Admission requirements
This course is designed for exchange law students and requires a solid understanding of public international law. Dutch (law) students may participate if spots are available.
Description
The course Moot Court Public International Law offers students a comprohensive training in research, analysis, legal writing and advocacy through an international law litigation simulation.
Since 1992, Leiden University has built an renowed and successful Moot Court programme. Moot Court courses are a compulsory part of the curriculum for all law students in Leiden, focusing on civil law, criminal law, administrative law, European law or public international law. These courses emphasise essential skills for aspiring lawyers, such as systematically addressing legal problems. The course includes a research and library instruction, lectures, training in argumentation, writing assignments, presentation skills training and concludes with a Moot Court session.
This specific Moot Court course is tailored for exchange students studying in Leiden. It allows participants to explore a particular issue in international law in depth. Students are presented with a hypothetical case, involving a dispute between states before forums such as the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea. Topics may include the use of force, human rights, environmental law, climate change, law of the sea among others.
The course provides an excellent foundation for participating in Moot Court competitions in any legal field.
Course objectives
Purpose of the Course
The goal of the Moot Court course is to enable students to independently analyze complex legal issues and present a party's position with sound legal reasoning, both in writing and orally.
Learning Objectives
Legal research
- Independently locate relevant legal materials (legislation, case law, and literature) in libraries and databases to address a moderately complex legal case.
Analyzing legal material
Examine complex legal rules within the broader legal framework.
Identify relevant facts and connect them with applicable legal rules in a constructed legal case.
Formulating legal questions
Derive legal questions from a moderately complex case description.
Develop research or legal questions for addressing the case.
Developing an assessment framework
- Formulate a framework to resolve legal questions or sub-questions within a case.
Building legal argumentation
Use the IRAC method to create clear, logical, and legally correct arguments.
Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant arguments to resolve legal questions.
Formulate a well-reasoned opinion on complex legal issues from a party’s perspective.
Writing skills
Write persuasive, structured, and well-argued legal documents with appropriate citations.
Create professional documents, such as pleadings or requisitions, free of language or spelling errors.
Oral presentation
Present and defend legal arguments, conclusions, or judgments concisely and convincingly.
Deliver a persuasive and engaging oral argument before a Moot Court.
Respond effectively to questions and engage in rebuttal and surrebuttal.
Timetable
The course includes three plenary sessions and a research/library instruction in the first two weeks, see MyTimetable. Tutorials and skills training will be scheduled based on the availability of students and staff. A detailed timetable, including due dates for assignments, will be made available on Brightspace.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Number of (2 hour) lectures: 4
Names of lecturers: Ms. E. Kentin
Required preparation by students: to be announced
Tutorials
Number of tutorials: 5
Names of instructors: Ms. E. Kentin
Required preparation by students: writing assignments
Other methods of instruction
Description: Presentation skills training
Number of (1 hour) trainings: 5
Names of instructors: to be announced
Required preparation by students: instructions in the syllabus
Assessment method
Examination form(s)
Partial exams (writing assignments):
List of Arguments (12%)
Memorial (36%)
Memorandum of Oral Pleading (24%).
Note: Only the List of Arguments can be retaken, with a maximum possible grade of 6 out of 10 for the retake. The weighted average of the writing assignments must be above 5.5 to qualify for the oral exam.
Final examination (oral exam):
Presentation before a Moot Court panel of three judges (28%).
Note: The oral exam may be retaken in exceptional circumstances.
Submission procedures
Upload via Brightspace. See for further information the syllabus.
Areas to be tested within the exam
General knowledge and case specific, in-depth understanding of international law.
Skills in legal writing, presentation, argumentation and persuasion.
Reading list
Obligatory course materials
Syllabus available on Brightspace
OSCOLA (4th edn, Hart Publishers) and OSCOLA 2006: Citing International Law, both available at http://www.law.ox.ac.uk/publications/ oscola.php
CE Schjatvet & Z Hafez, ILSA Guide to International Law Moot Court Competition (LLI 2003) (available online at https://www.ilsa.org ($10) and to be borrowed from the lecturer)
Recommended course materials
S Bailey, The Essentials of Academic Writing for International Students (Routledge 2015)
E Baskind, Mooting: the definitive guide (Routledge 2018)
C Kee, The art of argument: a guide to mooting (CUP 2006)
JG Merrills, International dispute settlement (6th edn, CUP 2017)
SI Strong, How to write law essays and exams (4rd edn, OUP 2014)
Registration
The course has a maximum capacity of 32 students. Exchange students have priority and will be registered first by the Office of International Education. Any remaining spots will be made available to law students from Leiden University and other Dutch Universities. Please contact the course coordinator.
Contact
Coordinator: Ms. Esther Kentin
Work address: KOG, Room A311
Contact information: Moot Court Secretariat A319.
Telephone number: 071 5275358/1985
E-mail: e.kentin@law.leidenuniv.nl
Institution/division
Institute: Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of Law
Department: Moot Court and Advocacy
Room number Secretariat: A319
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 09:00-16:00
Telephone number Secretariat: 071 5271985
E-mail: mootcourt@law.leidenuniv.nl