The Gazette 1991

GAZETTE

i SEPTEMBER 1991

Moot Court Competition The valuable role which "mooting" can play in the education of a lawyer is undisputed. A tradition of holding moot court competitions and, indeed, of making parti- cipation in such competitions a compulsory part of a course of legal study, is common in other jurisdictions, particularly in civil law countries and in the United States. Ireland has been slow to follow suit, although individual universities have organised such events internally over a number of years. Cork; University College Galway; Queen's University Belfast; Dublin City University; University of Limerick and the University of Ulster.

IBA CONDEMNS COUP Law Society President, Donal Binchy, was co-signatory to a re- cent statement by the International Bar Association following the attempted coup in the USSR. The statement, issued after a meeting of International Bar Leaders at the Canadian Bar Association in Calgary, Alberta, expressed the concern of the international legal community at the violation of the rule of law and constitutional due process per- petrated by the instigators of the coup. The statement was issued on August 22 within days of the dramatic events taking place. The full text of the statement read as follows: — "The President and representatives of the following national bar associations and law societies express the concern of the international legal community at the violations of the rule of law and constitutional due process per- petrated in the past days in the Soviet Union, reaffirm the supre- macy of the rule of law in the world and manifest their solidarity and full support for the Soviet lawyers and the Soviet people in their struggle to reinstate constitutional due pro- cess and the rule of law in the Soviet Union." In addition to Donal Binchy, the signatories to the statement were: — Mr. Guiseppe Bisconti, President IBA; J.J. Camp, President of the Canadian Bar Association; Tony Holland of The Law Society of England and Wales; Judith Potter, President, The Law Society of New Zealand; J.A. Cameron, Q.C., Vice Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Scotland; Henrin Grondin, Presi- dent, Union Internationale des Avocats, An t hony Scrivener, Chairman, Bar of England and Wales; James H. Campbell, President of The Law Society of Scotland. The statement was prepared following contacts with Soviet Lawyers based in New York. According to Giuseppe Bisconti, President of the International Bar Association, upon learning of the statement of support the Soviet representatives said, " we are very grateful and we shall never forget." •

So what happens in a moot court competition and how will those who participate benefit? In competitions of this nature, a factual legal problem is formulated which encapsulates certain novel points of law. Participants form themselves into groups of four and each team must then set about preparing a written and an oral response to the problem. Written submissions in the f o rm of memorials are submi t t ed in advance of the oral hearing and students' performance is judged on the contents of their written submission as well as on the oral presentation made to the judges who may question the participants on the arguments advocated by them. Moo t i ng affords the participants an opportunity to put the law which they have learned into a practical context and also develops skills in advocacy. Students must have a thorough knowledge of their subject as they do not know what questions will be posed by the judges. They must be able to think on their feet, due to the time limits which are imposed. Lengthy periods spent considering questions posed will result in points being lost. Mooting is also an enjoyable spectator sport! The audience is given an outline of the problem and can follow the submissions made. The novel styles of presentation used by some mooters can be very entertaining. The Committee is presently seeking sponsorship for both competitions. Solicitors' firms may well see these events as performing a useful role in recruitment and, therefore, may wish to have an involvement with these events. Further i n f orma t i on may be obtained by contacting Eoin O'Dell or Liz Heffernan at the Law School, Trinity College Dublin 2 or by contacting Nuala Jackson at the Law Library.

It is now hoped that such a tradition may be developed here over the next few years and, to this end, the Irish Moot Court Committee has been established. The Committee, with Mr. Justice Niall McCarthy of the Supreme Court as its President, is planning to hold two major events in the coming year. The first will be the preliminary rounds and national final of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. This event is one which is well known to Irish law students as they have been participating therein for a number of years and have had some considerable success. This event is concerned with public international law and invariably the problem to be addressed is topical and stimulating. This competition will be held in early February and the winners will travel to Washington in April, 1992 to participate in the international competition. The Committee will also be organising a new event in the form of the National Moot Court Competition. This competition will involve domestic law. The substantive area of law addressed will change from year to year. Participants will be recruited from the university law faculties and from the professional schools. The following institutions will be requested to send teams: the Solicitors' Apprentices Debating Society of Ireland; the King's Inns Debating Society; the Institute for Professional Legal Studies, Belfast; Trinity College, Dublin; University College Dublin; University College

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