Mastering the Art of International Mooting: The Structure, Technique and Rules of International Mooting

By Timothy A. Affonso

Mastering the Art of International Mooting: The structure, technique and rules of international mooting is a book that can be used by all levels of law students regardless of their background with international mooting. As law schools around the world develop courses that deal with international mooting, a practical technique-based mooting book will greatly add to the resources for this type of course.

This book sets out the nature of the mooting exercise; the rationale for the exercise; how to analyse the fact-patterns; how to research and write skeleton arguments; and how to prepare for oral submissions.

This book is unique, in that it provides strategies for moot students on how to deal with situations which may arise at international competitions. Examples of possible addresses to the Court are provided in the book, giving students options of what to say and do in specific situations. While this book also speaks about how to prepare for competitions, it also speaks to coaches of mooting teams. Strategies and tips are provided to present and future coaches in respect of selection of moot teams and judging mooting competitions.

It is hoped that this book will increase the standard of mooting and eventual advocacy of law students and eventually lawyers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 24, 2013
• ISBN: 9781493101184

Timothy A. Affonso

Timothy Affonso is an attorney-at-law in Trinidad and Tobago. He is a lecturer of Legal Research and Contract Law at the Faculty of Law at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad. The author has worked, as an advocate, in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Trinidad and Tobago and, as an extradition attorney, in the Office of the Attorney General in Trinidad and Tobago. Mr. Affonso is a former national scholarship winner and Chevening scholar. He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of the West Indies; a Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School and a Masters of Law Degree in Public Law and Human Rights from the University College London.

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Copyright © 2013 by Timothy A. Affonso.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2013916967

ISBN:       Hardcover       978-1-4931-0117-7

                  Softcover         978-1-4931-0116-0

                  Ebook              978-1-4931-0118-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 09/19/2013

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

141378

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface and Acknowledgments

The Do’s and Don’ts of Mooting

Background

1.1 What is Mooting?

1.1.1 Who

1.1.2 Where

1.1.3 Why

1.1.4 What

1.2 Definition of Some Common Terms in Mooting

1.3 Types of Moot Court Competitions

1.3.1 Trial Advocacy

1.3.2 Appellate Advocacy

1.4 Different Mooting Competitions

1.5 Managing the Expectations of Mooters

1.6 Always Follow Your Rules

1.7 Prerequisites for Mooting

Research And Writing

2.1 Where to Start?

2.1.1 The Compromis

2.1.2 Background

2.1.3 Sequencing

2.1.4 Legal Issues

2.1.5 Request for Clarifications

2.2 Case Theory

2.3 How To Conduct Research

2.4 Never Overlook Basic Points When Preparing

2.5 How To Use Cases

2.6 Skeleton Arguments or Memorials

Appellate Mooting—Structure and Procedural Formalities

3.1 Typical Appellate Mooting Sequence

3.2 Entering Appearances

3.3 Referring To The Court

3.4 Stating Your Issues

3.5 Controversy and Structure

3.5.1 Controversial Areas

3.5.2 Structure

3.6 Time Allocation

3.7 Opening Statements

3.8 Know What You Want and Ask For It

Technical Points

4.1 Spot Your Bench Early

4.2 Stay On Track With Arguments

4.2.1 Situation 1—Irrelevant issue raised by the court

4.2.2 Situation 2—Your co-counsel’s point

4.2.3 Situation 3—Arguing other side’s points

4.2.4 Situation 4—Repeating previously made arguments

4.3 Maintain Your Cool

4.4 What Happens When The Court Asks Nothing

4.5 Never Interrupt the Court

4.6 Listening To The Questions

4.7 Being Taken Down The Garden Path

4.8 Respectfully Disagree

4.9 Difficult Arguments

4.9.1 Limit Court’s Jurisdiction, Attack Locus

Standi and Distinguish law

4.9.2 Limit the Scope of the Legal Test

4.10 Know When to Concede

4.11 Switching Sides

4.12 Asking for time

4.13 Role of Last Speaker

4.14 Listen To The Other Team While They Are Mooting

4.14.1 For the Appellant

4.14.2 For the Respondent

4.15 Rebuttal and Sur-rebuttal

4.15.1 Rebuttal

4.15.2 Sur-rebuttal

Tips For Appellate Mooting—Delivery And Presentation

5.1 Delivery

5.2 Clarity, Volume, Pace, Tone And Facial Expressions

5.2.1 Clarity

5.2.2 Volume

5.2.3 Pace

5.2.4 Tone

5.2.5 Facial Expressions

5.3 Be Aware Of Accents

5.4 Maintain Eye-Contact

5.5 Never Enhance Facts

5.6 Conviction

5.7 Should You Use Humour?

5.8 Your First Non-Verbal Impression

5.9 Decorum before, during and after

5.10 Interaction With Other Teams

5.11 Policy Arguments

Ancillary Information

6.1 Know Your Competition

6.2 Practice Moots

6.3 Arrange Your Travel To Accommodate Dates

and Times of Moots

6.4 Attend Social Functions Hosted by Moot Organisers

6.5 Adjusting to your new environment and Time Management

Coaching

7.1 Rules

7.2 Have Selection Rounds

7.3 Drafting Fact-Patterns

7.4 How to Judge a Moot

7.5 How to Select a Team

7.6 Research Training

7.7 Let The Mooters Develop The Arguments

On Their Own

7.8 Team Building and Assessing Conflict

7.8.2 Assessing Conflict

7.9 Change of Scenery

7.10 Practice Sessions

7.11 Use Experts and Guest Judges

7.12 Use Of Video-Taping

7.13 Keep Focussed When Travelling

7.14 Write Questions Being Asked During Moots

Appendix

Appropriate Addresses To Court

DEDICATION

To my parents,

Dennis and Yasmin,

for always being there.

