San Beda International Law Society

2018 ILS CUP:

MOOT COURT COMPETITION IN PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW
January 26 and 27, 2018

BACKGROUND
The 2018 ILS CUP: MOOT COURT COMPETITION IN PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW aims
to (1) foster awareness of struggles met on an international level, developing and developed
countries alike, in order to safeguard a livable world for generations to come; and (2)
encourage advocacy for contributing change as active members of the international
community; progressive players in the age of globalization. Further, this serves as an
opportunity to discover potential participants who would be representing the San Beda College
of Law in national and international moot court competitions.

MOOT COURT MECHANICS

I. THE MOOT COURT COMMITTEE

The Moot Court Competition is administered by the San Beda International Law Society
(SB– ILS), an organization primarily geared towards the promotion of mooting as an effective
academic exercise to prepare each member, as well as the law students in court litigation. Its
main purpose is to train members to be adept in the art of mooting as well as debating and
public speaking.

II. PARTICIPATION
The Competition is open to all second year students of Public International Law.

Each class shall be considered as one team.

Each team shall choose among its members, two (2) to five (5) persons who would
comprise the Core, from whom the oralists shall be chosen. Among the Core, there shall at least
be one (1) Researcher.

Substitutions of the Core members shall no longer be permitted after the Registration
deadline in the Official Schedule, except in circumstances as determined by the Executive
Committee.

Each Team must research, write, edit, and develop its own legal and factual arguments
without the assistance of persons who are not members of the Team. Any Team which receives
outside assistance may be penalized and may be disqualified from the Competition.
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As a general principle, a Team shall have no greater number of Team Advisors than is
necessary to adequately prepare the Team for fair competition. Notwithstanding the foregoing
provisions, Team Advisors may provide advice to a Team, provided such advice is limited to:
1. general instruction on the basic principles of international law;
2. general advice on research sources and methods;
3. general advice on oral advocacy techniques;
4. general advice on the organization and structure of arguments in the Team’s oral
5. pleadings;
6. general commentary on the quality of the Team’s legal and factual arguments;
7. advice on the interpretation and enforcement of these Rules; and
8. advice as to pleading option or similar strategy.

Team Members and Team Advisors from any Team, including Teams that have been
eliminated from the Competition, may not provide assistance in any way to any other Team.
Assistance hereby prohibited includes, but is not limited to:
1. giving the Team's notes or Memorials to an advancing Team;
2. posting the Team’s Memorials online such that a person who is not a registered Team
Member or registered Team Advisor may access them;
3. engaging in practice moots against a participating Team; and
4. providing video or audio tapes of previous rounds, whether practice rounds or
competitive competition rounds, to an advancing Team.

Each team must designate an official representative with contact details. Notice given to
the representative shall constitute notice to the team.

The names of the team members and oralists as well as the representative shall be
submitted to SB - ILS on or before January 3, 2018.

Teams will be assigned “team numbers” and “coaches” through their representative on
or before January 3, 2018.

III. THE COMPROMIS AND CLARIFICATIONS

A. Compromis
The Committee will release the Compromis or Moot Problem together with the rules.
The release of the moot problem should not be later than December 23, 2017.

Clarifications regarding the Compromis or Moot Problem should be submitted on or

before January 5, 2018 to sanbeda.manila.ils@gmail.com. The response on those clarifications
shall be released no later than January 7, 2018.
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All correspondence and any other material shall be sent through the team’s official
representative.

IV. THE MEMORIALS

A. Submission of Memorials
Each team participating in the Competition is required to prepare and submit an
Applicant and Respondent Memorial on the Moot Problem.

Teams must submit a softcopy to sanbeda.manila.ils@gmail.com on or before January

12, 2018 of the following:
1. Copy of the memorials both for the Applicant and Respondent
2. All research materials used for the competition

The Teams are required to submit ten (10) hard copies each of its Applicant and
Respondent Memorials on or before January 13, 2018.

All required materials shall be placed in a long brown envelope labeled with the Team
Number at the back, upper right margin.

Once Memorials are submitted, revisions shall not be allowed.

Delay in the submission of memorials shall incur a penalty equivalent to two (2) points
for every day of delay, up to a maximum of ten (10) points. A fraction of a day shall be
considered as one (1) day.

B. Format of Memorials
All parts of the Memorials must be in Times New Roman, Size 12, with 1 ½ line spacing
and printed in standard short bond paper (8 ½ x 11). Quotations and footnotes shall have the
same format but with single line spacing except between separate footnotes.

The Memorials must be stapled on the upper left side.

