INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW (IHL) MOOT COURTNATIONAL ROUND 2022 IN JAPANOFFICIAL RULES (2022)

GENERAL
1. The Moot Court Competition shall be conducted under the auspices of the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which shall have the power to:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)

co-opt members of the Organizing Committee;
appoint a Secretary and an Administrator;
appoint judges; andamend the rules as it thinks fit

PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS AND REGISTRATION
Eligibility
2. A participating institution must be established in Japan. Each institution may enter only
one team to participate in the Competition. However, the Organizing Committee may
decide to accept exceptionally more than one teams from the same institution to participate
in the Competition, if it is deemed really necessary and not hindering equality between
teams.
3. Each team shall have four students. It shall be comprised of two students for theProsecutor's role and two students for the Defendant's role. The roles of Prosecutor andDefendant will be allocated to the students by the participating institution.
4. Regardless of Rules 2 and 3, however, if teams could not be composed with four students
due to various reasons, teams shall request the Organizing Committee to get an approval
to form a team with only less than four students, provided that the teams comprise students
from the same institutions, who meet the requirements laid out below. The Organizing
Committee shall respond to the request after a sole review and decision. Such teams must
allocate students to the roles of the Prosecutor and the Defendant within the same team.

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5. Participating students shall be registered either for a first degree in law, including JuniorDoctor (JD), or any undergraduate and postgraduate qualification in social science andrelated subjects below the level of a doctorate. A person is ineligible to participate in theCompetition if he or she:i. is registered for a doctoral degree in law, excluding a JD, at a participating
institution or at any other institution;
ii. holds any doctoral degree in law (other than a JD), regardless of the institutionthat conferred such doctorate;iii. holds or has held a full time or part time teaching post in law at any tertiary
institution; oriv. has been admitted or licensed to practice law in any jurisdiction.
6. Participating students need not be nationals of, or normally resident, in Japan.
7. In order to avoid any inequality between teams that may arise from the participation of
extremely qualified or experienced participants, the Organizing Committee may, at its
discretion, decide not to accept the participation of students with significant experience inthe field of International Humanitarian Law or humanitarian action. Significant experience
includes but is not limited to, three months or more working for an internationalorganization, or participation in Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot (AnInter-University Competition for Asia-Pacific Region) twice in previous years, regardlessof acting as a mooter or a researcher.
Registration: Registration procedure and fees
8. The registration for the competition will be opened on 22 Aug 2022 and closed on 23
September 2022. No fee shall be charged. Upon registration, the name, address, e-mailaddress and telephone number of a contact person of the participating institution shall be
notified to the ICRC.
9. Each participating institution shall notify the ICRC by 14 November 2022 with thefollowing information:
(i)
(ii)

The names of all students in the team;
Which students will respectively fill the roles of Prosecutor andDefendant.

Contact Person
10. Each contact person representing a participating institution will receive:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)

The individual moot number assigned to each participating team;
The moot problem;
Any other relevant materials.
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The contact person for each participating institution is responsible for distributing theforegoing information and materials to his/her team.

SUBSTITUTION OF TEAM MEMBERS
11. A participating institution may substitute a student previously registered as a member of
its participating team with another student only with the express consent of the
SECRETARY of the competition.

THE MOOT PROBLEM

Selection of the Moot Problem
12. The SECRETARY shall have the sole power to determine the moot problem to be used in
the Moot Court Competition.

Distribution of the Moot Problem
13. The moot problem will be distributed by the ICRC.
Facts and Clarifications of the Moot Problem
14. The facts that constitute the subject matter of the moot are provided in the moot problem.
No additional facts may be introduced unless they are a logical and necessary extensionof the given facts in the moot problem.
15. Any request(s) for clarification(s) of the moot problem must be brought to the attention of
the SECRETARY by 17 October 2022. All clarifications request shall be replied to at thelatest on 28 October 2022 by the ICRC. Requests and clarifications shall be distributed at
all participating teams.
The Organizing Committee shall have absolute discretion to determine whether it isnecessary to respond to any request for clarification and to resolve such request in amanner in which it thinks fit.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS (MEMORIALS)
Form and Length of Memorials

