Competitive Moots
*ALL COMPETITIVE MOOTS COUNT AS YOUR JANUARY TERM COURSE*
Students wishing to do a competitive moot should select a January term course which they can then drop if selected for a competitive team.
Participating in a competitive moot can be one of the most rewarding experiences at law school. The Common Law Section offers a wide selection of moots covering different subject areas. While most moots test appellate advocacy skills, others require participants to demonstrate their abilities in trial, arbitration or other settings. The moots to be sponsored (tentatively) in the upcoming academic year are the following:
ENGLISH MOOTS
• GALE CUP Recent SCC simulation
• HAROLD G. FOX Intellectual Property
• ICC International Commercial Mediation
• KAWASKIMHON National Aboriginal Law
• WILSON Equality s. 15
• WILLEM C. VIS International Commercial Arbitration
• WTO/ELSA WTO Law
BILINGUAL MOOTS
• ARNUP Cup/SOPINKA Cup/GUY GUERIN Criminal law
• PHILIP C. JESSUP Public International law
• LASKIN Constitutional/Administrative law
FRENCH MOOTS
• MONCTON OTTAWA Private law
• ROUSSEAU Public International law
Not all competitive moots are offered every year due to budgetary constraints. Students who want an opportunity to participate in a moot that is not being sponsored by the school should be aware of the following constraints:
A supervisor who is acceptable to the Moot Committee must be found. Funding arrangements are the responsibility of the students and must be cleared with the Development Officer.
Tryouts for the moots will be held in September or early October 2009. Notices will be posted around Fauteux and distributed by email. Participation in competitive moots is worth three credits, counts as your January term course and satisfies the Section’s oral advocacy requirement.
If you have questions, email Professor Anthony Daimsis at adaimsis@uottawa.ca. This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it.
CML 3121J - Gale Cup Moot (English)
The Gale Cup is a national moot which simulates a hearing at the appellate court level, and involves a case recently decided by the Supreme Court of Canada. It is usually held at the end of February or beginning of March. The moot is sponsored by the Canadian Bar Association and is usually held in Toronto.
CML 3122J - Philip C. Jessup International Moot (Bilingual)
The Philip C. Jessup Moot is an annual moot involving a fictional international law case argued before the International Court of Justice. The Canadian Round of the Jessup is held in mid-February at a Canadian Law School. Winners of the Canadian round go on to the International round which is held in Washington D.C. in early April. A basic international law course or an equivalent is an asset.
CML 3123J - Laskin Competition (Bilingual)
The Laskin Competition is a moot court in the area of constitutional and administrative law, where participating teams from some fifteen Canadian law schools are invited to argue before the “Canadian Court of Justice”. The competition is held in February. Applicants should have taken Administrative Law as well as have at least a passive knowledge of the other official language.
CML 3124J - Moncton Ottawa Competition (French)
The Moncton-Ottawa Moot is a French language appeal proceeding on a private law issue. The two- member team is required to prepare a factum and to present its argument orally before the Supreme Court of Moncton-Ottawa. The competition is held alternatively in Moncton and Ottawa.
CML 3125J - National Aboriginal Law Moot: Kawaskimhon “Speaking With Knowledge” (English)
The Aboriginal Moot is a national moot held every year at a different place in Canada. It consists of a team of two and focuses on Aboriginal Law issues. Students require a course in Aboriginal Peoples and the Law.
CML 3120JA - Arnup Cup/Sopinka Cup/Guy Guerin Competition (Bilingual)
This moot is devoted to the area of Criminal Law, and gives the student an excellent trial advocacy experience. The Arnup Cup is held in late February and it involves only the Ontario law schools. The top two teams at the Arnup move on to the Sopinka Cup which represents all Canadian law schools. The Sopinka Cup happens in early March. There are no formal requirements; however, a strong interest in criminal law is an asset.
CML 3120JB - Canadian Corporate/Securities Competition
The Corporate/Securities Moot is a national moot sponsored by Davies, Ward, Phillips & Vineberg and dealing with corporate and securities issues. It is held in Toronto in March. The moot consists of four-members and requires an interest in business law.
CML 3120JC - Jean Pictet Competition (French)
This competition involves oral pleading and simulation in the area of international humanitarian law. It is attended by teams from a dozen law schools from various countries around the world. The team is presented with a fictitious armed conflict raising international humanitarian law issues. A recommended prerequisite is CML3531. Droit international public or the corresponding English course.
