What forms of moot can be used?

When we think of a moot we probably initially consider the traditional form, ie four participants arguing a point before a hypothetical appellate court, however this is not the only form. Four possible alternatives are presented below – the mini-moot, the written moot, the electronic moot and the judgment – although of course more possibilities undoubtedly exist.

Mini-moot

A full moot can be quite an extensive vehicle which does not easily fit in, for example, a one hour tutorial. A mini-moot is, as its name suggests, a much slimmed down version. A common form will involve only two participants with only a single point of law to be raised rather than two. It is even possible to run a mini-moot with a single participant, since in real life the absence of a respondent will not automatically mean that the appeal or application will succeed – counsel for the applicant/appellant must still persuade the judge of the merits of the application. A mini-moot will normally provide a shorter time limit on the speech(es), frequently five minutes, and can be used for a number of purposes. One possible use is as an activity within a tutorial or seminar as an alternative to answering a question.

Perhaps a more significant use for a mini-moot is to introduce students to mooting. Significant questions can be raised as to how some institutions use mooting and the level of preparation involved in equipping students with the knowledge and skills required to undertake a moot. A mini-moot can help ease students into the process, which can be beneficial where, for example, a full moot will be used as an assessment.

Written moot

Whilst we tend to think of moots as being the paradigm of oral advocacy it does not necessarily follow that a moot can only be undertaken this way. Whilst obviously it depends on the purpose of the moot, it is quite possible that many elements can be undertaken in a written format. For example, as noted in FAQ 2 research is one of the key skills identified as an outcome of mooting. It is quite possible that requiring students to produce a written moot will be just as effective in this regard.

A written moot is unlikely to involve the full complexities of a full moot in that there will be no opportunity for contemporaneous questioning by the judge, however other skills and knowledge can be tested. A student can be required to prepare a written speech or, increasingly, to produce a skeleton argument. This term is often misunderstood – far from being a collection of brief bullet points a skeleton argument is a fully argued and referenced document that develops the arguments that will be put forward orally. They are very similar to counsel’s opinion, although very much written on the basis of seeking to persuade a court to accede to the submissions.

Electronic moot

A derivative of a written moot is an electronic moot. Institutions that use distance learning often argue that it is not possible to use mooting within their programmes, however it is possible to involve mooting (even in a limited form) through the use of technology.

At the most advanced level it is perfectly possible to run a moot in its traditional style through the use of webcams and high speed Internet connections, with participants conducting the moot remotely and the judge still able to intervene where necessary. Indeed, even the law is beginning to make use of video links and videoconferencing for certain aspects of the court process – an electronic moot is simply building on this foundation.

A slightly lower specification system could involve the use of Internet telephony such as Skype to allow participants to speak to each other but not to see each other, similar to the conference call that is now increasingly common in industry and indeed in certain parts of academia. A disadvantage of this method is that the body language etc of a participant cannot be seen, but this is an issue that can be taken into account and, depending on the purpose of the moot, may not be particularly relevant.

Judgment

A derivative of mooting is to reverse the task. This usually works as a written task, with students given the moot problem and counsel’s submissions, which may be either oral or written – the task is to produce the judgment. This carries many advantages, not least allowing students to develop their analytical skills and to assist them in understanding relevance and the need to look at both sides of an argument.

Last Modified: 4 June 2010