316. Each team shall submit memorials for both the Prosecutor and the Defendant, as
designated by their participating institution. All claims listed in the memorials should beoffered by the Prosecutor in the oral hearings. Defendant may change or omit parts of theclaims they have made in order to respond to the oral pleadings by the Prosecutor.
17. Each memorial shall be typed with 1½ line-spacing, using TIMES NEW ROMAN, fontsize 12. The pleading section of each memorial submitted shall not exceed 4,000 words(excluding footnotes).
If a memorial exceeds 4,000 words, the SECRETARY shall deduct marks from thatmemorial score according to the following scale:i. 1-50 words in excess – deduction of 5 marks;ii. 51-100 words in excess – deduction of 10 marks;iii. 101-200 words in excess – deduction of 20 marks; andiv. Over 200 words in excess – deduction of 30 marks.
In the event that any team violates any of the format requirements (pursuant to Rules 1718), 5 marks from the teams’ memorial score out of 100 (calculated pursuant to Rule 52)
shall be deducted.
18. All citations must either be in the body of the text or in footnotes and should be in an
intelligible form.
19. Each memorial must have TWO cover sheets:(i) The first cover sheet must clearly indicate the name of the participating institution, thenames of the two students, and whether the memorial is for the Prosecutor or the
Defendant.
(ii) The second cover sheet must clearly indicate the team’s individual moot number only
which will be given to the relevant contact person of the team’s participating institution
upon registration (see Rule 10 above). The purpose of this requirement is to protect
the anonymity of the teams and to ensure no prejudice or bias is shown in theassessment of the memorials.

Submission of Memorials
20. Each team shall submit the memorials for both the Prosecutor and Defendant either via EMAIL to the SECRETARY latest by 14 November 2022, at the following address:
ihlmootcourtjapanround@gmail.com.
21. In the event that any team fails to submit its memorial on time (pursuant to Rule 20), 5
marks for each calendar day from the team’s memorial score out of 100 (calculated
pursuant to Rule 52) shall be deducted.
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Revision of Memorials
22. A memorial may not be revised for any purpose whatsoever once it has been submitted.

Maximum number of teams to proceed to the oral hearing
23. If more than twelve teams are registering for the Moot Court Competition, the Organizing
Committee may select highest ranking teams of total score of memorials to proceed to theoral hearings of the competition.
Pairing of teams and exchange of memorials
24. The SECRETARY will pair each Prosecutor from a participating institution with a
Defendant from another participating institution.
The pairing will be conducted by a random drawing of lots, decided by the Secretary.
The SECRETARY shall distribute a copy of the memorials of paired
Prosecutor/Defendant to the respective Prosecutor/Defendant on 25 November 2022 byemail.
25. Pursuant to Rule 53, the Organizing Committee will determine which Prosecutor andDefendant teams will advance to the final round of the Competition respectively after
results of the preceding rounds have been available.

GUIDELINES ON ASSISTANCE AND PRACTICE SESSIONS
Memorials
26. All research, writing and editing relating to the memorial must be the work of the two
students submitting that memorial, provided, however, that they may receive research
assistance from the two other students from the same participating institution.

Assistance from Staff and Other Advisors
27. Staff of the participating institutions including coaches, assistants or advisors should
restrict their advice to general matters, such as to a discussion of the issues in the mootproblem, suggestions as to research sources, and a general commentary in relation to theorganization, structure, the flow of arguments, format, presentation and style.

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Practice Sessions
28. Each participating institution may arrange its own practice sessions prior to the Moot
Court Competition.

ADMINISTRATOR AND COMPLAINTS BOARD
29. As a neutral Administrator, a representative from the ICRC will be appointed to oversee
the organization and judging of the Moot Court Competition.
30. A complaints board shall be made available to address any complaints. All decisions of
the board are FINAL.

DATE AND VENUE OF THE MOOT COURT COMPETITION
31. The Moot Court Competition will be held on 3 December and 11 December 2022.
32. The Moot Court Competition General Rounds will be held Online on 3 December. As far
as the circumstances permit, the Semi-Final and Final Rounds will be held Onsite at
Waseda University on 11 December 2022.

COMPOSITION OF TEAMS AND ORDER OF THE ORAL HEARING
33. Each Prosecutor/Defendant will consist of TWO oralists comprising of a First Counsel
and the Second Counsel.
34. In the event that a team fails to appear for a scheduled oral hearing, the round of theCompetition in concern will proceed as an ex parte hearing in the following order:(i) A court clerk will confirm the presence of both teams.
(ii) If one team is absent, the court clerk will inform the judges and notify the
Secretary/Assistant Secretary.
(iii) Once the Secretary/Assistant Secretary has been notified, the court clerk will thencall the moot number pertaining to the absent team two times inside and two times
outside the court room with an interval of 30 seconds each.
(iv) If the team whose number is called fails to appear, the court clerk will announce tothe court that there is no appearance by the team called.
(v) The oral hearing will then proceed as an ex parte hearing.
(vi) The opposing team that presents in the court will receive scores pursuant to Rules
51 through 54.