CML 3120JD - Mathews, Dinsdale & Clarke Labour Arbitration Competition
The Mathews, Dinsdale & Clarke Labour Arbitration Moot is for students who have an interest in Labour Law. The team consists of two students who must be in their second year. This moot is held in Toronto in late January. Students prepare oral argument only, but each team prepares arguments for both union and management sides.
CML 3120JE - Wilson Competition (English)
The Wilson Moot is a national moot which deals with equality issues and in particular section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It consists of a team of four. There is both a factum and oral argument requirement.
CML 3120JF - Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Competition (English)
This international law competition deals with an arbitration case relating to a sales transaction between parties in different countries. Students are required to use the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration as well as a set of institutional rules of arbitration to develop arguments in favour of the claimant and the respondent in the case. Students must prepare two memoranda (due in December and February) and participate in oral hearings that take place in Vienna, Austria the week before Easter. The competition is global in nature. Last year 228 law schools from 57 countries were represented.
Prerequisite: Students interested in this moot must take Studies in Business Law: International Commercial Arbitration (CML 4303) in the Fall term. See the description in the Course Selection Guide.
CML 3120JG - René Cassin Competition
This competition aims to promote the study and practice of human rights law, especially of the European Convention. Teams from law schools everywhere in the world attend this competition. Working under the supervision of a legal advisor or linguist, teams are invited to study a fictitious case, prepare a factum and make oral arguments. The competition is held in the Human Rights Building in Strasbourg, where teams appear before a jury composed of professors, magistrates, international officials and lawyers. A recommended prerequisite is CML 3531. Droit international public or CML 4509. Études en matière des droits de la personne : protection internationale or the equivalent English courses.
CML 3120JH - ICC International Commercial Mediation (English)
With a view towards training lawyers to better meet the dispute resolution needs of today’s cross-cultural market, the competition gives students an opportunity to test their problem-solving skills in a moot international mediation.
CML 3120JI - Ruby R. Vale Interschool Corporate Moot Court Competition
This moot takes place in Wilmington, Delaware (U.S.A) in mid-March at the Widener University School of Law. Awards totaling over $1000 will be presented to the best brief, best oralist, winning and finalist teams. This moot is ideal for those students with an interest in corporate law.
CML 3120JJ - Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition
The Inter-American Human Rights moot is held near the end of May. It is a bilingual competition for law schools from throughout the Western Hemisphere. It is based on the Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights and the legal obligations contemplated in the American Convention on Human Rights. Teams consist of two students who both write a memorandum and participate in oral argument.
CML 3120JK - Rousseau Competition (French)
This moot comprises a national competition which is held in March and an international competition which is held at the end of April or early May. Four-member teams are required to prepare a factum and oral argument for two fictitious parties defending their position before an international body. A recommended prerequisite is CML 3531. Droit international public or the equivalent English course.
CML 3120JL - Jean-Pictet Competition (English)
The Jean-Pictet Competition consists of pleadings and simulation in international humanitarian law. Students are presented with a fictitious armed conflict and placed in specific roles through which they are expected to demonstrate their knowledge of international humanitarian law.
CML 3120JM – WTO Moot (English)
The ELSA World Trade Organization Moot Court Competition is an annual international moot court competition involving law schools from around the world. Four students will be selected to represent the University of Ottawa Common Law team at competitive tryouts to be held in September 2009. A case problem will be posted on the website: www.elsamootcourt.org in October, and students will prepare written submissions for the complainant and respondent by end of January/early February. Students will then participate in the oral competition in the North American Regional Round which will be held at the University of Ottawa in March 2010. The Final Round, involving the top teams from the regional rounds in Europe, Asia, Latin America and North America, will be held in the Dominican Republic in April or May 2010. The UOttawa team coach for 2009/2010 will be Mr. Rambod Behboodi, senior legal counsel in Finance Canada, who has had extensive experience in WTO dispute settlement in the Trade Law Bureau, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, as well as in the Canadian Mission to the WTO in Geneva.
CML 3120JR - The Harold G. Fox Moot (English)
The Harold G. Fox Moot is intended to promote the furtherance of education in the intellectual property field, and to provide participants with the opportunity to interact with jurists of the Supreme, Ontario, and Federal Courts and experienced practitioners of intellectual property law. It is named in honour of the late Harold G. Fox, one of Canada’s leading intellectual property scholars and advocates.