CHAPTER1

INTRODUCTION
Moot Court and the Study of Law
What comes to your mind when you hear the words like
law, court and advocate? Advocates flaunting their
oratorical skills and judges shouting 'order', 'order to
restore order! Well, you are partly right and partly wrong
at the sametime. The legal profession is much more than
that. What seems to you an effortless task of persuasion is
actually a result of hours spent on research, drafting and
proof reading and years of hard work to reach to that state
of excellence.
Legal education has a distinct charm and it is because of
this marny persons are attracted towards this field. In fact,
it is essential to have good students coming in the
profession because the society needs good and efficient
teachers, judges, advocates and law officers and above all
good citizens. However, producing good law
professional is not easy. It needs tremendous effort and
Commitment to achieve this. Moot court is one such
activity which helps students of law in becoming good
professionals.
Students join law education for various purposes
including the following:
For enjoying study of law.
For making it acareer.
Because they think it suits them.
Because it is now a good career alternative.
1
2 A Beginners' Path to Moot Court
Because someone related to law is there who will
make things casy for him.
" Those,who cannot do anything else.
Moot court helps all of them.
Significance of Moot Court
Do you think that participation in moot courts is
necessary only for those who want to be arguing counsel
in the court? Well, you need to think again. As you will
see, it is amust for all associated with the study of law
whether you want to be a lawyer, a teacher, a corporate
lawyer or alegal adviser of a company. In law, most of the
times, one has to del with problems in which he is not
personally involved/To solve a problem and argue on its
facts, one needs to use one's imagination like a visionary
as he has to appreciate the situation in the way it is put to
him. It is important that the words of a legal professional
do not betray this visualisation of the problem. The
participation in moot court helps one in learning this
when he is in a state of initial learning as a student and
master it before one enters into the professional career.
Whyeveryone should participate
Your success as a law professional depends upon the
following four factors:
(a) Your capacity to comprehend the problems on a
given set of facts and cull out the legal issues
involved.
(b) Knowledge of existing provisionsof law, applicable
on those legal issues.
(c) Capability to apply the law on those facts to solve
the legal problem.
(d) Your skill in persuading the concerned authority to
take aview which you want them to take.
Howmoot court helps
Moot court helps the law students to develop these
important skills by posing legal problems in an artificially
created situation.
Introduction 3

Though it is not difficult to master the first two factors

i.ctomprehending the problem and knowledge of law, )
the last two factors ie. application of lawon agiven set of
facts and art of persuasion are not only difficult but needs
a lot of (practice and constant attention. But once
accomplishedthe exercise becomes athoroughly enjoyable
experience apart from bringing a lot of glory and success
tothe individual.
Since the last two factors are dependent on time and
attention, one must start early to master them so that by
the time one passes out from law school one has
reasonably mastered the art, the rewards of which he is
going to reap for the rest of his life.
However, even if you have not started yet there is no
harm in starting now. There are several instances where
some students strike early success but are not able to
sustain the tempo while late-comers have the last laugh.
Of late the job opportunities in legal profession
increased many fold. Following are some of them:
Tobecome alawyer.
To become a judge.
Tobecome a law officer.
To become a public prosecutor.
To join LPO or BPO.
" To become a legalcorrespondent.
To appear in civil services taking itas a subject.
To become aretainer of a company.
" To join a publishing company, internet service
provider in law.
Askilled law professional will have a great demand
everywhere.
 CHAPTER 2
MOOT COURT
What is Moot Court?
Moot court is an artificially created arrangement with a
get up similar to areal court where student advocates
argue hypothetical cases. The moot problems are mostly
based on actual cases with some modification. Moot courts
are arranged on thepattern of real court having a Bench of
judges, counsels for both sides and hypothetical case to be
argued. It, of course, lacks the trappings of the court and
has been designed to give practical training to budding
advocates, improve their advocacy skills and learn the
etiquette of the court.
The word moot' is a common term for an assembly of
the borough in the history of early British institutions.
"From its meaning of assemnbly, the word was applied to a
debate or discussion, in particular to the discussion of
hypothetical cases by law students at the Inns of Courts".
According to Webster's Dictionary, the word 'moot was
probably used to denote an early English assembly of
freemen to administer justice, decide community problem
etc.
How different from areal Court?
Amoot court is differernt from a real court. Whereas
both in a moot court as well as in real court legal problems
are debated and legal rights and remedies are argued for
or against, the mnoot court lacks the formal decorum of a
5
6 ABeginners' Path toMoot Court
real court. While student advocates argue with all their
Vigour on substantive law in a moot court, in real court
however, the procedural laws have an equal importance
along with the substantive law. A civil suit or criminal
complaint can be dismissed on account of procedural
lapses in areal court. Further, there is no pronouncement
of judgment in moot courts but results are announced on
the basis of assessment of advocacy skills.
There are three important constituents in organising a
moot court:
(i) Organising Committees.
(ii) Judges.
(iii) Student Advocates.
Organising Committee
An organising committee of a college is responsible for
the arrangement of moot courts, inviting judges and
appointing court masters in the court. They are also
responsible for the selection of moot problem, its drafting
and collection of written mnemorial from student advocates
participating in the competition.
Judges of the Moot Court
Moot court is to be presided over by the judges. There
can be two or three judges. Ordinarily they can be from
amongst senior students. The idea of having three judges
from the Bar or the Bench for competitions is more
acceptable because it will provide more balanced
assessment or evaluation of the performance of the
students. An interaction between the bar and the law
colleges is possible by having judges and lawyers
regularly sitting asjudges of the moot court.
Duty of Judges
The problems are given to the judges in advance and the
judges are expected to be acquainted with the facts. Apart
from evaluating the performance of the students, judges
Moot Court 7

