A moot court memorial requires a proper understanding of the

moot problem, a well researched, drafted memorial and the orator

skills of the participants. Comment

Quote the understanding you acquired from the workshop on

essentials of moot court.

Meaning of the term “mooting”

Mooting is a form of an Oral proceeding similar to that of a court proceeding practiced mainly in
institutions and universities where law as a subject is taught to see that how efficient a student is
in fighting an argument based on law. In this a proper court scenario is created where the
students act like the Councilors (Advocates) presenting each side(Plaintiff and Defendant) on the
basis of evidences and substantive questions of law argue with each other to prove their point in
front of the judge who in the end will give his judgment in the same regard and will also declare
the winner who has performed the best.

Also, while presenting their arguments the judge can question them on facts or question them on
any of the legal concepts to check the aptitude and in prompt adaptability to the situation of the
student. Mooting was earlier not practised as a subject by the universities in the law courses but
now due to the scope and requirements of lawyers around the globe mooting in the form of
“Moot Court” as a subject has been added to the curriculum of the students so that they get
prepared and groomed in a proper manner as a lawyer before they complete their degree.

For a student who is going to become a lawyer in the near future, mooting is very important as an
integral part of his education because it will help him and make his work easy and present in a
real courtroom. It is the closest experience a student can get of a courtroom by studying in a
university or college. Mooting is an exercise which helps a law student inculcate all the habits
and understand all the policies and procedures that are followed in a court so as to prepare him
for his future. For the same purpose, Moot Court Competitions are organized around the world
so that different students from across the globe can come in contact with other to understand
each and every dimension of the concept of mooting.

Concept of moot courts

In the earlier times, there was no concept of moot court and mooting when the law was taught in
colleges etc. But due to the growing need and the development and advancement in the field of
law and various interpretations as to the law was made the concept of moot court was started in
the year 2012 by the joint operations of Essex Court Chambers and the Singapore Academy of
law, so that the students who will become the backbone of the future law should have the
practical and logical knowledge and implementation of law so that it should be easy as to when
they start their career it is not difficult for them.

Moot Court basically means a replica of a real court where legal proceedings and trials take place
and thus it is also known as a Mock Court where students who are studying law act as
professional and take up all the responsibilities and duties according to their role to see their
ability to think creatively and answer convincingly when questioned and show their oratory,
writing and persuasive skills. Moot Court is a way a student is groomed as a proper lawyer. It is
one of the modern methods of giving practical knowledge to the students by putting them in a
hypothetical situation similar to that of a real court and then the two teams each on one side
argue upon fictional cases and those questions of law with are debatable in reality and which
have not been binded or are still the lawmakers are silent on some facts. Moot Court, now is one
of the biggest and efficient sources from where people get the education and imbibe all the
qualities and skill that a lawyer require.

Components of a moot

 A Judge or a bench of Judges

  A moot proposition (legal problem)

 Representatives of the parties involved (counsels or team composition of

representatives, generally consisting of 3 persons, two speakers and a researcher)

 Court clerks.

Importance of mooting

Mooting helps in the overall development of an individual as a good and proficient lawyer and
participating in Moot Court Competition regularly makes a student familiar with the proceedings
that take place generally in real courtrooms. Thus, the advantages of mooting are as follows:

A) Networking

One of the important features of mooting is that it helps you to connect and socialize with so
many people across the globe with whom you connect in the process of mooting. As students
from different places and colleges come to represent themselves, it gives an opportunity to get
the exposure to the outside world.

B) Researching and Writing  Skills

Participating in the moot court competitions helps you in enhancing your researching skills
because it is your research on the basis of which you will be fighting your case and representing
your side and it also helps you in framing a good moot court memorial on the basis of which the
other team would raise objections and question you. This will also help in enhancing your skills
as to how to adapt to prompt situations and how you tackle situations where you are at unease.

