15/02/2025
All rise for our mooters!
The Gavel Moot and Debate Circle, in partnership with the Law Student Government, proudly presents the Moot Court Competition in celebration of the 44th Founding Anniversary of the Mindanao State University College of Law on February 22-23, 2025.
Please see below for the mechanics and motions of the event:
GENERAL MECHANICS:
1. The competition is open to all bona fide and enrolled College of Law students from the duly recognized batches.
2. The Competition is between two sides, the affirmative and negative. Each team should be composed of three (3) members, with or without two (2) researchers, from the same batch.
3. There will be a total of four (4) matches: Round 1 (First Years v. Legio Invicta); Round 2 (Fortis v. Sui Juris); Round 3 (First Round Defeated Team v. Second Round Defeated Team); Round 4 (First Round Winning Team v. Second Winning Team). Their respective sides will be determined by a toss-coin.
4. The determination of the winners will be based on the points they gather from their respective debates. They will be judged based on their Matter (50%), Manner (15%), Interpellation (15%), and Memorial.
5. The three (3) teams with the highest scores shall be awarded as the Champion, 1st Runner-Up, and 2nd Runner-Up, respectively.
6. The speaker with the highest individual points on their Matter (60%), Manner (20%), and Method (20%) will be awarded as the Best Speaker; and the debater with the highest points in the interpellation will be awarded as the Best Debater.
7. Participants must be at the venue on or before 8: 00 AM. No team will be allowed to register once the debate has started. Teams who fail to arrive on time (when their team is called by the Moot Court Competition official) will be automatically disqualified.
8. No case of substitution of team member/s will be allowed during the competition date. The team shall be disqualified in the event that a member/s is/are not present during the day of the competition.
SECTION 1 โ FORMAT OF THE DEBATE
1.1 Teams
โช Each match will consist of two teams; one to propose the motion (affirmative) and one to oppose it (negative).
โช Each oralist from the affirmative side shall argue the necessity, beneficiality, and practicability of the proposition. While the counterpart oralists of the negative side shall oppose the affirmative sideโs arguments.
1.2 Adjudicators
The adjudicators panel will come from the faculty of the college who shall be serving as judges for this competition. This shall be led by a Chief Adjudicator.
The adjudicators shall score each team in terms of manner, matter, and interpellation.
In the event of ties, objection and the like, the Chief Adjudicator rules.
1.3 Time of Speech
Constructive Speeches: seven (7) minutes.
Interpellation: two (2) minutes.
โช Only categorical questions may be asked.
Each of the adjudicators may ask a maximum of three (3) questions for each oralist within the oralistโs time.
SECTION 2 โ THE MOTIONS
The motions will be provided by the Gavel Moot and Debate Circle. This shall be given to the teams six (6) days before the competition. The motions for each round will reflect a specific and well-known theme on current events, policy, and law.
SECTION 3 โ ADJUDICATION
3.1. The panel Debates are generally adjudicated by panels of three adjudicators, or, where this is not possible, by a single, senior adjudicator.
3.2. Feedback. The adjudicators may confer and discuss the debate and their feedback (in no event for more than 10 minutes). The winner in first and second round will be announced during the debate proper and the winners of third and fourth round shall only be announced during the Culmination Program. In these rounds, there will be an open adjudication where adjudicators will give reasons for their undisclosed decision and other feedback to the teams. The adjudication sheets will not be shown to the debaters or other participants.
3.3. Procedure for Debaters. All the debaters must leave the chambers following the completion of all speeches. Debaters should not indulge in, and adjudicators should not entertain, argumentation or cross-questioning, at the time of the open adjudication.
SECTION 4 โ MARKING THE DEBATE
4.1 At the end of every debate, each adjudicator must complete their adjudication forms.
4.2 For constructive speeches, marks shall be awarded to the team and the oralists based on the following:
Criteria for Judging the Winner
Matter: 50%
Manner: 15%
Interpellation: 15%
Memorial/Written Submissions: 20%
Total: 100%
Criteria for Judging the Best Oralist
Matter: 50%
Manner: 15%
Interpellation: 15%
Total: 100%
4.4. The decision of the adjudicators is final and irrevocable.
SECTION 5 โ MEMORIALS
5.1 Submission of Memorials
โช Every moot has two (2) aspects that they are judged on; the written submission called the memorial, and the oral submission.
โช Each Team participating in the Competition must prepare and submit a Memorial.
โช The memorials must be submitted in three (3) copies, not later than one (1) day before the scheduled debate.
โช Teams may resubmit their Memorials without Penalty until the Memorial deadline has passed. After the Memorial submission deadline, resubmitted Memorials will be subject to a two-point Penalty.
โช Equipment failure or problems will not be considered justification for improper formatting or late submission of Memorials.
5.2. Memorial Formatting
โช All pages of the Memorial must be A4 size, 8.27 x 11.69 inches (21 x 29.7 centimeters), with margins of at least one inch (2.54 cm) on all four sides.