have other duties also. Firstly, they should not give the
impression that they have come to test the students'
competence in advocacy and his self-confidence. Hence
they should make the students feel at ease, if possible
make encouraging comments in the beginning, if
necessary, by giving them some facts which they could not
recollect. Frequent interruptions are to be avoided and
questions should be few, brief and limited towards the
end. Proper hearing should be given to the student and if
clarification is necessary thequestion should be asked in a
simple and straight forward manner. The judges should
familiarise themselves with moot problem, that will avoid
confusion at the time of arguments put forward by the
student.
On issues of procedure, the judge's decision is final and
ordinarily the procedure of appellate court is to be
followed.
Student Advocates
Usually the time for a moot court is limited, therefore,
some method to select student advocates who want to
participate can be worked out. If the number is too large
moot can be organised in number of days to give
opportunity to all the students who want to participate.
Otherwise the number of students can be limited by
choosing ten best written memorials submitted by the
students.
Similarly, the order of speakers can be fixed in various
ways. Either it would be a team participation where one
team argues for one side against the other, or it could be
that one member of ateam argues the case for the plaintiff
and one member of the other team argues for the
defendant.
Moot Court Competitions
In all inter-college or inter-university moot court
competitions, colleges participate as a team comprising of
8 ABeginners' Path to Moot Court
two student advocates known as mooters and two
researchers. The student advocates supposed to argue case
against the other team of the same composition. The
winner of each round goes to the next round. In most of
the competitions, teams are supposed to prepare for both
sides and only before the start of the competition they are
informed as to from which side they have to argue.
The competitions usually have four rounds. Some
competitions have different moot problenms for different
rounds while others keep one moot problem for all four
rounds.
 CHAPTER 3
TOOLS FOR EXCELLENCE
Who will be a good mooter
By now we presume that you have decided to become a
mooter and decided to participate in every moot court
competition. Therefore, we are listing some of the skills a
mooter should possess. In case you think that you need to
work on these, try to possess them by practice as early as
possible.
1. Don't think you are a mooter
This seems to be acontradiction but this is the most
Common mistake that a mooter is likely to commit. The
mooters usually think that they are merely mooters and
hence have no responsibility towards their clients (as there
is no client as such) and therefore no obligation. Never
ever commit such a mistake. The judge of the moot court
will always expect you to consider yourself as a lawyer
with a bounden duty to defend your client and explain all
his behaviour. So be responsible and appear so towards
your client. Therefore try to inculcate a burning desire to
excel for your client. For this, you will have to visualise
your client though he is only fictional but for mooting
purpose imagine as if he really exists. Always bear in
mind that you are not mooting but you are a lawyer
representing your client with all sincerity and your success
depends on presenting the case of your client to the best of
your ability.
11
12 ABeginners´Path to Moot Court
advocate is a
Here you willhave to keep in mind that an duty
spokesman of his client and his primary
without
persuade the court to grant relief to the client
client.
forgetting his duty towards the court and the
2. Have a positive frame of mind of mind to
It is apre-requisite to have a positive frameHowever, in
succeed in any endeavour one undertakes.
the context of moot court, it takes a different meaning. To
develop a positive approach towards mooting always keep
in mindthe following important points:
(a) As amooter your task is not to win the case for
your client but only to present your client's case in
the best possible manner before the court.
(b) You have to bring to the notice of the court the
point of law involved and provisions of law
applicablewhether it goes in your favour or against
you.
(c) You should be well versed with the facts and law
involved so that you are confident of your legal
proposition.
3. Remember it is not a test of memory
Mooting and arguing in a moot court is not a test of
memory. Though it always helps to have a good memory,
mooting is essentially a test of knowledge of law,
argumentative skilland persuasive skill and these should
be the focal point of your attention.
4. Remember mooting is nota debate, lecture, talk etc.
Participating in a moot court is different from debate,
lecture etc. In later forms once you start speaking you are
not interrupted. In moot court when you are arguing, you
are in direct communication with the judges and they can
interrupt you at any moment asking whatever questions
they think fit.
Tools for Excellence 13

