ONLINE CERTIFICATE COURSE ON MOOTING SKILL
MODULE 5
1. MOOT COURT ETHICS
Only good memorial is not enough to win a moot, you must learn the Moot Court Ethics
to have a successful moot. Being in a legal profession, this is necessary especially for the
courtroom advocates to learn the etiquettes and conduct. It consist dress code, treating
your judges with respect, addressing the judges, letting the judge speak and not
interrupting while they speak.
I. Dress code
The dress code should be formal as same as an advocate appears in the court all the
times. Generally, the dress code for the Moot court is proper advocate attire. However
the moot court organizer always prescribes the dress code for the competition. The
participants may adhere to following dress code when present in any moot court
competition.
For Boys: White shirt, Black trousers, Black tie, Black shoes along with Black
Blazer/Coat.
For Girls: White salwar and kurta or white shirt and Black trousers along with Black
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tie, Black shoes and Black Blazer/Coat.
II. How to address the Court?
Addressing the court is one of the crucial etiquettes which are required to follow by
everyone. You can proceed in the following way:
a. When judges enter into the court you ought to stand up and you should wish
“Good Day your Lordship/Ladyship and the honourable members of the court”
b. After wishing you must ask for the permission to proceed to the podium/dice by
saying “The counsel would like to approach the dice/podium or proceed to
dice/podium”.
c. As soon as you reach the podium you must ask for the permission to proceed with
the memorial.
d. The judges may interrupt you during your speech and if they do so, stop your
pleading at that point of time.
e. Always listen carefully to judges what they are saying or what questions are they
putting up in front of you. Don’t interrupt them while they are speaking.
f. After listening to the question carefully, take your time to formulate the answer,
and then answer carefully to the bench.
g. After completion of your answer you must “Thank you, your lordship/ladyship”
and asks for permission to proceed, by saying “May the counsel proceed, your
lordship/ladyship?” and continue with your argument.
h. If you have made a mistake during your pleading, then simply restart your
pleading saying “Pardon me, your lordship/ladyship”.
i. Suppose your time is up and you hear the bell ring then ask “May the counsel has
some time to wrap up his/her argument, your Lordship/Ladyship?”
j. Suppose if you are granted more time on request and questions were asked from
the Bench, you can say “Since the time of counsel is already up, the counsel now
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would like to summarise the last argument.”
III. How to address the opponents?
a. Always refer the counsel of the opposite party as “learned/worthy friend”.
b. Don’t speak unless directed to by the judge while the opponent is speaking. It is
considered as poor courtroom etiquette to interrupt anyone while speaking.
c. Don’t make any side remarks or any informal objections or any unnecessary
references or interrupt while the opponents is speaking or presenting their
submissions.
d. Always respect the opponent and give required courtesy that the opponent
deserves.
e. It is normal that at time of speaking one can lose the temper or control even during
those times, but one must not disrespect the opponents and judges. You must
always address the opponents through the respective court.
f. The speaker should keep in mind that having a cool mind is the key to win any
argument.
g. Always remember that all the submissions and remarks must have to be directed
to the bench and the court and not to the opponents.
IV. General etiquettes to be followed
Always dressing professionally and conservatively is considered as a sign of
respect for the judge as well as the court. So always be dressed appropriately in
court room.
Don’t make noise, you must wait quietly during the hearing until directed to speak
and don’t have any side conversations with anyone during the hearing.
Be aware of the proper body language during the hearing. Inappropriate body
language may affect you personality badly upon others during the hearing.
One must not do any kind of movement of hands or feet or any other body part
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during the hearing. The moot team should keep in mind even the body language
can also be a distraction to others including judges.
Always stand and sit up straight with good posture in the courtroom. Don’t stand
or sit in a position which may appear disregarding or lazy to the court.
You must not use any electronics or gadgets inside the courtroom and if you are
carrying any such electronic item, it must be either switched off or on silent mode.
One must not chew gum, drink, or eat anything during the hearing without taking
the prior permission of the court.
Never use any inappropriate cursing words or derogatory or criticizing language
for anyone in the court room or in whole moot competition. Always remember
that such acts of verbal abuse or usage of inappropriate language or showing
disrespectful actions before judges may lead to the contempt of court.
Always arrive prior to the judges in the moot court room and adhere to the
instructions given by court attendant. These members will direct you on where to
wait for your hearing and where to sit during your hearing.
Don’t pass any notes or any document directly to the judge or the opponent. Any
document has to be given to the court officials or court master’s first who will
pass it to the concerned persons.
Always stand up while speaking or submitting anything that is required for
everyone. This is standard courtroom protocol of the court room.
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