1. DEFINITION
1.1 Abbreviations
“MMU” refers to Multimedia University.
“MULS” refers to Multimedia University’s Law Society.
1.2 General Definition
“Administrator” means the person appointed to administer a Moot.
“Advanced Rounds” means the Semifinal Rounds and the Final Round.
“Bailiff” means the person who maintains order during a Moot.
“Competition” means the Law Moot Competition organised and administered by MULS.
“Competition Director” means the director of the Competition who is a member of the MULS and who heads the Organising Committee.
“Competition Problem” means the official competition question for the Preliminary Rounds and the Advanced Rounds as supplemented or corrected by any official Problem Clarifications or corrections.
“Head Administrator” means the person in charge of the panel of Administrators.
“Memorial” means the written pleadings of each Team, written and submitted in pursuant to these Rules.
“Moot” means the round of mooting in the Competition.
“Official Timetable” means the official timetable of the Competition.
“Organising Committee” means the members of the MULS who are in charge of organising and managing the Competition.
“Preliminary Rounds” means the rounds of mooting to determine the four (4) highest ranking Teams in each Tournament that would progress to the Advanced Rounds.
“Problem Clarifications” means the official clarifications of the Competition Problem and of these Rules.
“Rules” means the Law Moot Competition Rules, subject to any supplementary rules.
“Team” means any team registered for the Competition.
“Tournament” means the English Tournament, the official language of which is the English language, and the Bahasa Malaysia Tournament, the official language of which is Bahasa Malaysia.
1.3 Interpretation
In these Rules unless the context otherwise requires,
(a) words and expressions in the singular include the plural, and words and expressions in the plural include the singular;
(b) words and expressions importing the masculine gender include feminine.
2. ORGANISATION OF THE COMPETITION
2.1 Organising Committee and Competition Director
2.1.1 The Organising Committee shall administer the Competition.
2.1.2 The Competition Director in consultation with the Head Administrator shall have the final say in all matters or disputes related to the conduct of the Competition.
2.1.3 Competition Director shall not:
(a) sit as a judge nor influence the judge(s) in any way;
(b) provide any assistance or instructions to any Team participating in the Competition;
(c) prejudice any participating Team in any way.
2.2 Administrator(s)
2.2.1 There shall be a panel of Administrators who are law academicians.
2.2.2 The Head Administrator will appoint an Administrator for a Moot and will designate the date and location for each Moot.
2.2.3 The Administrators must conduct a Moot consistent with these Rules and in consultation with the Head Administrator.
2.2.4 The Head Administrator shall serve as final arbiter of implementation and interpretation of these Rules.
2.2.5 Administrators shall not:
(a) serve as coach or in any other way assist a Team registered in his or her Moot;
(b) prejudice any participating Team in any way.
3. STRUCTURE OF THE COMPETITION
3.1 Competition Tournaments
3.1.1 Unless otherwise specified in the supplementary rules, the Competition consists of two (2) Tournaments:
(a) the English Tournament; and
(b) the Bahasa Malaysia Tournament.
3.1.2. Teams participating in each Tournament will be determined by a random draw after the close of registration in the Official Timetable.
3.1.3 Each Tournament consists of two (2) levels:
(a) the Preliminary Rounds; and
(b) the Advanced Rounds.
3.1.4 Preliminary Rounds is applicable if there are more than sixteen (16) participating Teams.
3.2 Preliminary Rounds
3.2.1 Unless otherwise specified in the supplementary rules, all Teams shall compete in the Preliminary Rounds.
3.2.2 The pairing of Teams in the Preliminary Rounds shall be determined by a random draw.
3.2.3 In the event that an odd number of Teams register for the Competition, the odd Team will moot ex parte in accordance with Rule 8.4.2.
3.2.4 The Administrators may modify the pairings to account for absent Teams or other contingencies. If Teams must be newly paired, they must be provided their new opponents’ Memorials as soon as reasonably possible, but in no event less than fifteen (15) minutes prior to the start of the newly paired round.
3.2.5 Four highest ranking Teams in each Tournament will progress to the Advanced Rounds.
3.3 Advanced Rounds
3.3.1 The Advanced Rounds consist of the Semifinal Rounds and the Final Round.
3.3.2 Teams progressing to the Advanced Rounds will be announced after the conclusion of the Preliminary Rounds.
3.3.3 The draw for the Semifinal Rounds is as follows (where Team A is the highest placed team and Team D the lowest placed team):
Round 1: Team A v Team D
Round 2: Team B v Team C
3.3.4 The winning Team from each Semifinal Round progresses to the Final Round.
4. PARTICIPATION AND ELIGIBILITY
4.1 Team Eligibility
4.1.1 All MMU law students are eligible to participate in the Competition.
4.1.2 The number of Teams eligible to participate shall be determined by the Organising Committee.
4.2 Registration
4.2.1 Each Team must complete and submit a registration form to the Organising Committee by the registration deadline in the Official Timetable.