5. Try to develop good oratorical skills

It always helps if you have a good voice and oratorical
skills in moot courts. However, if you do not have a
naturalflair for oratory do not lose heart. There is a lot of
material available in the market which will help you to
develop this skill. The skill can be developed by constant
practice under guidance of established orators, joining
classes imparting training for public speaking and
referring to books on public speaking.
6. Other important assets
a. Your behaviour towards the court should be both
respectful and pleasing. Always feel confident and
act confidently but never be arrogant. It is the
degree of intensity that makes the difference
between the kinds of attitude. One should never
cross the limit of confidence to enter the prohibited
zone of arrogance.
b. Courtesy and poise are other qualities that a mooter
should possess.
c. You should also be properly and smartly dressed
while participating in moot court.
Advocacy skills
Oratory skills do matter but it is not everything and in
addition to oratorical skills, advocacy skills must be used
for excellence. Following points are important in this
respect:
i. Don'tbe aggressive.
ii. Moderate your voice with suitable pace so that
judge can get time to understand and evaluate your
proposition.
ii. Don't try to interrupt the judges or enter into
argument but pay attention to what they say before
giving any reply.
14 ABeginners' Path to Moot Court
iv. Before giving reply take your time, take long breath
and start answering gently. This will make you feel
confident.
v. Make sure that the judges are listening to you. If
they are talking to each other or referring to some
documents, wait for somne time until you receive
their direct attention.
vi. If you are not aware of a legal proposition or
particular aspect of a fact, there is no harm in
accepting it.
Vii. You must learn the art of expressing your
disagreement with the judges. The disagreement
must be expressed politely but firmly.
 CHAPTER 4
MOOTCOURT
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Assignmnent of Moot Problem
When a moot court society decides to holda moot court
competition and starts making preparation for it, it has
look for someone to draft a moot court problem. Because
the first stage of a moot court activity involves assignment
of amoot problenm. Moot problems are usually based on a
decided case with certain facts modified and altered.
However at a higher level, you may get totally
hypothetical cases. These problems may relate either to
one branch of law or may involve principles of various
branches of laws e.g. a problem on euthanasia is related to
both criminal law and constitutional law. In fact every law
college should have moot court problem bank consisting
of moot problems of various level so that students can
have a fair idea as to how moot problems are framed. Most
of the law colleges do not have the problem bank so we
have given some moot problems in Chapter 10 which will
giveyou an idea of moot courtproblems.
The problem of moot court is so framed as to leave
sufficient scope for a student advocate to frame arguments
for the side hehas chosen to argue. The problems covered
directly by statutory law or decided cases should be
avoided.