The memorials shall NOT exceed twenty (20) pages including the Cover Page, Table of
Contents, Table of Authorities, Summary of the Pleadings, Pleadings, Conclusion and Prayer for
Relief. Pages in excess of the maximum shall have a corresponding ten (10) point deduction in
the Team’s Memorial Score.
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C. Parts of the Memorials

1. Cover Page
The first cover page for both the Applicant and Respondent Memorials must specify the
following:
 Names of the team members
 Section
 Name of the Professor
 Title of the case
 Title of the document (Memorial for Applicant or Memorial for Respondent)
 Date of the Competition

The second page shall contain the following:

 Team number
 Title of Document (Memorial for Applicant or Memorial for Respondent)

2. Table of Contents
The Table of Contents must outline the different parts of the Memorial submitted,
including the main arguments and sub-arguments.

3. Table of Authorities
The table of authorities must outline all the sources of international law that was used
by the team to support their arguments in the Memorial.

4. Summary of the Pleadings

The Summary of the Pleadings provides a substantive summation of the arguments
presented in the Memorial. It should not be a reproduction of the headings and sub-headings
found therein. To be effective, it must present the arguments concisely and direct to the point
in a maximum of two sentences.

5. Pleadings (Body of the Memorial)

This is the core of the Memorial, sometimes referred to as “Arguments.” The Pleadings
contain the arguments, position, or standpoint of the team. It provides the law and
jurisprudence on which the arguments are founded.

6. Conclusion/Prayer for Relief

The Conclusion Prayer for Relief states the remedy the team is asking the Court to
order. This is not to be used for presenting new information or the summation of the team’s
case.
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V. THE PAIRING PROCEDURES

The pairing of teams for the general rounds as Applicant or Respondent shall be
determined through a random draw. The Committee has the power to adjust the pairing in
order to account for absentee teams or other contingencies.

No team shall compete against the same team twice in the general rounds.

The pairing team shall be announced on January 25, 2018. The teams are required to
attend a meeting on the same day where the Memorials of the opposing teams will be
distributed.

VI. THE RESEARCHER EXAM

There shall be a written exam for the researchers of each team, in order to determine
the Best Researcher Award. The exam shall be conducted on January 20, 2018.

The duration of the exam will be an hour and will be composed of different types of
tests.

VII. THE ORAL HEARING PROCEDURES

A. The Rules applicable to all the rounds

1. Each team shall consist of a first counsel and a second counsel, and an of counsel, if any, as
designated by the team.

Each Oral Round of each competition consists of ninety (90) minutes of oral pleadings.
Applicant and Respondent are each allotted forty-five (45) minutes. Oral presentations during
the round must be made by two (2) members, but only two members, from each Team.

Prior to the beginning of the Oral Round, each Team must indicate to the bailiff how it
wishes to allocate its forty-five (45) minutes among its (a) first oralist, (b) second oralist, and (c)
rebuttal (for Applicant) or surrebuttal (for Respondent). Time allocated for but not used by one
oralist may not be used by another oralist, or in the rebuttal or surrebuttal. The Team may not
allocate more than twenty-five (25) minutes to either oralist.

Any Team Member may act as an oralist during any round of the Competition and need
not always argue the same side.

During each Oral Round, one (1) additional Team Member may sit at the counsel table
with the two (2) oralists as counsel. The person acting as counsel must be one of the Team
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Members registered. The person acting as counsel need not be the same person in
each Oral Round.

The order of the pleadings is as follows:

 Applicant 1
 Applicant 2
 Respondent 1
 Respondent 2
 Rebuttal, if any (Applicant 1 or 2)
 Surrebuttal, if any (Respondent 1 or 2)

2. Each team is given 45 minutes to speak, allocated as follows:

 20 minutes for the first counsel
 20 minutes for the second counsel
 5 minutes for rebuttal (Applicant) or surrebuttal (Respondent)

3. The first counsel shall indicate at the start how long each counsel will speak and the time
allotted for the rebuttal or surrebuttal. The time of the first counsel shall begin from the entry
of appearance. The remaining time in the oral arguments, if any, may not be used to extend the
time allocated for rebuttal or surrebuttal.

4. If the Applicant waives the rebuttal, the Respondent may not appear for surrebuttal.

5. A counsel may ask the Court for an extension before the end of his/her designated time. The
Court has the discretion to allow such request for extension.

6. There will be a timekeeper who will notify the counsels when they have:
 10 minutes left
 5 minutes left
 1 minute left
 30 seconds left
 to end their presentation

7. Each oralist may communicate with the judges, and the judges may communicate with that
oralist, during the oralist's allotted time. In addition, in extraordinary circumstances, the judges
may communicate directly with either Team's counsel table (for example, to clarify the spelling
of an oralist's name or to request that a Team remain quiet during its opponent's oral
presentation).

8. Any communication at the counsel table shall be in writing to prevent disruption. The teams
must avoid making any noise or inappropriate behavior which may disturb the proceedings.
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Each oralist may communicate with the judges, and the judges may communicate with
that oralist, during the oralist's allotted time. In addition, in extraordinary circumstances, the
judges may communicate directly with either Team's counsel table (for example, to clarify the
spelling of an oralist's name or to request that a Team remain quiet during its opponent's oral
presentation).

