The politics of the moot court

Scott, D. M. and Soirila, U. (2021) The politics of the moot court. European Journal of International Law, 32(3), pp. 1079-1106. (doi: 10.1093/ejil/chab068)

Abstract

Scholarship has generally represented moot court competitions in one of two ways: either as a beneficial way for students to develop practical skills prior to the Bar, or as a reproducer of hierarchy and exclusion. This review essay attempts to plot a third way of thinking about moots, one that finds critical potential in the exercise of mooting while remaining attentive to its conservative biases. Building out from a critique of the common law focus of Thomas and Cradduck’s The Art of Mooting, the essay reflects on how critical approaches to international law can be used to teach moot skills more effectively. The essay then turns to the limitations such a critical pedagogy must be aware of within the actual practice of the competition, considering how these limits can be navigated and even flipped into teachable moments for critically inclined students. The essay closes with a call for a more nuanced discussion about the use of experiential learning, of which moots are only one example, for fostering critical engagement with international law.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Review essay of Mark Thomas and Lucy Cradduck. The Art of Mooting: Theories, Principles and Practice. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2019. Pp. 224. £75. ISBN: 9781788970389.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Scott, Dr David
• Authors: Scott, D. M., and Soirila, U.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Law
• Journal Name: European Journal of International Law
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• ISSN: 0938-5428
• ISSN (Online): 1464-3596
• Published Online: 20 October 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in European Journal of International Law 32(3): 1079-1106
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License