Mooting

What is mooting?

Mooting involves students working as a team to prepare documents and oral argument on a set legal problem against opposing counsel and before a judge. This extracurricular activity provides our students with a taste of what it is like to engage in court proceedings.

Law moots

There are a range of law moots that students can get involved in as part of their study at the Sydney Law School. Participation in these moots contribute towards units of study and the standard credit points will apply. 

Jessup International Law Moot

Sydney Law School students compete annually in the world's most prestigious international law mooting competition, the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition, and have done so with great success. Sydney Law School holds the world record for Jessup Cup victories, being named world champions in Washington DC in 1996, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2021. The Jessup Moot provides competitors with an unparalleled opportunity to work closely in a team to represent fictional States in a hypothetical case before the International Court of Justice on cutting-edge areas of international law.

Applications are now open for the Jessup International Law Moot 2023

To find out more, join us for an information session with Sydney Law School’s Faculty Adviser, Dr Alison Pert, the 2023 coach Jake Jerogin (a member of the World Champion 2021 team), and the 2022 team.

Date: Tuesday 9 August 2022 at 1.15 pm
Location:  Online via Zoom and in person in the Law Lounge, Level 1, Sydney Law School.
For a Zoom link, please email alison.pert@sydney.edu.au.

You can also read about the Jessup Moot competition and how to apply (pdf, 125KB).

Applications close Wednesday 17 August 2022.

Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot

The University of Sydney Law School also enters a team each year in the Willem C. Vis Moot International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competition, which is a prestigious and widely recognised international mooting competition.  The Vis Moot concerns a transnational commercial dispute governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, and the method of dispute settlement is by international commercial arbitration.

Applications are due on Wednesday 23 August 2023, and interviews will be held the following week.  

If you have any questions, please email Prof. Chester Brown at chester.brown@sydney.edu.au. Tokyo Negotiation and Arbitration Moot

The Tokyo Negotiation and Arbitration Moot enables students to compete internationally in simulated bilateral negotiation and arbitration of a hypothetical scenario. Students may register in either the English-language or Japanese-language section of this moot. Visit the Australian Network for Japanese Law website for more information.

Students also have the opportunity to participant in other moots through the Sydney University Law Society as extracurricular activity.