C) Building Confidence

Mooting helps an individual to build his confidence in communicating and putting his view in
front of the people. It helps a person to build his confidence to such an extent that he does not
fear to question or to speak in front of anybody and can fight cases efficiently.
D) Practical Knowledge

Mooting helps in giving the practical implication and knowledge to the students who are
studying law in such a way which they will never find in the books and would be unaware of, as
practical and theoretical knowledge are like two different sides of the same coin and to pass the
hurdle you need to study both of them although both look same but are totally opposite in reality.

E) Team Work

Moot court competitions take place in the school or colleges who organizes it and the various
teams from different colleges come and participate in the event. The team comprises of 3
students with one as the researcher and the other two as the speakers presenting their arguments
on either side. This teaches the students to perform well when they are together in as a team and
analyze what are their strengths and weakness, how can they work upon them to achieve
maximum efficiency. It also helps to work with people who are different from you and it also
teaches how to coordinate with each other.

Can mooting help you in your career?

Honestly speaking, Mooting is one of the most important things that help you in your career and
your future growth as well. Mooting is one thing that inculcates a lot of habits and discipline that
are requirements by many of the Law firms Recruiters and when a law student sits in a Job
Interview, if your resume will display that you have done a different kind of moots then it will be
very beneficiary as the employer will know that you have a good amount of knowledge in this
field and you have experience and your chances of being selected will automatically go up.
Mooting in today’s generation is something considered to be one of the most important factors
which everybody looks after because if you are a good mooter, people will consider you
important and knowledgeable. Also the exposure you get in mooting helps you to easily adjust in
your future jobs which is quite important.

Types of moot court competitions

There are two types of moot court competition known as the National and International Moot
Court competition. National Moot Court refers to a situation where the mooting takes within the
country and students from all across the law schools from the country and participate in the
competition, while on the other hand International Moot Court Competition is one which is
organized where people from outside India are invited to take part in it and it happens on a large
scale. Moot Court Competitions can be based on any law where civil or criminal etc as per any
law that may be in news currently or any other. These types of different moots are really helpful
for students to think deeply about the legal issues and have a proper understanding of the Law.
One of the Competitions that is related to moot court is the Trial Advocacy Competition which is
also held at such high levels. Mooting helps a student to understand what are his strengths and
weakness and what he is required to work more upon which is helpful for him in the long term. 

What is the purpose of mooting?

The main purpose of mooting is to establish a good overview by the students of law and
enhancing the legal skills. Mooting is a concept where there is a mooting proposition which is
related to any law related subject which is given to all the teams in advance so that they can
prepare for that in the form of a memorial which tests and helps them in their researching skills
and sticks to the deadlines. It teaches the students how to work under pressure with the goal to
give productive output. Mooting helps in understanding and developing and inculcating the
capacity to argue passively before the judge. Mooting helps in raising your chances to be get
hired for a job as well. As when you sit in a job interview the employer will look in your resume
that if you have done mooting before then, the chances of you being hired in a company will be
more as the employer will be willing to invest in you and train you as he wants higher
productivity from skilled people. The purpose of mooting can also be defined as follows:-

A) Society Welfare

The society needs efficient lawyers, mainly judges and advocates so that the society can benefit
at large due to the pendency of the cases in India. For the purpose to provide proficient
individuals who are perfect in their field is not an easy task, for the same purpose mooting is
really important to build such lawyers for the benefit the society at large, so that the problem of
pendency of cases can be solved in the near future because if there will be efficient and good
judges, the problem will be solved automatically.

B) Practicing

The main purpose of mooting is that to make you practice before actually becoming a
professional and practicing in courtrooms about everything. If you have years of practice then it
is easier for one to make a lot of clients because of his practice and knowledge one has gained in
the field.

C) Experience

An important part of every individual’s life from which it grows is the experience he gains from
the life that he gets and gaining experience will help in any profession because it is the
experience that matters when the case or proposition is related to very controversial laws and
topics and at that time the experience helps him as how to go ahead in the case. This is done by
participating in different kind of moots by going to different cities meeting new people from
various law schools and interact with them will definitely help you in understanding the law in a
better way.

