Moot courts are court competitions, in which students play the role of “lawyers” in teams in simulated legal proceedings. Just the same as in “real life” they exchange views initially in the form of written pleadings then later also in oral proceedings. Unlike when they are studying law, students must however determine the facts of the case first. They only have the parties’ correspondence conducted hitherto available. They need to probe, compare and infer as part of this activity. In the course of this the teams practice handling the facts of the case acting as a lawyer for clients for the first time – a key skill which most lawyers only learn during their traineeship.

Moot courts have for a long time been an integral part of the Anglo-American legal education system, however German universities are also increasingly encouraging participation in such competitions. The reasons for this are many and varied: first of all the students can apply the theoretical knowledge that they have acquired until this point in time in a practical context for the first time. Moreover, the participants improve their subject-specific as well as their general English skills, as the international moot courts are regularly held in English. Thus, the students read, write and research for six months in English; however, they also establish contacts with other teams on an international basis, with whom they do not just talk about professional topics. Finally, the students practice rhetoric and legal argumentation techniques.

However, a particular challenge posed by the moot court semester is working in a team. As a rule, four to six participants work together every day and discuss and criticise. In this respect, the moot court semester differs from traditional law studies where everyone is focused on themselves.

The  Vis Moot Court team will be supported by the chairs of  Prof. Lugani and   Prof. Dr. Kersting, LL.M. (Yale).

The  Jessup moot court  team will be supported by the chair of  Prof. Dr. Kreuter-Kirchhof.

Further information on the International and European Tax Moot Court can be found:

• on the website of the chair of Prof. Dr. Matthias Valta

Further information on the Telders International Law Moot Court can be found:

• on the website of the chair of Prof. Dr. Kreuter-Kirchhof
• on the website of the DMA

Further information on the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot can be found:

• on the website of the chair of Prof. Dr. Lugani
• on the website of the chair of Prof. Dr. Kersting, LL.M. (Yale)
• on the website of the DMA