17
18 A
Beginners' Path to Moot Cour
Fact Investigation and Research
Once the moot problem is assigned to the studen:
advocate, the next step is to acquire amastery over the
facts. Here the student is to act like
historian-cum-
detective. His task is to discover all the relevant facts.
piece them together and then let the complete picture sink
into his mind. While dealing with facts of moot court, one
has to keep in mind that these facts cannot be challenged
and are considered to be established. If there are gaps.
student can use his imagination but onlyto the extent it is
logical and does not contradict with other facts. The best
way to deal with facts is to divide thenm into small
paragraphs. To solve the problem, he has to take noteof all
the weak linksand the contradictions in the facts. He also
has to select those facts in the case which have legal
significance and the ones which could be said to be
turning point of the case.
 CHAPTER 5
HOW TO CRACK THE PROBLEM
Most of the students fail on this first hurdle and may
not really realise as to why they failed. The failure is not
usually because of incompetence but because of lack of
attention and due importance not being given to this stage.
To master the facts, read the problem at least 8-10 times
giving 5 to 10minutes break between each reading. After
mastering the facts, identify the legal issues involved.
As you know moot problems are usually based on some
decided cases. In case you know or can locate the decided
case on which the problem is based its good for you. In
case you are not able to locate the problem you need not
worry. In your notebook, you may make one column each
for both the parties to the case. Then you may start writing
the facts which favour each party in their respective
columns. Once you have so dissected the problem, verify
and checkupwhether you have done it correctly or not.
Now it is time to decide as to which side you want to
appear. As you know in most of the moot court
Competitions, you have to prepare for both sides. In case
you have the choice, choose the side you think you can
prepare better. However, it is advisable to gofor the side
which look weak at first glance and then work hard to
make a winning case. That way you have a better chance
of winning. However,you should keep your own opinion
in these matters and never let anyone influence your
decision. You must be excited about the side you are going
torepresent.
21
 22 ABeginners' Path to Moot Court

After deciding which side you wish to appear for, you

must make a thorough examination of the facts once again.
Facts which support your case must be isolated and
attached with other favourable facts. The facts, which are
against your case, must be countered and contradicted
The gaps in the facts are bound to be there and these gaps
leave room for logical inferences. Some moot problems
may well contain stubborn facts, which cannot be fitted
into a picture and a very careful search of such problems
are warranted on the part of the student in order to
present the case intelligently.
Out of given facts the student must construct a theory,
which he wishes to put forward. The theory must be tested
against the known facts. Therefore, you must anticipate
the question that can be asked by the bench and the
argunnens which can be put forward by the opposing side
and be ready with the cogent responses.
Master the law - Research
Having mastered the facts now it is the turn to master
the law. List every Statute, Act, Ordinances, Rules,
directions that may be connected with the problem and
seems to be applicable. Collect all the material that is
available. While reading statutes, take special care to read
the object of enacting a statute and the definitions given in
Section two (section 2) of the Statute.
Having read the statutes you can now proceed to read
the decided cases on the issues. There are several ways to
look for decided cases. Firstly consult some books on the
subject and then proceed to select citation of cases useful
to them and then search for those cases in the law reports.
Straightaway going to the journals and searching for the
cases from subject index may also help. However, other
way which Iwould suggest is to go for Allndia Reporter
Manuals and look for the cases from the head notes on the
They contain these notes from all conceivable angles
on a given section of a statute and there you are most
How to Crack the Problem 23

likely to find cases that support your

list of all cited cases and go once and arguments. Make a
search those cases.
Better if you can get them photo copied because then it
would be easier for you to carry them home and read it
there also.