D) Creative thinking

When one participates in different kinds of moot court competitions in various places and
colleges, there might arise situations that you have to play with words and mould the case in your
favour then there comes the art of creative thinking which you are required to show and you have
to think on your feet as you cannot be prepared for everything, as moot court is a place where
you have to expect the unexpected. Thus, it will also help you to enhance your thinking in a
better way.

E) Motivation

Lastly, students who participate first time in this kind of activities not only get the exposure but
also the motivation to take part in a more comprehensive way and in other competition and
moots as well. These kinds of Mooting competitions boosts up the morale of the students and
helps them to talk passively and hence put forth their ideas in front of anybody if earlier they
were hesitant to do so.

How to become a good mooter?

There are certain points that you can look into in becoming a good mooter:

1. You must know your case well and when presenting your case before the judge you
should be very particular about your behavior and must be aware of all the facts of the
case.

2. You should be well versed about the case and not read off your notes instead read pf
the case.

3. Make a Small list of all the points that you want to present in your case so that no
point is left and it is easier than the judge is convinced.

4. One should always try to have fun and a good interactive session with the judge as it
will boost your morale and the judge will also take more interest in listening to your
case.

5. It is important that while presenting your case you should argue upon the facts rather
than the law.

6. Lastly, there are many courses and coachings that teaches how to become a good
mooter such as this mooting course offered on the LawSikho (see more) which helps
students to be perfect in their field.  

Where to get started in a moot problem

The best way to start a memorial is to read the problem as many times as you can and clear up
your basic regarding the topic involved in proposition. A lot of reading skill is required. Your
initial reading will give you a lot of insight as to how to go about the entire research and then
accordingly members can divide their work.

Firstly, issues should be decided and divided among team members. It is very important to
maintain a constant coordination regarding the research involved and keep on discussing various
lines of arguments. It will make the work easier for all the team members and then all members
can carry out their work accordingly.

Every moot, like every court proceeding, has two sides, the appellants and the respondents.
Usually you have to prepare for both sides. A Moot team comprises of, generally, 2 speakers and
1 researcher.

Every moot has 2 aspects you are judged on. They are:

– Written submission called the memorial

– Oral submission

The written submission of memorial must contain the following things. The facts have to be
arranged in the following manner. They are:

 
Cover page
The cover page of each written submission of Memorial must have the following information:

The name of the forum before which the proceedings are being conducted;
The title of the competition;
The name of the case;
The Title of the Memorial (“Memorial submitted on behalf of the Plaintiff or Petitioner or
Appellant” or “Memorial submitted on behalf of the Defendant or Respondent or Respondent”).
The cover pages must be Blue for Plaintiff or Petitioner or Appellant and Red for Defendant or
Respondent or Respondent.
Plaintiff (Blue) v. Defendant (Red);

Petitioner (Blue) v. Respondent (Red);

Appellant (Blue) v. Respondent (Red);

The upper right side of the cover page must contain the Team Code that shall be assigned to each
participating teams during Registration. Names of Participants, or Colleges or Universities
should not to be mentioned anywhere on the Written Submission of Memorial (you should check
the specific rules regarding this though).
click above
Table of contents
It contains a list of chapters and paragraphs that are included in the memorial. We can also
mention page numbers of chapters and paragraphs. By mentioning page numbers it will be easy
for the judges and speakers to find out the mentioned arguments. The argument is the most
complex part of the brief. Therefore, the headings and subheadings used within the argument
section should also be listed in the Table of Contents with the corresponding page number.

Index of authorities
In this all the materials which support your argument have to be added. The authorities of
Supreme Court and High courts, foreign judgments, statutes, and parliamentary debates are
mentioned under the index of authorities. Sources refer through articles, text books, journals, and
websites are also mentioned. This is not only helpful for the speaker but also useful for the judge
and other side speaker to easily determine what case laws, constitutional provisions, statutes or
other materials are being cited. Uniform citation method has to be followed. Citation is crucial
part of memorial; it should be in correct format. Citation helps to determine from where the
certain cases, statutes or other materials have been taken. It gives easily reference to the judges
from where certain part has been taken.