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The Prosecutor and Defendant shall each speak for no more than 40 minutes respectively.
Each counsel shall each speak individually for a minimum of 15 minutes.

35. The order of the oral hearing are as follows:(a) Prosecutor’s first counsel;(b) Prosecutor’s second counsel;(c) Defendant’s first counsel;(d) Defendant’s second counsel;(e) Rebuttal (if any by either the Prosecutor’s first counsel or second counsel);(f) Surrebuttal (if any by Defendant’s first counsel or second counsel)
36. The Prosecutor and the Defendant may reserve up to 10 minutes for rebuttal or surrebuttal.
The scope of the Prosecutor’s rebuttal is limited to responding to the Defendant's oral
hearings, and the scope of the Defendant's surrebuttal is limited to responding to theProsecutor's rebuttal.
37. The First Counsels of the Prosecutor and of the Defendant shall indicate at the beginningof the oral hearing, how long each counsel will speak and how much time it intends toreserve for rebuttal or surrebuttal. Either the First or Second Counsel may address the court
for the rebuttal or surrebuttal. To avoid any doubts, the time reserved for rebuttal or
surrebuttal is not included in the minimum time for each counsel to speak as specified inRule 34.
38. The court may, at its discretion, extend the time allocated to each counsel, provided thatthe maximum extension for any counsel shall not exceed FIVE minutes.
39. Time shall be kept by a court clerk or timekeeper who will remind each counsel byappropriate means when they have:(i)
15 minutes left;(ii)
10 minutes left;(iii) 5 minutes left;(iv) 1 minute left;(v)
to conclude their address forthwith.

ADDITIONAL RULES FOR 2022 ONLINE COMPETITION
40. Each team is responsible for finding a suitable venue from which to participate. The venue
must be a quiet location which can be closed and private and which has adequate andreliable internet connectivity and have a desk and chairs for the oralists during theargument. Locations in open spaces or hallways or cybercafes or similar areas are NOT
permitted.
41. Each team shall prepare the appropriate setups to participate in the competition with acomputer screen or monitor, microphone and camera with internet connectivity. The
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team’s camera and microphone should be firmly positioned at the appropriate distancethroughout the argument so as to ensure both team members are visible and to ensure their
voices are clearly audible.
42. Microphones of participants in the competition must be muted at any time during theproceedings unless they are making their oral presentation. Any communication between
the team members shall be in any written or electronic medium to prevent disruption. The
team members must avoid any noise or inappropriate behavior which may disturb theproceedings.
43. Team members are not allowed to communicate with their respective coaches and anyother person during the oral rounds. Each team must certify that there is no one in theroom providing assistance with them or observing the oral rounds.
44. Each oralist may communicate with the judges, and the judges may communicate withthat oralist, only during his or her allotted time. The judges may, where necessary,communicate with an oralist, or another participant or observer in the Online Moot, toensure the orderly conduct of the Moot (for example, to request participants or observers
to turn off their camera or mute their microphone, or to clarify the spelling of an oralist’sname).
45. In order to prevent problems with the bandwidth during the competition, online streaming
will not be done. Teams are prohibited from sharing the virtual room log in credentials tokeep the quality of the connection as high as possible and to prevent any potential
scouting. As far as practicable, the final round will be cast online and may be recorded by
the Organizing Committee. No recording, whether audio or video, of the whole or any
part of an Online Moot is permitted by any Team or Observer.
46. A Team may request authorization for any other person connected to the Team to beprovided with a link to allow him or her to observe an online moot remote from any
member of the Team. All persons granted permission must have their camera switched off
and microphone muted at all times.
47. During on online moot, team members or observers affiliated with a Team may notdirectly or indirectly indicate their school to the judges, including through the display of
screen names, the wearing of name tags, logos, or other signifiers, or the placement offolders, files, or other materials identifying their school in such a way as may be visible
to a judge.
48. The administrator must provide for time to be kept during each online moot by way of atime keeper showing timecards such that the oralists and the judges are able to see thosecards.
49. Should there be a significant interruption or drop in the connection of any team, the teamshall immediately inform the Administrator. The proceedings shall be paused until theteam whose connection dropped is able to reestablish their connection. A team is given a8maximum of five (5) minutes to reconnect, otherwise they shall forfeit the match. This
five-minute period can only be availed of once per team per match.

