6th ANNUAL AFRICAN TRADE MOOT
UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA
28 SEPTEMBER –2 OCTOBER 2009
OFFICIAL RULES
1. GENERAL
The Sixth Annual African Trade Moot ("the Competition") will be held at University of Pretoria, South Africa, from 28 September – 2 October 2009. The administrative authority over the competition rests with the Steering Committee which is comprised of representatives of the University of Pretoria and University of the Western Cape and whoever else they wish to co-opt.
The judges in the competition will be panels consisting of representatives of the participating law faculties in the preliminary rounds. In the final round judges will be a panel of experts which will amongst others comprise of representatives from the WTO.
An official programme for the competition will be issued by the Steering Committee at the start of the competition, indicating the time of each session.
A problem will be posed for argument by the Steering Committee and will be made available to the participants in advance. There will be preliminary rounds, before the faculty representatives, and a final round before the experts. In the preliminary rounds a team will argue the problem twice: once as complainants and once as respondents. The opposing teams in the preliminary rounds will be announced after registration on 28 September 2009.
Teams progressing to the semi-finals will be announced after completion of the preliminary rounds. All rounds will be conducted in English.
2. SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY
All English speaking law and economic schools from the African continent invited by the Steering Committee are eligible to participate in the competition. Each eligible school may enter only one team in the competition.
3. TEAM MEMBER ELIGIBILITY
Students studying towards a Bachelor degree in law or economics are eligible to participate in the competition. A team member must be a full-time or part- time student at one of the participating institutions during the calendar year of the competition.
4. ASSISTANCE
Assistance rendered to a team in the preparation of its case, including that from faculty members, shall be limited to a general discussion of issues, suggestions as to research sources and decision-making. Assistance which would interfere with the presentation being substantially the original work of the team members is prohibited. Team members found to have received inappropriate assistance shall be disqualified from the competition.
5. TEAM SELECTION
A team shall be composed of two members. Ideally, a team should consist of one law student and one economic student. However, a team will not be penalized, if both team members represent one faculty. Team members are to be chosen by a democratic and transparent method approved by the responsible authority within the school. For the purposes of the competition, notice to one team member shall constitute notice to all team members. The same two students who registered at the beginning must participate throughout the competition. A team member who cannot compete due to vis major may be substituted at the discretion of the Steering Committee.
6. SUBMISSIONS
Each team must prepare submissions (heads of argument or written pleadings) in support of the case of the complainant as well as the respondent. One (1) copy of the submissions for each side (one for the Complainant and one for the Respondent) should be submitted to reach the Steering Committee before 14 September 2009. The submissions should be sent as attachments to an e-mail message, to the following address:
Submissions received by fax or by post will be rejected.
Submissions will be marked by two (2) independent experts before or during the Competition. A score of zero (0) will be given to any team that fails to submit one copy of the submissions to reach the organisers before the 14 September 2009 deadline. Each team is required to submit eight (8) hard copies of each submission to the organisers when they register in Pretoria on 28 September 2009.
The Steering Committee cannot provide computer and photocopying facilities to participants during the Moot Competition. Each team shall have a compilation of the materials referred to in its submissions available during oral pleadings.
General format: The submissions shall be composed of the following provisions:
a. Statement of facts
Each submission shall include a full statement of facts. The statement of facts shall be limited to the stipulated facts, it shall not include any distortions of facts, argumentative statements or conclusions.
b. Main arguments
Each submission shall include an executive summary. The summary shall consist of the substantive arguments to be presented.
*A standard cover page must accompany the written submissions. The cover of each submission shall include:
1) the heading-"African International Trade Moot"
2) the year of the competition
3) the document title (i.e. "Complainant's Submission or Respondent's Submission).
The cover page should not carry any mark that identifies the team such as the name of university or names of team members.
*A summary, stating in brief the main arguments. The summary must not exceed one page.
*The submission shall not exceed 4,000 words (including cover page and footnotes if these are used).
Spacing: The written submission must be double-spaced.
Form: The written submission must be typewritten
Margins: Top: 2cm, Bottom: 2cm, Left: 2cm, Right: 2cm
7. THE USE OF OPPOSING TEAMS' SUBMISSIONS
As far as the preliminary rounds are concerned, no team shall be allowed to view in advance or otherwise become privy to the submissions of any other team before that is made available to them by the Steering Committee .
8. ORAL SUBMISSIONS
8.1 Procedure
a) General
The order of oral submissions shall be complainant team, respondent team, rebuttal by complainant team. All team members must act as oralists during any round. No team shall make submissions for longer than 30 minutes (including rebuttal) during the preliminary rounds, and in the final round for longer than 40 minutes. One oralist may not use more than 20 minutes. Rebuttal may not exceed 5 minutes. Panellists may at their discretion, extend the round to beyond 30 or 40 minutes, up to an additional 5 minutes per team.
b) Ex parte procedures
Where a team fails to arrive for a scheduled round, the Steering Committee, after waiting for ten minutes, may announce a new team against which the other team will argue, or allow the round to proceed ex parte. In an ex parte proceeding, the attending team presents its oral submission, which is scored by the panellists. In such a case, the team that fails to arrive for the scheduled round shall forfeit all of the round's points. If good cause is shown, the Steering Committee may arrange for an additional round for the absent team later during the competition, if time and administrative concerns permit.