List of abbreviations
It should contain all the abbreviations used in your memorial. Each abbreviation should contain
the full meaning and in whole memorial same abbreviation should be followed. It is also
necessary for the speaker to know what abbreviations they are citing in their memorial.

Statement of jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the most important part of memorial. The jurisdiction of the court should be
clearly mentioned with the reason. Finding the proper jurisdiction is very important. Judges
surely ask questions and thereby it is important to know the jurisdiction of the court.

Statement of facts/ Synopsis of facts

These statements of facts/ synopsis of facts are an important part in memorial presentation. It
generally convinces the court about your client’s position and its point of view. A judge may be
well versed in law but he doesn’t know about the facts of your particular case. So, a brief
summary of facts have to be written clearly in the beginning of the memorial but generally it
should not be more than two pages. Knowing of facts in brief is very necessary, so it is important
for a speaker to go through the facts carefully and only relevant facts should be mentioned in
your memorial. Facts should not be uninteresting. It should be in a manner that a person enjoys
reading and it proves on your side. The facts should not be assumed one; it should be real as
given in the proposition.

Statement of issues
This is a short introductory statement of the legal issues or points of law involved in the case. It
tells the judges precisely what legal issues the speaker wants the court to decide. These
statements should be phrased to help one to argue for a particular conclusion rather than simply
against the other side. These issues are stated in question form and should be phrased in such a
way that it showed on its favor side. These issues are very short and not lengthy so as to make an
individual understand the very essence of it. They are not more than one sentence. The sentence
should start with ‘Whether’ and end up with the ‘Question mark’.

Summary of arguments
This is a brief summary of arguments based on the issues raised. It is short introductory of issues
mentioned in your memorial and each argument should not be more than one paragraph. It only
shows what you are arguing for in brief.

Arguments advanced
This is the heart and soul of the memorial. Every part of the argument must be supported by legal
authority. Arguments should be well-organized and convincing. Each point the team wants the
court to consider in deciding the case must be described, the reasons explained with appropriate
references to research materials used, and text citations should be inserted as frequently as
needed. Arguments should address legal precedent and policy issues. Each part of the argument
first addresses the issues supporting one’s own case.
Then, address contentions anticipated to be brought up by the opposing party. The argument
should be written in forceful, active, positive language. It is best to avoid the passive tense.
Headings and subheadings are used to help in clearly organizing the arguments. The same
structure of headings and subheadings should be summarized in the Table of Contents. The idea
is to do everything in terms of both form and substance to help the court understand the
reasonableness and logic of the argument, and thus decide in one’s favor.

Prayer
It is the relief claimed by the parties which should be clearly mentioned. More than one relief can
be claimed in one cause of action. Following the prayer signature of the council must be stated.

This acts as the ending of the Memorial. This clearly declares what an individual be it a
petitioner or the defendant actually wants from the Court in his favor. This is the relief
mentioning sentence, and in it the basic motive of filing the suit is mentioned through reliefs
claimed.

The above written memorial must be in well versed English. It does not mean a typical type of
English; by reading one should understand and writing should contain legal quality. After
preparing memorial it is very necessary to go through the memorial at least 3-4 times and it is
necessary to write in a correct format no grammatical mistakes, otherwise it will not bring out
the true essence of the memorial.

Memorial writing is an art of writing. For writing a proper memorial one has to be thorough not
only with the facts but also with the laws that have to be applied. It is a tedious task and mooting
altogether involves many of such tedious tasks. This was just about the Memorial writing, but for
insights about various other aspects of Mooting, this revolutionary online course is second to
nothing. If an individual knows the facts very well but does not know what all laws have to be
applied, the facts known will act as null and void. Before making the memorial or start up with
his work one should get well versed with the particular area of law which is going to be applied
because a single memorial does not contain a single law but a series of laws from various
sources. A proper knowledge as well as patience is needed in making a good or even the best
memorial. A person cannot complete his memorial in one or two weeks but need a months’ time
to draft his memorial.

