience of first year - not only do you develop transferable skills like confidence and advocacy, but you meet new people which is always great for first years. I had so much fun competing in 3 moots this year, and highly recommend it to anyone! - Maya patel I made some of my best friends through mooting. - chong ying xuan, Winner of coMMercial Moot 19/20 I thoroughly enjoy mooting as it provides an opportunity to showcase your key skills, whilst simultaneously, enhancing them. This was evident when competing in the Herbert Smith Freehills commercial competition during my first year! As a result, I strengthened my communication, organisation and research skills, with the opportunity to display this throughout the competition. Mooting enables you to amplify your skill set needed when working with the legal sector. This makes mooting highly rewarding and all the reason for you to participate! - Jess shipley When I started mooting, I was not sure if it was for me. I was nervous about public speaking and had no idea how to present or structure legal arguments. However, as I went through the various rounds of the competitions I realised how I was enjoying the whole process. Everything from preparing my arguments to making the bundle was fun and eventually I got over my fear of putting myself out there. It was a great learning opportunity and a friendly environment where you are always supported and encouraged to do your best! - ivy ganguly, seMi- finalist of first year coMpetition 19/20 I am incredibly passionate about mooting as it has such a massive impact on confidence. I urge everyone to participate in at least one advocacy exercise during their degree. It is a fantastic opportunity for personal development…. and the rush of adrenaline you get from a moot is addictive! - chloe Wilkes As a fresher, the thought of mooting was quite terrifying. I’m not even sure I fully understood what it’d entail. I don’t usually put myself out there but I thought it’d be a good opportunity to try something new and exciting. As I progressed, I realised this was something I was good at and really enjoyed, my confidence increased massively. Also it really does help you remember key cases which is helpful when it comes to exams. - aMa Weerakkody I found mooting to be an invaluable experience that I would recommend to anyone to get involved in. Personally, I can definitely credit mooting for building my confidence in speaking and teaching me how to research thoroughly and efficiently. It’s the perfect way to strengthen your knowledge of the law and learn how to construct a convincing argument- not to mention it’s a lot of fun! You certainly won’t regret giving it a try! - talia Menzies M E S SAG E S F RO M O U R S U B CO M M I T T E E