โช It is recommended that the font and size of the text of all parts of the Memorial, excluding the Cover Page and page numbers but including the footnotes, be in Times New Roman 12-point. The line spacing for all parts of the Memorial is recommended to be 1.5 lines, with the exception of the Cover Page, Table of Contents, Index of Authorities, headings, and footnotes (which can be single-spaced). A quotation to sources outside of the Memorial may be block quoted (i.e., right and left indented) and single-spaced if the quotation (excluding footnotes) has at least 50 words. Memorial judges shall consider formatting and presentation when they evaluate Memorials. Hence, teams will receive Memorial penalties for failing to adhere to the formatting recommendations in sub-part (b) of this Rule.
5.3. Memorial Content
โช The Memorial must contain the following parts in the following order:
(i) Cover Page
(ii) Table of Contents
(iii) Index of Authorities
(iv) Statement of Jurisdiction
(v) Questions Presented
(vi) Statement of Facts
(vii) Summary of Pleadings
(viii) Pleadings
(ix) Conclusion/Prayer for Relief.
โช Parts not enumerated in paragraph (a), for example, a Table of Abbreviations, are prohibited.
5.4 Cover Page
The front cover of each Memorial must have the following information:
a) the name of the forum before which the proceedings are being conducted;
b) the title of the competition;
c) the name of the case; and
d) the title of the Memorial (i.e., โMemorial for Applicantโ or โMemorial for Respondentโ).
5.5. Index of Authorities. The Index of Authorities must list all legal authorities cited in any part of the Memorial and must indicate the page number(s) of the Memorial on which each is cited.
5.6. Statement of Facts. The Statement of Facts should be limited to the stipulated facts and necessary inferences from the Competition Problem. The Statement of Facts should not include unsupported statements, distortions of the facts provided, argumentation, or legal conclusions.
5.7. Summary of the Pleadings. The Summary of the Pleadings should consist of a substantive summary of the Pleadings of the Memorial, rather than a simple reproduction of the headings contained in the Pleadings.
5.8. Legal Argument Limited to Pleadings. Substantive, affirmative legal argument or legal interpretation of the facts of the Competition Problem may be presented only in the โPleadingsโ part of the Memorial. Summaries of such arguments may be included in the Questions Presented and the Summary of Pleadings.
5.9. Length
a) The Statement of Facts section, including the section title, any section headings or sub-headings, conclusion, associated footnotes, and any other language a Team might elect to include, must be no longer than 1,200 words.
b) The Summary of Pleadings section, including the section title, any section headings or sub-headings, conclusion, associated footnotes, and other language a Team might elect to include, must be no longer than 700 words.
c) The total length of the Pleadings section, including the section title, any section headings, section subheadings, the required Conclusion/Prayer for Relief, associated footnotes, signature block, and other language a Team might elect to include, must be no longer than 9,500 words.
5.10. Citation Requirement. Footnotes must be used to identify the source of statements or propositions made in the body of the Memorial. Endnotes are not permitted. Footnotes may include substantive pleadings in addition to the text of the citation itself. Footnotes are included in the word limit of Rule 5.9.
Examples of proper footnotes:
Certain Norwegian Loans (Fr. v. Nor.), 1957 I.C.J. 9, 23-24 (July 6) [hereinafter Norwegian Loans].
Certain Norwegian Loans (Fr. v. Nor.), 1957 I.C.J. 9, 23-24 (July 6) [hereinafter Norwegian Loans] (holding that Franceโs reservation in its declaration denying the Court jurisdiction over issues essentially within the national jurisdiction as understood by France could be utilized reciprocally by Norway).
5.11. Citation Forms. Citations appearing in the Index of Authorities and text or footnotes of the Memorial must include a description of each authority adequate to allow a reasonable reader to identify and locate it in a publication or other source of general availability. Full citations must be used in the footnotes of the pleadings section the first time a source is cited. Thereafter short forms of citations may be used Abbreviating sources as defined terms, or short forms of citations in the Table of Authorities, in lieu of using the full citation during the first citation to that source in the pleadings section is prohibited. A one-point Penalty will be assessed for each violation, up to a maximum of five points.
5.12. Anonymity in Memorials. Names of participants, and the batch name of Teams, may not appear on or within the Memorials, and Team Members should not sign their Memorials. Organizer shall strike all references to Team Members, and name of the Teams, from Memorials before submitting them to judges.
MOTIONS
First Round (First Years v. Legio Invicta)
Let it be resolved that the transfer of PhilHealthโs excess reserve funds to the National Treasury is unconstitutional and weakens the corporationโs mandate to provide universal health coverage.
Second Round (Fortis v. Sui Juris)
Let it be resolved that delaying the Senateโs impeachment trial until after the National and Local Elections undermines democratic accountability and political stability.
Third Round (First Round Defeated Team v. Second Round Defeated Team)
Let it be resolved that Public officials in the Philippines should face immediate suspension when criminal complaints, such as inciting sedition, making grave threats, or murder, are filed against them.
Fourth Round (First Round Winning Team v. Second Round Winning Team)
Let it be resolved that Legal Education Boardโs authority to regulate legal education institutions supersedes the autonomy granted to state universities under their respective charters.
May the best advocates prevail! Go, mooters!
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