To be a good Speaker, one need not necessarily use a lot of flowery words. However, there are a
few words or what we call the court mannerism that need to be abided by. Here is a step by step
guide for you to excel at your oral rounds.

Step 1: Take permission before begining

Speaker: The counsel seeks permission to approach the Dias.

Once the Judge nods / says in affirmation granting you the permission to approach the dias then
say “Much Obliged“

Nowadays, many competitions are held online and therefore you can leave the above step if the
moot court competition you are participating is held virtually.

Step 2: Greet the Judges

Speaker: Goodmorning to the Hon’ble bench.

Now, if only male judges or only lady judges are present then you can use the following phrase:

Speaker: If it may please, the counsel seeks permission to address the bench as your Lordship /
Ladyship.

Then say: “Much Obliged your Lordship.”

When the bench consists of both male and female judges:

Speaker: The counsel recognizes the gracious presence of your Ladyship, however, for the
convenience of the proceedings, the counsel seeks permission to address the bench as your
Lordship/ Ladyship.

Then say: “Much obliged your Lordship/ Ladyship”

Step 3: Begin with the name of the case and jurisdiction

Speaker: The counsel is appearing before the Hon’ble Court in the matter of ABC v.  XYZ, on
behalf of the Appellants/Petitioner under …………………….. (whatever your jurisdiction is).

If you are the Respondent or Defendant, then you may say: The counsel is appearing before the
Hon’ble Court in the matter of ABC v.  XYZ, on behalf of the Respondents in response to the
petition/ appeal filed under (whatever your jurisdiction is).

Step 4: Let the Judge know the Issues involved

Speaker: Your Lordships, there are three (change it according to the number of issues present in
your case) main issues involved in the present case.

The counsel will be dealing with the first and the second issue and would be speaking for  _____
mins, and the co-counsel would be dealing with the third issue and would speak for ____ mins,
respectfully reserving _____ mins for the rebuttals. [The time limit for each speaker would be
told to the team before the rounds. So, you need to make the changes accordingly. ]

Step 5: Let the Judge know the Facts of the case

Speaker: The counsel seeks permission to begin with the Statements of Facts.

Much Obliged your Lordship

[You can state the statement of facts during the prelims. However, for the quarters/ Semi-finals/
Finals, the speaker can directly ask if your lordship are well versed with the facts, the counsel
seeks permission to proceed with the pleadings.]

Note: Make your you state only relevant facts. Also, do not extend your facts for more than 30
seconds.

Step 6: Proceed with the Pleadings

Speaker: The counsel seeks permission to proceed with the pleadings.

Your lordship, the first issue is……., which the counsel would be establishing on three grounds
(grounds are your sub-issues). You first list down your grounds and then you say that,
proceeding with the first Issue….

For Example:

If your argument is that the new Law violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India, then the
pleadings would be:

Your lordship, the first issue is that the new Law violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India,
which the counsel would be establishing on three grounds,

First, the new law is arbitrary

Secondly, there is no rational nexus with the object of the new law

Thirdly, the new law is not based on intelligible differentia

Make sure to refer the judges to your memorial and the moot problem to keep him/her
engaged in between your speech.
After the first speaker is done, he/she will have to say your lordships, now the co-counsel would
be dealing with the third issue.

Step 7: Let the Second Speaker begin and conclude with the Prayer

Second Speaker: if your lordships are satisfied with the pleading submitted in the 1 st and the
2nd issue, the counsel seeks permission to begin with the pleadings for the 3rd issue.

[However this can also act against you. If you feel the judges are not getting convinced with the
first speaker, don’t even ask this, directly start with the 3rd issue]
And then take permission for prayer which should be absolutely memorized.

After you are done with your prayer, you may say, it was pleasure arguing before the court.