Activities & Projects

The Society's primary task is to encourage moot court participation and organisation. Apart from the annual meetings and the ongoing dialogue on an informal basis, the Society entertains the following activities and projects:

Debating: To help students get acquainted with the dos and don'ts in an international court room, the Society members volunteer to act as mock judges in the oral preparation phase of a moot court competition. The variety of personas asking questions to the students during their presentations is essential for them to learn the formal and informal rules governing a procedure in court.

Library: The Society strives to establish a small collection of books, audios and videos helpful for moot court competitions, esp. such that are not readily available from the University library (eg. monographs on trial techniques, but also court room movies and documentaries). We hope to expand our small collection and invite suggestions for further purchases.

International Board of Review: Each year, the Society will search for an international board of review to assess the written memorials of teams participating at the international round of the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition. This is a requirement that has to be met according to the rules of this competition.

Networking: The Society entertains a dialogue among its members and serves as a platform for professional exchange. In many ways, this has proved to be useful and desirable, both personally and job-wise. Members may publish their CVs for free on the Society website.

Visits: A small number of members of the Society who have taken responsibities as team coaches may have the opportunity to acompany teams to the Telders competition's finals in April each year. Not only is this essential for proper support of the team, it also serves the purpose of keeping alive the knowledge and practices indispensable for proper coaching of future teams and to work as an incentive for participation.

Cooperation: One of the Society's characteristics is that it is open to other organisations of any kind and it is interested in a closer cooperation with these. Regarding moo court competitions in particular, this might include exchange among different academic institutions concerning the same competition, or exchange with other competitions different in nature and intent. For the time being the Society has no formal ties with other competitions within Switzerland.