Competition Rules

1. The Competition shall be run under the auspices of an Advisory Board, which shall have the power to:

   1. Appoint a National Adjudicator, administer the Competition; and
   2. Amend these rules as it thinks fit.



2. 1. The Competition shall be open to not more than one team from each participating institution.
   2. Each team shall consist of two law students, who must be registered as such with the institution they represent.
   3. Only undergraduate law students, those studying for the GDL and those who are studying the LLM and for whom their first degree was NOT a law degree are eligible to take part.
   4. The members of each team may be changed from round to round, however the team that competes in the semi-final must remain unchanged for the final.



3. 1. OUP will determine the moot problem to be used in each round of the Competition.
   2. Any ambiguities or objections apparently arising out of a moot problem shall be brought to the attention of OUP within three working days of receipt of the problem by the participating institution.
   3. OUP will liaise with the National Adjudicator who shall have the power to resolve the matter in his or her absolute discretion.



4. 1. The Competition shall be run on a knock-out basis.
   2. The first-round draw shall form the basis for each year's Competition.
   3. Each team's opponents in the first round will be drawn by OUP.
   4. Each participating institution shall receive a copy of the draw specified in paragraph 4(c).
   5. The first-named team in each round shall be the home team.



5. 1. The home team shall argue for the Appellant and the away team shall argue for the Respondent.
   2. The team arguing for the Appellant shall be heard first and the team arguing for the Respondent second.
   3. Leading counsel for each team will be permitted to speak for no longer than 20 minutes.
   4. Junior counsel for each team will be permitted to speak for no longer than 15 minutes.
   5. Time taken up by judicial interventions, and by counsel dealing with such interventions, shall not count towards the time limits specified in paragraphs 5(c) and (d).
   6. Time shall be kept on a stopwatch by a clerk, who shall be nominated by the home team in agreement with the opposing team prior to the commencement of the moot, who shall warn counsel by holding up an A4 card when they have:
      (i) 5 minutes left
      (ii) 1 minute left
      (iii) to conclude their speech forthwith
   7. There will be no right of reply.
   8. There will be no speeches from the floor or by amici curiae.



6. The home team in each round shall be responsible for:

   1. Selecting the judge, who shall be a qualified barrister, solicitor or law lecturer who must be experienced in the judging of moots. The judge must not be currently employed by the home team's institution.
   2. Arranging a venue for the moot.
   3. Supplying the details specified in paragraph 6(a) and (b) to both the away team and to mooting.uk@oup.com in reasonable time, and ideally no less than five days in advance of the moot.
   4. Supplying a copy of these rules and the guidance notes to the judge for review in reasonable time in advance of the moot.
   5. Nominating a clerk and providing them with a copy of the clerk's guidance notes in good time.


7. 1. Each team shall be responsible for producing for the use of the judge a full copy of each law report and other literature cited by the team.



8. 1. Both the home and away teams shall send to their opponents and the judge no later than 3pm three working days before the moot is to take place (For examples please go to Exchanging Explained):
      (i) a list of authorities on which they wish to rely in the moot court; and
      (ii) a summary (which must be typed in no less than 12 point Times New Roman font and should be no longer than one side of A4 paper) which clearly sets out the main points of their argument.
   2. No team may compile a list of more than SIX case citations. These will be in addition to any cases cited in the supplied moot problem.
   3. All other legal literature (including statutory materials, EU Directives, journals and textbooks) must also be cited on the list specified in paragraph 8(a) (i) and (ii).
   4. No team may compile a list of more than FOUR citations of the type specified in paragraph 8(c).
   5. No mooter shall rely in his or her speech on any law report or other literature whose citation has not complied with the requirements of this paragraph.
   6. Each mooter shall, however, be free to rely on any case or other legal literature, whether it has been cited in accordance with this paragraph or not, when dealing with any judicial intervention.

   
   

9. 1. Should any team feel that the rules have been breached, this should be raised with the other team at the earliest opportunity prior to and certainly before the commencement of the moot
   2. If necessary the judge should be informed before the moot begins, so that any alleged breach of the rules can be taken into account if the judge considers appropriate.
   3. OUP should be informed at this time if it is considered that any alleged breach might unfairly affect the outcome of the moot.


10. 1. The judge shall not refuse to hear argument on any ground of appeal specified in the mooting problem, nor shall he or she allow either team to concede a point of law which is identified in the mooting problem as requiring legal argument unless the other team have already consented to such a course of action in writing.
    2. The judge should ask any questions of counsel that seem to him or her to be appropriate.
    3. At the end of the moot the judge shall adjudicate first on the points of law raised in the course of the moot; shall give a reasoned judgment as to the merits and faults of each mooter; and decide upon and announce the winning team.
    4. In reaching a decision under paragraph 10 (c), it is suggested that the judge may choose to take into account the following criteria to decide upon each team's performance:
       (i) Content of legal argument;
       (ii) Presentation of legal argument;
       (iii) Flexibility in handling interventions/answering questions from the judge; and
       (iv) Overall impression given to the judge by each mooter;
    5. There shall be no appeal against the decision of the judge.


11. 1. The National Adjudicator shall have absolute discretion to determine the result of any round of the Competition following any objection received via email, to mooting.uk@oup.com, not later than 24 hours after the round took place.
    2. The National Adjudicator shall have absolute discretion to resolve any question concerning the interpretation of these rules.
    3. The National Adjudicator and OUP/BPP reserve the right to disqualify at any stage any institution that fails to comply with these rules or with the spirit of the Competition.



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