4.2.2 Each Team must remit the appropriate registration fee (if any) by the registration deadline in the Official Timetable. The amount of registration fee payable (if any) will be prescribed in the supplementary rules.
4.3 Team Composition and Number as Identification
4.3.1 Unless otherwise specified in the supplementary rules, a Team is composed of two (2) members, namely one (1) counsel and one (1) co-counsel.
4.3.2. Each Team will be assigned with a team number by the Organising Committee upon registration.
5. COMPETITION PROBLEM
5.1 Release of Competition Problem
5.1.1 The Competition Problem will be released on the date or dates in the Official Timetable and the same facts in the Competition Problem will be used throughout the Competition.
5.2 Problem Clarifications
5.2.1 Teams may submit written requests for clarifications of the Competition Problem to the Head Administrator by the date in the Official Timetable.
5.2.2 Problem Clarifications will be limited to factual clarifications of the Competition Problem and no legal clarifications will be allowed.
5.2.3 The Head Administrator in with the panel of Administrators will publish Problem Clarifications on the date in the Official Timetable.
5.2.4 Each Team must ensure that it receives and adequately notes the Problem Clarifications in preparation for the Competition.
6. JUDGES
6.1 Eligibility of Persons to Judge
6.1.1 The Head Administrator shall determine the persons who are eligible to serve as judges in the Competition.
6.1.2 Judges should disqualify themselves from judging a Team if they have a personal or professional relationship with someone affiliated with that Team, and if that relationship might jeopardise their impartiality or create an appearance of impropriety. However, judges should not disqualify themselves from judging a round merely because they have an acquaintance with a Team member.
6.2 Number of Judges
6.2.1 The Preliminary Rounds are heard by one (1) judge.
6.2.2 The Advanced Rounds may be heard by one (1) judge or a panel of three (3) judges.
6.3 Commentary by Judges
Judges are encouraged to provide direct feedback to the Teams regarding the Teams’ performance at the completion of a Moot. In providing such feedback, judges are advised to give due regard to the time limitations and schedule of the Competition.
7. MEMORIALS
7.1 Submission of Memorials
7.1.1 Each Team must prepare and submit a Memorial.
7.1.2 Each Team must submit the hardcopy of the Memorial to the Head Administrator on the date and time specified in the Official Timetable. The duty to prepare the hardcopy of the Memorial is on each Team.
7.2 Language of Memorials
Teams must submit Memorials in the official language of the Tournament in which they are participating.
7.3 Structure of Memorials
Rules relating to formatting, content, citation and anonymity of memorials are set out in Schedule 1.
8. MOOT
8.1 Language
Teams must moot in the official language of the Tournament in which they are participating. Interpreters will not be available.
8.2 General Procedures
8.2.1 In a Moot, each Team is allowed forty five (45) minutes to moot, which is to be apportioned as follows:
(a) counsel – 20 minutes
(b) co-counsel – 20 minutes
(c) rebuttal and surrebuttal – 5 minutes
8.2.2 Any of the counsels in each Team is entitled to deliver a rebuttal or surrebuttal.
8.2.3 Nothing may be handed up to the judge(s).
8.3 Extension of Time
Judges may, at their discretion, permit time extensions if counsels are requested to elaborate their argument.
8.4 Ex Parte Procedure
8.4.1 In circumstances where after waiting five (5) minutes, a Team fails to appear for a scheduled Moot, the Administrator may allow the Moot to proceed ex parte.
8.4.2 In the ex parte proceeding, the attending Team shall present its oral submissions, which is scored by the judge(s) to the extent possible as if the absent Team had been present and arguing. In such a case, unless supported with justifiable reasons, the Team that fails to appear for the scheduled Moot forfeits all scores stipulated under Rule 9.1.1(a).
8.5 Communications during a Moot
Only communications listed below are permitted:
(a) A counsel may communicate with the judge(s), and the judge(s) may communicate with that counsel, during the counsel’s allotted time.
(b) Counsels are not permitted as to communicate orally with each other to avoid disruptions and distractions. All communication at the counsel table shall be in writing.
(c) Counsels shall not communicate either orally or in writing with spectators or the Bailiff.
8.6 Spectators
The Preliminary Rounds and Advanced Rounds are open to the general public. During a Moot, the presence of the Team’s coaches, advisors, or other spectators affiliated are permitted in the courtroom.
8.7 Prohibition from attending a Moot
8.7.1 Team members or persons directly affiliated with any Team shall not attend a Moot in which their Team is not competing. If there is any violation the Administrator must be informed immediately, without disturbing the Moot, or immediately after the Moot has ended.