FOREWORD

I nternational Mooting is becoming more entrenched in our law programmes in the Caribbean and some may say more commonplace. The opportunity to participate is within the grasp of small law schools like those in the Caribbean. Within the last five years, the Caribbean law schools have excelled in several international moot court competitions in North America, Europe and Africa. These competitions are critical to the development of our students since they allow them to experience the rigors of international competition with some of the best law schools outside of the Caribbean. Preparation for these competitions hones their skills, resulting in clarity in their arguments, diligence in their research and detail in their legal analysis.

Mr. Affonso has been a part of the Hugh Wooding Law School’s international mooting programme for several years and has instilled a sense of commitment and duty in our teams. He is passionate about the programme and when he informed me that he was writing this book, I gave him my full support and encouragement. His experience and commitment to excellence would certainly make this a required text for every law student who is interested in mooting.

I am sure that students around the world will benefit from its contents. The opportunity to participate in an international moot is an honour which every law student should regard as a stepping stone in their development as competent legal practitioners.

Miriam Samaru

Principal

Hugh Wooding Law School

Trinidad and Tobago

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am a mooter at heart. Years ago I mooted at Jessup International Moot Court Competition. I also competed in appellate and trial moot court competitions, while at law school. I have coached mooting teams and drafted moot problems for both trial and appellate advocacy, since being called to the Bar. The content of this book embodies the lessons learnt from these advocacy experiences. It is hoped that writing from these different vantage points, allows me to assist the young mooter to appreciate the art of mooting much more.

The book is meant to help a student, who has no idea of what constitutes international mooting, to understand the nature and skills necessary to succeed in mooting. It can also help to polish a seasoned mooter’s skills: to make them ultimately better advocates. It is hoped that this book will prepare a student for most situations that would arise when mooting, from a practical and technical point of view. It is a practical guide, taking the reader step-by-step through the mooting exercise. Learning this skill in the way presented, allows students to develop their mooting ability in a clinical, technique-based approach.

When law students improve their advocacy skills, society benefits from a higher quality lawyer. It must be acknowledged at the outset that mooting is competitive and inherent in that concept is the myopic idea of tallying scores, award of prizes and names on plaques. However, it is important to remember that the skills being learnt transcend the competition itself. These skills enhance the law student’s ability to express himself clearly in both written and oral forms. These are fundamental skills that will enhance the student’s eventual career as an attorney-at-law.

All attorneys are advocates. Some attorneys engage in more traditional forms of advocacy: trial advocacy; appellate advocacy; written submissions at both stages. Also corporate attorneys or those in law firms are required to conduct meetings, prepare opinions, and explain points to clients or to their Heads of Departments. Regardless of which path your career takes, we are all advocates.

However, for the attorney, the genesis of the more formal, structured training of advocacy begins at law school. The fact is that this skill is honed by law students, at law schools around the world through mooting. In this vein, it is essential for law students to take advantage of any opportunity to take part in mooting competitions and consequently develop their advocacy skills.

In this book, I also seek to address mooting coaches, sensitising them to issues of training, fact-pattern drafting and moot court competition judging.

I must express my appreciation to my parents, Dennis and Yasmin, who have always encouraged me to write this text. To try and express my gratitude in words to them would serve only to show that words cannot do justice to that which I feel.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Madam Justice Annestine Sealey who read my manuscript and provided incisive comments. She has always been a source of unwavering support in all my endeavours. Special mention also has to be made of a very gifted attorney-at-law, Miss Vonetta Adams, who provided insightful feedback on the manuscript. Our casual conversations about mooting and life greatly inspired this book. My brother, Stefan, also read early drafts of the manuscript and provided critical feedback. I am very appreciative to him. Mr. Amiri Dear, has also given me great assistance in the provision of technical and editorial advice on the manuscript. His experience, critical mind and keen eye proved extremely valuable to the final product.

I wish to acknowledge and thank Mr. Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh, Judge of the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago, for teaching me so much about mooting and advocacy. I have learnt much from him and I am grateful to him for the opportunities he has given me over the years. I would like to thank Miss Miriam Samaru, Principal of the Hugh Wooding Law School, for giving me the opportunity to serve as a mooting coach and encouraging me to always do my best.

I hope that my passion for mooting, and law by extension, can enkindle in readers a similar interest in this wonderful art form.

So from me to you, keep talking.

Timothy A. Affonso

Attorney-at-Law, Lecturer in Law

The University of the West Indies

St. Augustine Campus

Trinidad

2013.

THE DO’S AND DON’TS

OF MOOTING

DO

1. Research the area of law on which the moot is based;

2. Prepare written arguments for the moot;

3. Ask for help with advocacy skills;

4. Be open to grow as a