Students on HAVO level or on VWO level and who match the profile can participate in the 2020 NMC.

Profile*

• You must meet the following requirements:
• HAVO/VWO level
• Good speaking, listening and reading skills in English
• Registered at the participating school
• Good presentation skills or prepared to develop those skills
• Interested in (international) law
• The Dutch nationality is not a requirement

Schools can register their team(s) by filling out the registration form and submit it before the registration deadline of 14 October.

Schools may register a maximum of two teams.

Each team consists of a minimum of two and a maximum of four students.

The students who take part in the 2020 National Moot Court will be assigned a simple case that they must study and prepare. On the NMC day itself, all participants will plead either the role as the Prosecutor or as the Defense during four moot court sessions. Each team will plead each role twice. The working language is English.

During the moot court sessions, the school teams present their side of the case, either as the Prosecution or as the Defense before a panel of judges. In presenting the case, both sides will review the facts, discuss the issues, legislation and case law to support their positions. The judges may interrupt the students at any time to ask questions. Each side has a limited time (20 minutes) in which to present their arguments. After the session, the judges deliberate and allocate points for contents of the pleadings and the presentation skills of the pleaders. The final scores determine which team will proceed to the final round.

• Before registering: selects the team with 2 to 4 students who match the profile
• Helps the team to register for the 2020 National Moot Court
• Asks the parents/guardians for their permission regarding the students’ participation in the National Moot Court on 25 January 2020.

After registering:
• All communication from the organisation will take place through the teacher (appointments, meetings, etc.).
• As the teacher, you will be the contact person for the student and the organisation if there are any problems.
• The responsibility for the student rests with the teacher, in cooperation with the student’s parents/guardians.

It will cost the participating team members approximately one to two hours per week to prepare for the NMC.

It will take the teacher approx. 1 to 2 hours a week. He/she will help and encourage the student throughout the NMC.

Two webinar sessions will be held on 20 November and 18 December 2019 at 17:00 hrs to allow the participating teams to ask any questions they may have on either the case or the competition proceedings. The webinars are organized by the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies.

There are no registration costs, but participants are expected to pay their own travel expenses. The organisation will provide food (lunch) and drink.

The word ‘moot’ can best be translated as ‘simulated’ Court.

A moot court is a competition which simulates the situation in a real court room. The students learn how to plead in an international court and how to set out a legal argument. The students will address the court as either the Prosecutor of the case, or as the Defense.

Oral pleading means setting out/presenting a legal argument in a court.

The preparation for the competition offers you the opportunity to learn about international law and the international courts and tribunals in The Hague. You will also be training your pleading and presentation skills in English.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a permanent court for the prosecution of people suspected of committing genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The International Criminal Court was set up in 2002 and is based in The Hague.

There are no registration costs, but participants are expected to pay their own travel expenses. The organisation will provide food (lunch) and drink.

The winner of the NMC will be awarded the prestigious NMC Award 2020 by Deputy Mayor Bruines of the city of The Hague.

During the moot court sessions, the students will present their side of the case (either Prosecution or Defense) before a panel of judges. In presenting the case, the students will review the facts, discuss the issues, legislation and case law to support their position. The judges may interrupt the pleaders to ask questions at any time. Each side has a limited time (20 minutes) in which to present their argument. After the session, the judges deliberate and allocate points for contents of the pleadings and the presentation skills of the pleaders. The final scores determine which team will proceed to the final round.

The working language at the NMC is English.

If you are on HAVO level or on VWO level and you match the profile, you can fill out the application form for the 2020 National Moot Court (registration website) together with your teacher and one, two or three team members from your school.

If you live outside this region, please note that the NMC competition takes place in The Hague. If you still want to take part, remember to take travelling time and costs into account.

There will be two webinar sessions on 20 November and 18 December at 17:00 hrs to allow the participating teams to ask any questions they may have on either the case or the competition proceedings. The webinars are organized by the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies.

It will cost the participating team members approximately one to two hours per week to prepare for the NMC.

At the competition day, there will be three to four rounds of court sessions. Each session consists of a presentation of 20 minutes made by one team representing the Prosecution side and a presentation of 20 minutes made by the opposing team who is representing the Defense side. Each session will be judged by two or three different judges. After the preliminary rounds, the two teams with the highest scores will proceed to the Final Round.

The participating judges are all lawyers, academics and legal professionals.

The case will be announced in September 2019 and will be sent to the teams who have registered for the NMC.

Leiden University, Campus The Hague, Address: “Leiden University- Campus The Hague
Address: Turfmarkt 99, 2511 DP The Hague. https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/the-hague

• Presentation styles, defense or prosecution
• Good use of language
• Clarity of the argument
• How you respond to judges questions
• Persuasiveness of the arguments
• Understanding of the case

You have to take notes, so bring pen and paper or your tablet. It is recommended you bring the competition package with you, especially the given case. You may also bring any legal instruments to aid you in your presentation.

Participants can only use the information provided in the competition package which has all the relevant information for teams to prepare for the NMC.

The National Moot Court Competition (NMC) welcomes high schools from the Netherlands to compete in a moot court, simulating the proceedings of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The competition is held on Saturday 25 January 2020 at Campus The Hague/Leiden University and is co-organized with the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies. The NMC will bring together senior high school students to challenge their skills as future international lawyers. The NMC is a realistic simulation of the proceedings at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The competition’s case is based on an actual ICC court case and addresses fundamental issues of international criminal law.
The language of the competition is English.

High schools are invited to register a team of a minimum of two and a maximum of four students who will prepare and plead the given case form the perspective of the Prosecution or of the Defense.

A Moot Court is a competition in which students learn how to plead and set out a legal argument. The participants will stand in a simulated courtroom and will plead exactly as a lawyer or prosecutor would. They must represent the viewpoints of their clients and try to convince the judge to agree with those viewpoints.

The word ‘moot’ can best be translated as ‘simulated’ Court.

To plead means making a plea or a legal argument in a courtroom in order to defend or prosecute a suspect.

Students on HAVO level and on VWO level.

The students are between the ages of 14 and 18.

• HAVO/VWO level
• Good speaking, listening and reading skills in English
• Registered at the participating school
• Good presentation skills or prepared to develop those skills
• Prepared to invest in travelling time
• Interested in (international) law
• The Dutch nationality is not a requirement

Teachers on HAVO level and VWO level select two or four students who wish to take part and who match the profile.

Students can be registered by filling in the “application form”.

After the registration deadline of 14 October, registered teams will receive the competition package, which includes the team number, the NMC case 2020, case materials and instructions for the pleadings. The Rules of Procedure will be available on the NMC website.

Two webinar sessions will be held on 20 November and 18 December 2019 at 17:00 hrs to allow the participating teams to ask questions on either the case or the competition proceedings. The webinars are organized by the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies.

Location: Leiden University
Wijnhaven Building | Campus Den Haag
Turfmarkt 99
2511 DV The Hague
The Netherlands

10.00

Doors open, registration

10.30

Welcome and introduction

11.00

Start court sessions

13.00

Lunch

14.00

Court sessions continued

16.15

Jury deliberation

17.00

Announcement winning school

Travel expenses (and accommodation costs, if necessary) are to be paid by the participant. All other costs will be paid by the organisation.