How to read cases

Never make the mistake of reading the head notes of the
case only. It may lead you ina trap. Always read a decided
case from beginning to the end. Thern try to find out the
principle on which the case has been decided. This is
called Ratio Decidendi of the case. These cases serve another
useful purpose. They invariably contain references to
various other cases that can also be consulted. You should
also check out the cases that have been overruled, cases
which have been followed and approved or approved
with some modification.
The discovery of law on the basis of the given facts is
the next prime task in a moot court. The student must
obtain knowledge of the law involved and it is useful not
only to concentrate on specific legal issue raised but also to
have some idea of the peripheral areas of the law, There
are various sources of law which he can explore e.g.
decided cases, rules or order of executive or juristic
writing and commentaries. In examining a case the
student must distinguish what were the material facts on
which the court based its decision and what was the
specific legal problem or issue raised on these facts. The
ratio of the case must be distinguished from the obiter dicta.
Finding the law may also involve construction of
statutes. Where the meaning of a statute is clear and
unambiguous then one cannot go beyond the words and
discover a different meaning. Where it is ambiguous,
principle of statutory construction must be applied on
looking at the statute as a whole and keeping in view the
object of the legislature enacting it.
24
A
Beginners' Path to Moot Court
Students may adopt various techniques to aid them i
their preparation. Proceeding on the assumption that the
arguments which present the soundest logic will convince
the court, they may rely on an analytical and logical
approach to the problem and can make attempts fo
distinguish the case on its facts, from an earlier
unfavourable precedent. They may also distinguish it on
the law, rom the earlier decision by analogy to reach a
desired result in the problem with which they are
concerned or may push an earlier unfavourable decision
by analogy to an absurd result.
 CHAPTER 6
ORAL SUBMISSION
This is the most important part of the
exercise. Having built a solid foundationwhole moot court
law finding and drafting you have to by fact finding,
using all your skills of communication. communicate it by
for oral submission should start at leastActual preparation
five to seven days
before actual presentations.
Tools for Excellence in Oral Submission
(i) Practice, practice,practice.
(ii) Ask friend to preside as judge.
(iii) Presentation.
(iv) Court manners.
(v) Experience.
(vi) Do not be afraid of failures.
(vii) Read the mindsof the Judges.
Practice: This is one of the key to success. The more you
practise, the more are your chances to succeed. By the time
you get to present your case you should have practised at
least 25 times. However during this you should be careful
and delete those points or sentences that are not proper
and substitute it with more appropriate ones.
You should also practice before mirror at least by 5
times to see whether your presentation or manner match
your expectation, e.g. whether you are getting more
melodramatic etc. In case any fault is detected, you can
Correct it.
27
 28 ABeginners' Path to
Moot Court
It is better if you can taperecord your presentation. Then
you can hear it afterwards and see whether any correction
isrequired to that.
Ask a Friend to Preside as Judge: You can always ask
vour friend or friends to preside as judges and to ask you
vo.
questions while youpresent your case. This willhelp yo1
in becoming comfortable in real life situations.
Presentations: Donot read from your brief. Never ever
commit this mistake. The Advocates are not supposed to
read from their briefs. Yes, you can always refer to the
decided cases and statutes and occasionally the facts but
do not read your arguments. Always maintain an eye
contact with judges but never stare at them.
The manner of presentation should be pleasing and not
boring or monotonous. Try to be as pleasing as possible.
Vary your tone and decibel level.
Court mnanners: Following the court manners are
essential for a mooter. You should bow down before
coming to the court and address the court properly as
"Your Lordships or Your Honor."
The best way to learn court manner is to visit court on
the days good counsels are going to argue. This is the only
method of learning court manners. While watching them,
youshould mark:
1. How do they address the court?
2. How todeal with the question from judges?
3. How do they meet the objections of the other side?
4. How do they refer to the other side?
5. How dothey cite cases?
6. How do they emphasise on important legal points?
Also, you should always use formal language as judges
do not like slang. Correct language, diction and accent are
assetsof a good mooter.
 Oral Submission 29

Experience: If you participate in moot Court

continuously, you will learn from experience also.
Therefore, try to participate in as many moot court
competitions as you can.
Youcan always learn from your fellow mooters. There
are always certain qualities in every mooter. If you can
find some of them, you may incorporate them in your
submission. So watch the other mooters in the competition
closely.
Don't be afraid of failures: Do not be afraid of failures.
If you fail once do not lose heart and try again. Keep on
trying until you succeed. After every moot, analyse where
you went wrong and rectify it. Always remember no road
is too long if you walk without undue haste and no honor
is too distant if you put sincere effort. It must be
understood therefore that failure is but a step towards
Success.