8.7.2 The Head Administrator shall have the discretion to impose a penalty on teams that violate this rule.
8.8 Audio and Videotaping
8.8.1 No audio or videotaping of moots is permitted without the advance permission of the judge(s) and the Administrator. The use of any appliance, capable of storing audio and/or video is prohibited during the Competition.
8.8.2 Participating Teams are not permitted to view or listen to any such audio tape until after the completion of the Tournament in which the taped Moot occurs.
8.8.3 MULS reserves all rights to the audio and videotaping, or any other form of audio or visual reproduction, of any Moot or part thereof. All Teams participating in the Competition are deemed to have consented to taping and broadcasting of that Moot.
8.9 Computers and Laptops in Courtrooms
During a Moot, counsels shall not operate laptops, handheld or desktop computers or computing devices for any purpose.
9. SCORING SYSTEM
9.1 Method of Scoring
9.1.1 The scoring system consists of two parts, namely:
(a) Scoring of the Moot (70%);
(b) Scoring of the Memorial (30%).
9.1.2 A Team’s total competition score is the sum total of (a) and (b). For the break down of the scores, refer to Schedule 2 and 3.
9.1.3 Scores for the Memorials will be given by the Administrator(s), and such scores may not be revealed to the judge(s). Scores for the Moot will be given by the respective judge(s).
9.1.4 All decisions made in the scoring system are at the discretion of the Administrator(s) and/or judge(s) and shall not be disputed.
9.1.5 Administrators and judges must keep confidential from all Teams the exact score in each pairing, and each judge’s determination in the pairing.
9.1.6 Only the identity of the Teams progressing to the Advanced Rounds and the winning Team(s) in the Advanced shall be revealed.
9.2 Determination of Ranking in Preliminary Rounds
9.2.1 Teams shall be ranked by the highest sum total of Rule 9.1.1(a) and (b).
9.2.2 In the event of a tie, Teams having the higher score for the Moot shall be ranked higher.
9.2.3 In the event of a tie in respect of the Moot score, Teams having the higher score for the legal content of the Memorial shall be ranked higher.
9.2.4 In the event of a tie with respect to both the Moot and the Memorial, Teams progressing to the Advanced Rounds shall be decided by the panel of Administrators and the decision shall not be disputed.
9.3 Determination of Winners in Advanced Rounds
9.3.1 The winner of a Moot in the Advanced Rounds will be the Team having the highest sum total of Rule 9.1.1(a) and (b).
9.3.2 In the event of a tie, the Team having the higher score for the Moot shall be the winner.
9.3.3 In the event of a tie in respect of the Moot score, the Team having the higher score for the legal content of the Memorial shall be the winner.
9.3.4 In the event of a tie with respect to both the Moot and the Memorial, the winner shall be decided by the judge or panel of judges, whichever is applicable, and the decision shall not be disputed.
10. AWARDS
10.1 Winner of the Tournament
The winning Team in the Final Round in each Tournament wins the Tournament and will receive the Challenge Trophy.
10.2 Best Oralist
10.2.1 In each Moot, the counsel with the highest individual oral score in Rule 9.1.1(a) shall be deemed to be the Best Oralist.
10.2.2 In the event of a tie, the judge(s) shall have the discretion to determine the Best Oralist, and such decision shall not be disputed.
10.2.3 Only the Best Oralist in the Final Round will be eligible for the Best Oralist Trophy.
10.3 Best Memorial
10.3.1 In the Final Round, the Team with the highest score for the Memorial in Rule 9.1.1(b) will be entitled for the Best Memorial Trophy.
10.3.2 In the event of a tie, the Head Administrator in consultation with the panel of Administrators shall have the discretion to determine the Team eligible for such Trophy, and such decision shall not be disputed.
11. MISCELLANEOUS
11.1 Complaint Procedure
11.1.1 If a Team believes that a violation of the Rules has occurred during a Moot, the Team shall inform the Bailiff in writing within five (5) minutes of the conclusion of that Moot. Teams must approach the Administrator with complaints if there is no Bailiff.
11.1.2 The violation and the parties involved in the violation shall be clearly described in the written notification. Teams are not allowed to approach the judges directly with regards to any violation of the Rules.
11.1.3 Failure to follow any of the procedures stipulated in this paragraph shall result in a waiver of the Team’s complaint.
11.1.4 If one or more judges believe that a violation has occurred during a Moot, he shall inform the Bailiff orally or in writing within five (5) minutes of the completion of the Moot. When possible, the matter should be brought to the Bailiff outside the attention of the other judges.
11.2 Additional and Supplementary Rules
The Organising Committee may make rules in addition and/or supplementary to the Rules in respect of any matters incidental, ancillary or supplementary thereto or concerning the conduct and administration of the Competition.
