Scots pupils become first in UK to be invited to Hague moot competition

Students from Falkirk High School, Dunbar Grammar, Kirkcaldy High School, Whitburn Academy, George Watson’s College, Edinburgh, Taylor High School, Motherwell and Ross High School, Tranent, were chosen after competing in the Scottish Seniors competition run by the School Mock Court Case Project.

Mock court competitions for both seniors and juniors in Scotland are organised by the School Mock Court Case Project and supported by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, which provides venues for trials to take place and help with staging competitions. More than 80 schools from around Scotland registered for the project this year and since the scheme began 10,000 pupils have benefited from it.

Students taking part in the Seniors project applied on an individual basis to take part in the international contest and 10 students were invited to an assessment day on November 19th where they met a number of tutors. They were assessed over the day and asked to give a presentation at the Court of Session. Seven students were then selected to compete and assigned to either the prosecution or the defence team.

They will now go to The Hague on Sunday 21 January to battle it out with 14 teams from around the world for the international title.

Other participating teams are from Buenos Aires, Argentina; Sofia, Bulgaria; Munich, Germany; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; The Hague, Netherlands; Gdynia, Poland; Campulung Muscel, Romania; Moscow and St Petersburg, Russia; New York City, USA (2 teams); Caracas, Venezuela; Pretoria, South Africa and Baku, Azerbaijan.

Gerald Murphy, founder and chair of the Board of Trustees of the School Mock Court Case Project, said: “We are proud to be invited to such a prestigious event and to be the only team in the UK invited, ever.”

The Scottish team will be attending the Court of Session on Friday 12 January and Sunday 14 January to prepare for the forthcoming competition with a moot court between the defence and prosecution teams themselves.

On the 12th, Sheriff Crowe and Sheriff McFadyen will preside and Lady Carmichael will preside on the 14th. The students will also get feedback from a member of the Faculty of Advocates.