Read the mind of the judges: If you are not the first to
present your submission, you have an opportunity to read
the minds of the judges. You can also do it while
presenting your case. Judges usually give an idea of what
they think by asking questions. It provides vital clues to
their thinking pattern. This also points out the direction
into which the court wantsyou to head for.
Also, it is advisable to plan a strategy. Analyse what are
your strong points and what are your weak links. The
points which you want to emphasise and the others which
you want to hide.
Additional Activities
Wide reading: To improve and widen their horizon,
students should study books related to history,
psychology, philosophy etc. Some self-help books on
human relationships and speech making are also available
in the market.
 30 ABeginners' Path to Moot Court
Participating in field activities: Students should ales
participate in field activity like legal literary camp, iail
projects and other social work to see the legal provisions
in action and their limitation.
Visiting lawyers chambers: To get first hand experience
students may visit lawyers chambers to see how advocates
prepare for their cases and also acCompany them to courts
to learn the demeanours and court manners.
Participating in seminars and conferences: Students
should participate in seminars and conferences to learn the
art of communication and other aspectsof research.
 CHAPTER 8
DO'S AND DONTS
DO'S
1. Cite the relevant cases decided by courts along with
the authentic copy of the reports or journals giving one
copy each to the judges and one to the other side. Citing of
cases always enhances the credibility of the mooter and
gives strength to his argunments. However, this is adouble
edged sword and should be used with great care and
preparation. Only those cases which are relevant and
supporting the case should be cited and hard work should
goindeveloping the argument relating the cited case with
the moot problem.
2. Listen tothe judges attentively and do not speak if the
judges are talking to each other. When judges are
consulting among themselves they are trying to clear some
points and it is always discourteous to disturb them in
doing so. Thiswill create a good impression on the judges.
On the other hand if you interrupt they will be irritated
and this will go against the mooter.
3. While reading from brief or cases always take the
judges along with you by pointing to the relevarnt page
and para you are reading. If you are reading from brief,
point out the page and line from where you are reading
and pause until the judges have found them. It's always
easy for judges to appreciate your point when they read
the brief along with you.

37
38 ABeginners' Path to Moot Court
4. Always address the court with due respect and
courtesy. This is a must. No matter what is the situation,
one should not become irritated. Sometimes the questions
are intended to throw you off balance and test your mental
strength. So keep cool and always remain courteous.
5. Always be neatly and properly dressed. This
enhances confidence and also makes one comfortable.
6. Keep your reference material and cases flagged SO
that you can refer them without delay and remain
organized at the podium.
7. Always make note of points on which you need to
give reply while your opponent is speaking so that you do
not forget when you get a chance to respond to his
arguments.

DONTS
1. You should never express personal opinion on the
case. The duty of an advocate is to submit and suggest on
the basis of fact. You are the officer of the court and
supposed to assist the court.
2. Do not cite text books as final authority. Always cite
cases decided by higher courts, e.g. High Courts and
Supreme Court. Reference to text books can be made only
ifthere is no decided case on that point.
3. Do not interrupt a judge while he is speaking. Let the
judge finish before you respond to him otherwise you may
not appreciate the question. This will also give you extra
time in pondering over the question.
4. Do not reply in a hurry. Think a while before
answering otherwise you may well lose your case or at
least the point.
5. Donot read from your brief. In any case if you have to
read involve the judge and inform the text from which you
are reading.
Do's and Don'ts
39
6. Do not cite cases without
having law reports with you
or at least their photocopy. Keep
be cited and mark the relevant extra copy of the case to
time of oral submission. portion to be read at the
7. Do not use abbreviation in
speech. Always use official
long hand, (Do not say AIR but say AllIndia Reporter).