Constance Baker Motley National Moot Court Competition
The American Constitutional Society (ACS) sponsors the Constance Baker Motley National Moot Court Competition in Constitutional Law. In the spirit of its namesake, the annual competition deals with an issue of constitutional law that concerns equality, liberty and justice.
Teams of two write a brief either on the appellant or appellee's side during the fall semester. A qualifying competition following the national rules will be held at the start of the spring semester to determine which CLS teams will attend the Regional Competition. Students will argue a minimum of three preliminary rounds on the first day and eight teams will advance to elimination rounds on the final day of the competition. Note that while teams will write either an appellant or an appellee brief, each team will argue both sides at the competition. The two finalists from the Regionals will compete at the ACS National Convention at the beginning of the summer.
In the spring semester 1L students are required to rewrite their briefs under the close supervision of their assigned Moot Court student editors.
Environmental Law Moot Court
The Environmental Law Moot Court, which is sponsored by the Environmental Law Society, provides students with an opportunity to write appellate briefs and conduct oral arguments based on the environmental legal problem from the Pace Law School Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. The legal issues are drawn from real cases and are argued by three adverse teams, reflecting the multi-party nature of environmental litigation that often involves the government, a public interest group and a member of the regulated industry. Each participant will write briefs with one or two other students. Students must complete briefs by December. In January and February, each team will participate in at least 2 rounds of oral arguments. Practitioners specializing in environmental law will adjudicate at least one oral argument session. The Environmental Law Society (ELS) will provide student editors for each team to assist participants with briefs and oral arguments. In the spring semester 1L students are required to rewrite their briefs under the close supervision of their assigned Moot Court student editors.
Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition
The Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition is a national moot court competition that focuses primarily on public law and topics of particular relevance to law students of color. Competing in teams of two, competitors must submit briefs in the middle of the fall semester and argue orally for a minimum of three rounds at regionals early in the spring semester. The top three teams from regionals advance to the national competition. Columbia competitors are coached by upperclass students and participate in several practice oral arguments in preparation for the competition rounds. The competition is open to all members of the National Black Law Students Association, which does not restrict its membership.
In the spring semester 1L students are required to rewrite their briefs under the close supervision of their assigned Moot Court student editors.
NALSA Moot Court Competition
The purposes of the National Native American Law Students Association (NNALSA) Moot Court Competition are to encourage the development of oral advocacy and brief writing skills and to enhance substantive knowledge in the fields of Federal Indian Law, Tribal Law and traditional forms of governance. The National Native American Law Students Association was founded in 1970 to promote study in these fields and to support Native American students in law school.
In the spring semester 1L students are required to rewrite their briefs under the close supervision of their assigned Moot Court student editors.
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International Competitions
European Law Moot Court
The European Law Moot Court Competition is a traditional moot court competition, in which teams of students prepare written pleadings with respect to a problem of European law and present their arguments in oral proceedings before the Court of Justice. The Case is set each year under the auspices of the European Law Moot Court Society.
The objects are to promote awareness of European law, expertise in the practice of European law and practical experience preparing and arguing cases before the Court of Justice. In addition, the competition provides a forum for the discussion of questions of current legal, social and practical significance emerging from European integration and the legal and political changes in Europe.
Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court
The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world’s largest moot court, with participants from more than 500 law schools across over 80 nations. The Competition simulates a dispute between two countries before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the judicial arm of the United Nations. Recent topics have included the the legality of humanitarian intervention, the threat or use of force, sexual abuse by United Nations Peacekeepers, and the rights and obligations of international organizations. This year’s contentious case will address the right to self-determination and the lawfulness of measures taken to protect the economic resources of a state. Competitors in the World Championship Round usually have the opportunity to argue before a Judge on the International Court of Justice.
Timeline:
The written memorial is due in early January. The team will compete in the Super Regional rounds in February and, if successful, will advance to the Shearman & Sterling International Rounds and Jessup Cup World Championship in March.
VIS Arbitral Moot
The Vis Arbitral Moot is an international competition designed to train students in the use of international commercial law and arbitration for resolution of international business disputes. The competition is structured in two phases: the writing of memoranda for the claimant and the respondent and the hearing of oral argument based upon the memoranda, both of which are settled by arbitral experts in the subject matter area. The forensic and written exercises require determining questions of contracts under transactions relating to the sale or purchase of goods under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and other uniform international commercial laws in which the dispute is subject to resolution under specified Arbitration Rules. The teams and the arbitrators are from both common and civil law countries, permitting students to learn from approaches taken by lawyers from other systems.
