Don’t Mock, Do the Trial: MDX Mooting Society 2022/2023
The thrill of presenting oral arguments before a mock court can either be the reason prompting students to study law – or instead be dreaded by students when studying law in university.
To improve or gain these essential legal and advocacy skills, the Middlesex University Mooting Society invited law students during the Week of Welcome to join the Society, where they can learn and practice all things related to mooting. In a moot, participants analyse a debatable legal problem, research relevant law, develop strong written arguments, and present them as oral arguments before judges. The Society has always been a crucial part of the MDX Law programme experience, as it consistently aims to prepare students for academic moots and regional or international moot court competitions. Among the competitions that the Society members have participated in since its establishment include the ‘Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot’, the ‘ADR-ODR International Negotiation Competition’, the ‘Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition’, and the ‘ICC Mediation Competition’
However, the Mooting Society is not limited to just moot court preparation. It also holds various workshops and networking events that are designed to help students become commercially aware and meet lawyers in the region and abroad.
Senior Law Lecturer and Coordinator of the MDX Mooting Society, Yasmin Sebah, states that “the Mooting Society is one of the most fundamental societies for any law student. Not only does it support students in improving their legal skills such as mooting and negotiation, but it also supports students academically, helping them achieve distinctions.”
The Mooting Society Committee Members for this academic year 2022/2023 include Honey Mathew as President, Iqrah Islam as Vice President, Margery Adricula as Mistress of Moots, Friyana Guzder as Secretary, Mohammed Twayib as Treasurer, and Jannatul Ferdous as Marketing and Social Media Manager.
With classes returning to campus this year, the Mooting Society Committee has planned even more exciting events that the previous years that students can participate in.
This month, introduction to mooting sessions were held in-person as a way for first and second-year students to learn more about the Society and be introduced to their academic moots. More recently, a ‘Vis Moot workshop’ was also conducted by last year’s Vis Moot team to advise students on their applications to represent the university in this year’s competition.
Following the successful mooting week last year, the Committee also intends to hold an in-person mooting week this year on different areas of law, including Criminal law, Human Rights, Medical law, Family law, and Public International law. With the return of in-person events this year, the Vis Moot, Jessup Moot, and ICC competition will be holding their international rounds in Vienna, Washington D.C., and Paris, respectively. As for regional moots, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has organised a new moot court competition in its Digital Economic Court that deals with disputes related to blockchain technology and artificial intelligence. This year’s events are definitely great opportunities that law students can take to improve their legal skills.
Aside from competitions and workshops, the Mooting Society is also planning to have recreational events where law students can socialise and take a break from the normal pace of preparing for coursework and exams. On the first week of every month, the Society will have Law Movie Nights, where members watch their choice of a law-related movie as a way to de-stress and get to know other members. At the end of the academic year and exam season, there is also a Legal Awards Night planned to recognise students who have participated or won in internal and external moot court competitions.
“This year, the Mooting Society will build on what was accomplished last year and take it to the next level. The Committee has worked extremely hard to expand its initiatives and include new and fun activities to support students, including the launch of the new monthly legal movie night,” Yasmin said.
All in all, the events that the Mooting Society have planned are expected to give its members fruitful and memorable experiences in improving their legal skills and enjoying their time as law students in the university.