FORMAT OF THE MOOT COURT COMPETITION
50. The format of the Moot Court Competition shall consist of the submission of memorials
and the oral rounds. (See Rules 16-25 above on guidelines for memorials)
All participating teams must submit their memorials at a specific dateline prior to the oralrounds of the Moot Court Competition as stated in Rule 20.
There shall be two or three general oral rounds of the Competition depending on thenumber of teams participating in the competition. Each team shall argue once in eachgeneral round as the Prosecutor and as the Defendant respectively.

SCORING
51. Scoring shall consist of the scoring of the memorials and oral rounds.

52. The scoring of the memorials shall be assessed by a panel of TWO memorial judges.
The maximum score for each memorial shall be 100. The memorial judges will be given
copies of the memorials with the cover sheet indicating only the participating teams’
individual moot number.
The memorial score for each team is determined by first adding together the TWO
Memorial judges’ scores and the final score for each memorial will then be decided basedon the average score of the TWO memorial judges' scores.

53. The scoring of the oral rounds shall be assessed based on the following:• General Rounds
The oral hearing scores shall be assessed by a panel of THREE judges. The maximum
score given by each judge for each oralist shall be 100 points, and the maximum score for
the Prosecutor and Defendant shall be 300 points.
The oral hearing scores for the Prosecutor/Defendant will be determined by adding
together the THREE judges raw scores respectively (600 points maximum) and the oral

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hearing scores for the team will be determined by adding together the scores for both theProsecutor and the Defendant (1,200 points maximum).
The four highest-ranking teams of overall score from the combination of the oral hearing
scores in the General Rounds and the memorial scores of both the Prosecutor and the
Defendant will advance to the Semi-final Rounds.
In the event that, after the completion of the general rounds, two or more of the teams havetied for eligibility for the Semi-final round, then the teams to proceed to the semi-final
round shall be the team from those which have the higher average score of both theProsecutor and the Defendant out of 1,200 for its oral hearings in the general rounds. In
the further event that such teams are also tied in their average score out for oral hearingsin the general rounds, the team which will proceed to the final round shall be the teamwhose first counsels of both the Prosecutor and the Defendant have the higher averagescore out of 600 for his or her oral hearings in the general rounds. Where more than two
teams have tied, the Organizing Committee Chairman or his/her representative shalldiscuss with the respective judges and the decision after discussion shall be final.
• Semi-final RoundIn Semi-final Rounds, the pairings shall be determined on the basis of the basis of power
seeding as follows: the fourth-ranked team versus the first ranked team; and the secondranked team versus the third-ranked team.
The Secretary will determine the role to be played by each of the four teams (Prosecutor
or Defendant) by allowing the higher ranked team to nominate their preferred side basedon the overall score from the combination of the oral hearing scores in the General Rounds
and the memorial scores of both the Prosecutor and the Defendant after completion of theGeneral Rounds. The Secretary will then announce the pairing results, and make available
a copy of each team’s memorial to its opposing team.
The oral hearing scores shall be assessed by a panel of THREE judges. The maximum
score given by each judge for each oralist shall be 100 points and the maximum score for
the Prosecutor and Defendant shall be 300 points.
The oral hearing scores for Prosecutor/Defendant will be determined by adding together
the THREE judges raw scores respectively (600 points maximum).

The two winning teams of each pair of opposing teams of the Semi-final Round shall enter
the Final Round.
• Final Round

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The Secretary will determine the role to be played by each of the teams (Prosecutor or
Defendant) in the Final Round by allowing the higher ranked team to nominate theirpreferred side based on the overall score of the oral hearing scores in the Semi-final
Rounds from both the Prosecutor and the Defendant after completion of the Semi-final
Rounds. The Secretary will then announce the pairing results, and make available a copyof each team’s memorial to its opposing team.
The oral hearing scores shall be assessed by a panel of THREE judges. The maximum
score given by each judge for each oralist shall be 100 points and the maximum score for
the Prosecutor and Defendant in the oral rounds shall be 300 points respectively.
54. The decision of the judges shall be FINAL.

AWARDSBest Counsels
55. The Prosecutor or the Defendant with the best total average oral scores in the FINALROUND will be declared as the winning team.

Best Mooter
56. The counsel with the highest individual total oral scores in the oral hearings of the generalround of the Moot Court Competition shall be adjudged the Best Mooter and shall beawarded with a certificate.
57. The Organizing Committee may in its discretion decide to award alternative prizes in lieu
of the prizes described above.

INTERPRETATION OF THE OFFICIAL RULES
58. The SECRETARY shall have absolute discretion to resolve any questions or issues
regarding the interpretation of the official rules.

OTHER RULES
59. The Organizing Committee may from time to time make any other rules and procedures
deemed advisable for the conduct of the Competition, in its sole discretion.

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