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Rules of Procedure for the National Pre-Selection Rounds

of the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition

(revised August 2002)

Article I. Purpose

1. The present rules govern National Pre-Selection Rounds held in pursuance of Article IV of the Rules of Procedure for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition.

2. The Rules of Procedure for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition apply to National Pre-Selection Rounds when questions or issues arise which have not been explicitly provided for in the present rules.

Article II. Organization

1. The designated period in which a National Pre-Selection Round shall take place shall be determined by the Telders Organizing Office (hereinafter to be referred to as: ‘TOO’) and will be indicated on the TOO’s Time Schedule.

2. The responsibility for the realisation of a National Pre-Selection Round lies with the National Organizing Commission (hereinafter to be referred to as: ‘NOC’).

Article III. The National Organizing Commission

1. Immediately after the expiration of the deadline for registration for participation indicated on the TOO’s Time Schedule, the TOO will notify the relevant universities of the necessity to appoint a NOC. The NOC shall be appointed by these universities after mutual consultation.

2. The NOC may be formed by any organ, organization or group of persons as the participating universities deem appropriate, as long as the NOC remains an impartial entity. In the long term it is desirable that the tasks of the NOC will be performed by a permanent entity.

3. The members of the NOC shall jointly elect a President.

4. The TOO shall be informed by the relevant universities and by the NOC of the constitution of the NOC, and of the name, address, e-mail address, phone and fax numbers of the President as soon as possible, but no later than the deadline indicated on the TOO’s Time Schedule.

5. The NOC is responsible for the overall organization of the National Pre-Selection Round, for supplying all persons involved with relevant information, for all matters concerning the National Board of Review and the National Moot Court, and for the contacts with the TOO.

6. The President of the NOC is responsible for co-ordinating the state of affairs concerning the National Pre-Selection Round, for maintaining contacts with the TOO and for informing the TOO of all matters he/she considers necessary to bring to its attention.

7. The NOC is entitled, after consultation with and approval by the TOO, to interpret and, if necessary, pass judgement on the present Rules. All participating teams and the TOO shall immediately be informed of all decisions.

8. The decisions taken by the NOC are final, no appeal is possible.

9. Should circumstances so require, the NOC is entitled, upon consultation with the TOO, to draw up its own rules for specific situations. Such rules are subject to approval by the TOO that shall be provided with a copy of these rules as soon as possible.

Article IV. Participation

1. Each university may enter the National Pre-Selection Round with one team.

2. The composition of the team shall be fully in conformity with Article V of the Rules of Procedure for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition.

3. Only the winning team representing the country in the International Round is obliged to pay the participation fee to the TOO, in accordance with Article VII.5 of the present Rules.

Article V. The Memorials

1. Submission of the Memorials

1.1 Each team participating in the Competition shall prepare an Applicant’s Memorial (A) and a Respondent’s Memorial (B) in accordance with Article VIII (1) – (2.1), (2.5) – (3.1) of the Rules of Procedure for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition.

1.2 The TOO shall receive by registered mail six (6) copies of the Applicant’s Memorial and six (6) copies of the Respondent’s Memorial of each team participating in a National Pre-selection Round. The deadline for mailing the Memorials is the same as that for the International Round as indicated on the TOO’s Time Schedule.

1.3 The NOC shall receive by registered mail eight (8) copies of the Applicant’s Memorial and eight (8) copies of the Respondent’s Memorial of every team participating in the National Pre-Selection Round, unless the NOC requires more Memorials to be sent. The deadline for mailing the Memorials is the same as the one indicated in the previous paragraph.

1.4 A clearly legible copy of both Registered Mail receipts, as required under paragraphs 1.2 and 1.3 of the present Article, shall be forwarded forthwith under separate cover to the NOC and to the TOO.

1.5 The NOC shall see to it, that the Memorials are forwarded to the appropriate teams, to the members of the National Board of Review and to the members of the National Moot Court without delay.

2. Penalties

2.1 Non-compliance with Article V.1.1 shall be penalized in accordance with Article XIII of the Rules of Procedure for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competion.                                         Non-compliance with Article V.1.2-1.4 shall be penalized by the TOO in analogy to the penalties set in Article XIII of the Rules of Procedure for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition for violation of Article VIII.2.2-2.3 of those Rules.

2.2 The TOO shall notify the President of the NOC as soon as possible, but no later than three days before the date set for the National Pre-Selection Round at the latest, of the number of penalties awarded by it to each Memorial.