9. Teams are not allowed to communicate with the audience or their respective coaches.

10. During the general rounds, team supporters are only allowed to observe the matches in the
room where their Team is competing. The presence of Team Advisors or other spectators
affiliated with the Team is permitted in the courtroom during an Oral Round in which the Team
is competing. Teams are responsible for ensuring that their spectators do not engage in any
disruptive behavior.

The semi-final and championship rounds are open to everyone.

11. Electronic devices such as laptops, handheld computers, mobile phones, and other similar
gadgets are not allowed to be used during the rounds.

B. Rebuttal and Surrebuttal

The Rebuttal shall be limited to the points raised in the Memorial and Oral
Presentations.

The Surrebuttal shall be limited to the points raised in the Rebuttal.

C. The General Rounds

All participating teams that have submitted their Memorials shall participate in the Oral
Rounds. Each team shall argue twice in the general rounds, once as Applicant and once as
Respondent. This will be held on January 26, 2018.

D. The Quarter Finals and Semi-Final Round

The top eight (8) in the general round based on their aggregate scores in the oral rounds
and the written submissions shall advance to the quarterfinal round which will be held in the
morning of January 27, 2018.

The top four (4) in the quarter final round based on their aggregate scores shall advance
to the semi-final round which shall be held in the morning of January 27, 2018.
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E. The Championship Round

The two teams garnering the highest scores in the semi-final round shall compete in the
final round to be held in the afternoon of January 27, 2018.

The team which will argue as Applicant/Respondent shall be determined by a toss coin.

The higher-ranking team from the semi-final round will call the toss. The winner of the
toss will be given thirty (30) seconds to select which side to argue. If the winner fails to choose
within the allotted period, the other team will be given the same time to choose its side. If it
likewise fails, then the higher-ranked team will automatically plead as Applicant and the lower-
ranked team as Respondent.

VIII. COMPETITION SCORING

A. Scoring of Memorials
Each Memorial shall be assessed by at least two (2) judges.

Each judge shall score a Memorial on a scale of fifty (50) to one hundred (100) points.
The average of the scores given by the judges will be the final score of a Memorial.

B. Scoring of the Oral Rounds

The oral presentations in the general, quarter final round and semi-final and final round
shall be evaluated by at least two (2) judges. Each judge may give a counsel a maximum score of
100. The average of the scores given by all the judges will be the oral presentation score of the
counsel for that round.

The maximum oral presentation score for each counsel shall be 100. The maximum oral
presentation score for each team shall be 200.

C. Scores per Round

For each round, the team’s aggregate score out of 300 shall be determined by
combining its Memorial score with the two oral presentation scores, pursuant to the above
rules.
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D. Criteria for judging

Memorials

Content of Arguments – 40%

Development of Arguments – 30%
Originality – 15 %
Thoroughness of Research – 15 %
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TOTAL – 100%

Oral Arguments & Presentation

Content of Arguments - 25%

Development of Arguments - 15%
Questions from the Bench (Responsiveness) - 40%
Speaking - 20%
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TOTAL - 100%

E. Tie-Breaking Procedure
In case of a tie for a particular slot in the semi-final round, the team that has the highest
average score for its oral presentations in the general rounds shall proceed to the next round.

In the event that the tie is still not broken, the team whose first counsel has the highest
average score for his or her oral presentations in the general round shall qualify to the semi-
final round.

The above-stated rules shall likewise apply in case of a tie for a slot in the final round.

The decision of the judges shall be final.

F. Tabulation
The San Beda International Law Society Members shall be the official tabulators.

IX. AWARDS
The winning team in the Final Round shall be awarded the PIL Moot Court Cup.

The Researcher with the highest score in the written exam shall be awarded the Best
Researcher Award.
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The top three (10) highest scoring oralist/counsels in the oral hearings of the general
rounds will be awarded certificates as Best Mooters.

The Best Mooter in the final round shall also be given an award.

The other teams which made it to the semi-final round shall also be given Certificate of
Recognition.

The Best Applicant Memorial and the Best Respondent Memorial shall also receive an
award.

X. OFFICIAL SCHEDULE OF THE COMPETITION

Date EVENT
January 3, 2018 Deadline: Registration of Teams
January 5, 2018 Submission of Clarifications

January 7, 2018 Response to the Clarifications

January 12, 2018 Deadline: Memorials Online Submission

January 13, 2018 Deadline: Memorials Hard Copy
January 20, 2018 Researcher Exam
January 25, 2018 Exchange of Memorials
January 26, 2018 General Rounds and Researcher Examination
January 27, 2018 Quarterfinals, Semi-Finals and Championship Round