An introductory guideline to mooting

1. AN INTRODUCTORY GUIDE TO
MOOT COURT
By Jamshed Khilji
Semester: 7th
University Law College, Quetta

2. Table of Contents
PREFACE ........................................................................................................................... 1
MOOT COURT .................................................................................................................. 2
i. Statement of Facts:......................................................................................................... 2
ii. Basic material ............................................................................................................... 3
iii. Memorials.................................................................................................................... 3
iv. Oral rounds .................................................................................................................. 4
ULC TRIAL MOOT COURT ............................................................................................ 5
CONCLUDING REMARKS .............................................................................................. 5
ANNEXTURE ..................................................................................................................... 6

3. 1
PREFACE
Being a student of University Law College Quetta and having participated recently in
the Jessup Moot Court Competition 2019, I have felt that we the students of Balochistan lack
nothing but a platform. Inside the premises of university, we have been indulged in our
studies to such an extent that we hardly find time for the co-curricular activities. Moot Court
had not been taken place in the university owing to several reasons. However, under the
society established by the name of Moot Court Society under the active coordination of
Reverent Sir Munir Hussain, it has been rehabilitated.
Since ULC is going to conduct a trial for the selection of the students for upcoming
national moot courts followed by an intramural moot court, it was felt necessary to draft a
basic introductory guide for the novice mooters. Keeping in view the prevailing
circumstances, a very unworthy and minute effort has been made in introducing moot court to
Ulcians.
I am highly indebted to Professor Asmatullah Kakar, the chairman of ULC Moot
Court Society, who encouraged me to put forward before you the very first publication of me.
Lastly, this article is altogether based on personal experience of mine which is
definitely not devoid of mistakes, rather blunders. So, if there is anything wrongly stated, I
apologize for the same.
Happy Mooting!

4. 2
INTRODUCTION
Moot Court is an activity for the law learning students which is conducted in
almost all the law universities in order to provide the students with a platform to not only
boost up their confidence but also sharpen their legal skills. It has a paramount significance in
a student’s career as he or she actually contests a fictitious case before a fictitious court which
leads him or her to know the court’s rules, etiquettes and procedure of conducting trials. The
subsequent headings deal with the basics of the moot court.
MOOT COURT
The word moot as an adjective means something which is open to question i.e.
debatable. In this sense, the moot court refers to such a court where the arguments are put
forward by the competitors in order to convince the panel of judges to decide on his favour.
In other words, a moot court is a mock court in which law students argue
hypothetical cases for practice.
Thus, it is summed up from the above definitions that the facts, the names, the
dates etc provided in the moot court are totally hypothetical i.e. they are fictitious and are not
based on reality.
Following are the essentials of a moot court:
i. Statement of facts
ii. Basic materials
iii. Memorials
iv. Oral rounds
Each of the aforementioned essentials is briefly enunciated as under:
i. Statement of Facts:
The fictitious facts are issued by the concerned organizations that conduct the
moot court likewise Philip C. Jessup Moot Court Competitions, Henry Dunant Moot Court,
or intramural moot courts. These facts are designed in such a way that these are open to both
the applicant as well as the respondent to argue. It is also called problem or Compromis or

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simply facts. It is usually of 15 to 20 pages. However, there is no hard and fast rule for its
length, and as such it depends on the organization who is so conducting the competition.
ii. Basic material
The basic batch of materials is followed by the issuance of facts which give an
idea to the competitors that their case relate to those treaties, conventions or statues, as the
case may be. For instance, the Jessup competition provides two basic batches – 1st
batch of
basic materials and 2nd
batch of basic materials which include the general and particular
materials respectively. In short, this basic material provides an ambit to further and better
their memorials.
iii. Memorials
It has been aptly remarked that cases are won at chambers. Memorials, in the
moot court, are the written part of the competition. Having gone through the facts and studied
all the relevant materials, the competitors are required to submit their written arguments both
on behalf of the applicant as well as respondent on two separate documents.
As stated hereinbefore, the facts are open to be argued for both the applicant
and the respondent. Resultantly, the competitors have to draft an applicant memorial wherein
they have to argue on behalf of the applicant and answer all the issues or question on
applicant’s favour. On the other hand, the respondent memorial contains the arguments which
altogether deny the contentions raised by the applicant in his memorial or oral round.
Most importantly, the organisation so concerned gives the deadline for the
submission of memorials and the competitors are required to submit their written arguments
on or before the said deadline. The failure to comply with such deadlines leads to withdrawal
of the team from the competition. For instance, the competition we participated in had 38
teams in which 6 teams failed to submit their memorials on time, and eventually 32 teams
qualified for the oral rounds.
Lastly, how the memorial should be drafted would unnecessarily prolong the
introductory guide and it is in itself another topic. So, it is not worth discussing here;
however, the following are some major points to be borne in mind while drafting memorials:

6. 4
 The language should be as simple as possible – it doesn’t mean that legal
terms are to be avoided.
 The right issues have to be spotted – no need to beat about the bush in order to
enlarge the size of memorial.
 Make reasonable arguments by following the IRAC or CREAC method.
 So far as the contents are concerned, it consists of index of authorities,
statement of facts, summary of pleadings, major pleadings, prayer for relief etc
iv. Oral rounds
The memorials, having been duly submitted, are followed by oral advocacy. In
this part of the moot court, the competitors are required to plead their arguments as and how
they have incorporated in their memorials. This is the best part of the competition as the
competitors have been practising for months and here they get an opportunity to put forward
their arguments before the panel. Not only the best part, it is the crucial one as it weighs
equally important as the memorials. The competitors usually stick to their written arguments
in oral pleadings; however, they may partly depart from them if they find out any new
argument favouring them.
Furthermore, the competitor’s purpose before the court – be it a moot court –
is to convince the judge to decide on his favour. In this connection, one need to assist the
court – the panel of judges, and not to get frustrated or annoyed by the questions put by the
cold bench of judges.
Moreover, the language should be simple and understandable so that the panel
may listen to you properly. The tone shall neither be too high nor low. The round shall be
friendly enough that you involve the judges in your arguments. Further, eye contact shall be
maintained so that the judges get an impression of your confidence and your preparation for
the competition. Equally important, the judges shall never be interrupted as and when they
ask question or interrupt you in between your arguments.
In addition, the judges need to be addressed reverently and no slang language
has to be used throughout the round. Below are the ways of addressing judges, particularly in
Jessup competition or in the cases before ICJ:
Mr. President and Madam President – for the presiding Judge
Your Excellency – for a single judge when answering a question
Your Excellencies – for the bench

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Rebuttal and Sur-rebuttal are the terms used in oral advocacy. The former
relates with the applicant in which he answers the allegations raised by the respondent in his
pleadings, whereas the latter rests with the respondent wherein he responds to the rebuttal.
ULC TRIAL MOOT COURT
The trial to be conducted at ULC is merely for the purpose of selection of
students for the upcoming moot courts i.e. Henry Dunant moot court competition, Jessup
moot court competition etc. It is, therefore, the above-mentioned requirements needn’t be
fulfilled in the trial. All the students required to do is to go through the given facts of the case
of a single page and to read out the relevant conventions. Having done so, the students are
required to only plead their arguments before the panel either on behalf of prosecution or
respondent as the memorials are not required for the trial. This trial moot court will be
followed by an intramural moot court competition in ULC for which this guide might be
helpful. The students shall get themselves registered as the judges require not only the
command of law but also your confidence, your language, your arguments and your
presentation of the same.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The significance of moot court can’t be neglected owing to its innumerable
benefits for a law scholar. Being a law student, one should at least once participate in the
same. The aforementioned discussed merely an introduction to moot court on personal
experience of mine and has never meant to be an exhaustive guide. Thus, these are the moot
courts which work as a laboratory for a law student wherein he practises law before the actual
legal practice in the court of law.

8. 6
ANNEXTURE
Below is the criterion for granting marks in the national and international moot court
competitions. From the following, it can be asserted that it is not only the law that get you
through the competition with flying colours, but most importantly it is your way of
expressing your thoughts, your confidence and your communication skills.