3. The Judging of the Memorials

3.1 The Memorials shall be judged by a National Board of Review. This Board consists of a minimum of three members.

3.2 The NOC shall invite duly qualified persons to act as a member of the National Board of Review. Members of the National Board of Review may also serve as members of the National Moot Court. Preferably, no faculty members of the participating universities should be invited to serve as members of the National Board of Review.

3.3 The NOC shall see to it that the members of the National Board of Review receive the Rules of Procedure for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition, the present Rules, a copy of the Case, the Memorials, the Guidelines for Judging the Memorials and sufficient copies of the scoring sheets.

3.4 Each Memorial shall be judged individually by the three members of National Board of Review, acting independently of one another.

4. The Scoring of the Memorials

4.1 The score shall be kept on official scoring sheets supplied by the TOO and distributed by the NOC.

4.2 The scoring by the National Board of Review shall be in accordance with Article IX of the Rules of Procedure for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition.

4.3 The final score for a Memorial shall be the sum of the points awarded by the members of the National Board of Review minus any penalty points which are given by the TOO in accordance with Article V.2.1 of the present Rules.

4.4 The final score for a Memorial acquired in a National Pre-Selection Round does not carry over to the International Round. The Penalty Points for a Memorial, as given by the TOO in accordance with Article V.2.1. of the present Rules carry over to the International Round.

Article VI. The Oral Arguments

1. Time, place and order of the presentation

1.1 The NOC shall determine the time, place and order of the presentation of the oral arguments, with due regard to Article II.1 of the present Rules. The participating teams shall be notified by the Commission accordingly well in advance.

1.2 Each team shall prepare an oral argument for the Applicant and an oral argument for the Respondent. The oral arguments shall be presented in English. Each team shall present an oral argument in at least two sessions of the National Pre-Selection Round: once as Applicant and once as Respondent.

1.3 The oral argument for the Applicant or for the Respondent shall, per session, be presented by two team members. Each member of the team shall act as an oralist at least once. In the event that the National Pre-Selection Round consists of four (4) sessions, each team member shall act as an oralist in at least 2 (two) out of four (4) sessions.

1.4 The presentation of the oral arguments shall take place in accordance with the provisions of Article X.2.3-12 of the Rules of Procedure for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition.

2. Penalties

2.1 Penalty points for the presentation of the Oral Arguments shall be awarded by the NOC in analogy to and in accordance with Articles X.3.1 and XIII of the Rules of Procedure for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition.

3. The Judging of the Oral Arguments

3.1 The oral argument shall be judged by a National Moot Court consisting of three judges.

3.2 The NOC shall invite duly qualified persons to act as members of the National Moot Court. The members of the National Moot Court may also serve as members of the National Board of Review. Preferably, no faculty members of the participating universities should be invited to serve as members of the National Moot Court.

3.3 The NOC shall see to it that the members of the National Moot Court receive the Rules of Procedure for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition, the present Rules, a copy of the Case, the Memorials and sufficient copies of the scoring sheets.

3.4 Each oral argument shall be judged individually by the three members of the National Moot Court, acting independently of one another.

4. The Scoring of the Oral Arguments

4.1 The score shall be kept on official scoring sheets supplied by the TOO and distributed by the NOC.

4.2 The scoring by the Members of the National Moot Court shall be in accordance with Articles X.3.2 and XI.2.2-2.3 of the Rules of Procedure for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition.

4.3 The final score for the Oral Argument shall be the sum of the points awarded by the members of the National Moot Court minus any penalty points which are awarded by the NOC and/or the National Moot Court.

4.4 The penalties and final score for the Oral Argument acquired in a National Pre-Selection Round do not carry over to the International Round.

Article VII. The Winning Team

1. The winner of the National Pre-Selection Round is the team with the highest overall team-score. The overall team-score is composed of the sum of the final scores for the Memorials and the final scores for the oral arguments of both the Applicant and the Respondent side of a team. If there are two or more teams with the same highest overall team-score, the team with the highest final scores for the oral arguments shall be ranked highest. In case these scores are also identical, the winner shall be determined by ballot.

2. The NOC shall immediately inform the TOO of the results of the National Pre-Selection Round. The information shall include the Certificate announcing the Winning Team, the overall ranking of the teams by overall team-scores, the final scores for the Memorials and final scores for the oral arguments of the participating teams.

3. The original scoring sheets and the original Certificate announcing the Winning Team mentioned in point 2 of this Article shall be forwarded to the TOO under separate cover. The NOC shall forward copies of the overall ranking of the teams by overall team scores and copies of the original scoring sheets to the participating teams.

4. The winning team shall send another fourteen (14) copies of both Memorials to the TOO without delay.

5. The winning team shall pay the participation fee for the International Round of the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition before the deadline indicated on the TOO’s Time Schedule.

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