8.2 Scope of oral submissions
The scope of a team's oral submission is not limited to the scope of its written submission. The scope of the complainant's rebuttal is limited to the scope of the respondent's oral submission. The use of exhibits is prohibited. No written or other prepared documentation shall be shown or otherwise transmitted to the panellists.
8.3 Scouting
No member of a team may attend a preliminary round or view the submissions of any other team if they are scheduled to compete against that team. Teams violating this rule may be disqualified. All rounds will be open to the public. Audio and video taping of oral submissions are prohibited unless authorised by the Steering Committee.
8.4 Oral and written communication
No oral or written communication may take place between team members and any spectator during a round.
8.5 Absence from the hearingroom
No team member shall be allowed to leave the hearing room for the duration of the proceedings of a specific case in which he or she is taking part.
8.6 Best oralist
The name of the best oralist based on the points indicated for oral argument on the score sheets, will be announced at the end of the competition.
8.7 Best written submission
The name of the team that submitted the best written submission, will be announced at the end of the competition.
8.8 Final round
In the final round teams will be scored exclusively on their oral submissions.
9. CONFIDENTIALITY OF TEAM IDENTITY
Each team shall be assigned a number at the start of the competition and shall, for the duration of the competition, be identified only by that number, to ensure that the panellists do not know which university or country a team represents. The identity of teams taking part during a specific round shall not be divulged to the panellists of any round before that round is completed.
10. INTERPRETATION OF RULES
Any dispute that arises during the competition that concerns interpretation and application of these rules, or the general administration of the competition, will be resolved by the Steering Committee. All decisions of the Steering Committee concerning questions of rules, interpretation and application are final. The Steering Committee, in interpreting the official rules, may promulgate such other measures as may be deemed advisable for the orderly conduct of the competition, provided that these measures do not violate the spirit of these official rules.
11. CLARIFICATION OF THE PROBLEM
Participants may submit written requests for clarification of points in the problem which are manifestly unclear and which must be clarified in order for the participants to develop their submissions. Requests for clarification must be received by the Steering Committee by 28 August 2009. Clarifications will be made available to all participants before 7 September 2009. The onus is on each team to establish before the competition whether there has been any such clarification or alteration.
12. DISQUALIFICATION AND PENALTIES
12.1 Procedure
The Steering Committee has the power to disqualify a team on the basis of violations of these rules or the spirit of the competition. It also has the power to impose penalties, in the form of subtractions from the marks awarded. Panellists may propose disqualification or penalties, but these measures will only take effect once endorsed by the Steering Committee.
When the issue of disqualification or penalties arises, the Steering Committee, on its own motion or as a result of a team complaint, must ascertain the facts of the situation in order to determine whether an infraction has occurred. The team initiating the complaint must give timely notice to the Steering Committee and the accused team. If, on its own motion, the Steering Committee investigates a possible violation, it must give timely notice to the accused team. The accused team shall be allowed to reply to the complaints made. Where panellists intend proposing disqualification or the imposition of penalties, they must inform the teams accordingly and give them time to respond at the end of each particular round.
Complaints pertaining specifically to submissions must be submitted to the Steering Committee within one hour of the completion of the round in which the alleged violation occurred. Written submission and oral submission penalty points will be assessed against the total score given to the penalised team by the panellists in the particular round.
12.2 Grounds
The Steering Committee may disqualify a team or impose a penalty against a team for behaviour which substantially prejudices the competition, including, but not limited to the following:
1. scouting
2. late submission of prescribed written submissions to the Steering Committee, or failure to submit;
3. failure to meet written submission length and form requirements;
4. communication between team members and any person (other than panellists) during the oral pleadings;
5. engaging in poor sportsmanship;
6. submitting petty, frivolous and verbose complaints;
7. submitting substantially ill-conceived requests for clarification of the problem;
8. revealing the identity of a team to the panellists of a round before that round has taken place.
13. SCORING
Scoring of the preliminary round shall consist of two parts:
1) scoring of the written submission and
2) scoring of the oral arguments.
The calculation of points shall be subject to the deduction of penalty points.
14. TIE BREAKING PROCEDURE
If two or more teams tie in points, the Steering Committee shall devise a procedure, at its discretion, to break the tie.
15. RANKING OF TEAMS
The winner of the final round shall be recognized as the competition champion and the opposing team shall be recognized as the runner-up. All other teams will be ranked according to their place in the preliminary rounds.
16. ATTENDANCE OF THE COURSE ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW
The course on international trade law as presented by the WTO forms part of the Trade Moot. Attendance is compulsory for all participants. Insufficient attendance by any team members will disqualify a team from participating, or may lead to the imposition of penalties, unless good cause for such absence is shown.