Module LAW48615: Mooting in International Commercial Arbitration

Department: Law

LAW48615: Mooting in International Commercial Arbitration

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To enable students who have a foundation in a relevant area of law to pursue an advanced teamwork project.
• Students will develop skills in problem-solving, independent research, oral and written advocacy and legal team working.
• Students will develop an advanced understand of the laws relating to international commercial dispute resolution and the international sale of goods.
• To provide students with the opportunity to develop their mooting and oral presentation skills.
• To prepare students for international competitions, and working in a team as an effective team member, similar to law firm work environments.

Content

• A practice question containing issues related to international commercial arbitration and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).
• Application of international commercial arbitration principles in a practice question.
• Application of international sale of goods (CISG) principles into a practice question.
• Oral presentation and advocacy skills.
• Highlight best practice in written and oral advocacy, seeking to bridge the practice and theory of international commercial arbitration.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will gain a deep understanding of the relevant concepts and rules of international commercial dispute resolution and the international sale of goods.

• Students will gain an ability to deconstruct and analyse complex factual situations using the principles, rules and procedures of international law.
• Students will develop an ability to craft legal arguments (written and oral) relevant to set issues, regardless of one's own position on the matter.
• Students will gain an ability to reflect on complex questions of legal policy concerning international dispute resolution and contracts for the sale of goods.

• Students will be able to develop an ability to do legal work in a group setting
• Students will develop skills to work in a team as an efficient team member in a competitive environment, similar to law firm work experience.
• Students will experience solving an arbitration case and acting as counsel in a reputable international moot competition.
• Students will gain an ability to make oral and written arguments in an arbitral setting.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Seminars are used primarily to impart knowledge and to suggest approaches to evaluation and critical analysis.
• Through discussion-led seminars the students will develop arguments to analyse the problem with the guidance of the module leader.
• Relevant case law and literature will be discussed in one specific seminar.
• Another specific seminar will be on oral presentation, and advocacy skills.
• Feedback on formative and summative assessment to be provided in accordance with Law School feedback and university assessment policies.
• Written memorandum, group work (6 students per group) component, 1 x 12,000 words (50%), to develop the ability to do teamwork and to produce a written legal analysis of a complex problem. Students are a member of a team of six students. In case a group has less than six students, the group work component will be adjusted. Each team will be assessed separately. One mark is awarded for the memorial for each team, and all members of the team receive that mark for the group work component.
• Individual essay of 1500 words focusing on theoretical aspects of the law relating to international dispute resolution (30%).
• Oral assessment: 5-minute individual student presentation, delivering one of the (either from claimant or respondent submissions) arguments orally efficiently (20%).

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Students will receive written feedback on a draft of their memorandum. Students will be given the opportunity to present oral arguments relating to the written memorandum in a mooting context before the summative assessment. Feedback will be oral and will be given as soon as practicable after the oral argument. Students will be given the opportunity to submit a draft outline for the essay for feedback.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University