Moot Competition
By Eric Baker
I recently completed the adjudication of the Year 2005 Family Law Section National Moot Competition. As in previous years, the standard amongst the competitors was extraordinarily high with 7 marks only separating the six State finalists.
The competing Universities were: * University of Newcastle (NSW) * Macquarie University (NSW) * Deakin University (Victoria) * University of Technology Sydney (NSW) * Adelaide University (SA) * University of Queensland (Qld) * University of Western Australia (WA)
The enthusiasm in the West was so great the University of Western Australia, to their credit, fielded two teams, with that State’s second team progressing from the State Final in WA to the Commonwealth Final in ACT.
The Final took place at the Family Court in Canberra on 16 September, with the University of Western Australia Second Team competing against the University of Queensland in a closely-fought contest. The University of Queensland ran out the ultimate winners and, in doing so, gave a very polished performance of appellate advocacy.
All Universities who competed are to be congratulated on their efforts and our special thanks should go to the Family Law lecturers and coaches who prepared all teams in such a competent manner. The Moot Competition is a very worthwhile exercise, as a preparation for Law students to ultimately join the ranks of the profession, whether as barristers or as solicitors.
Our special thanks go to Maurine Pyke QC of the Adelaide Bar who prepared a very complex first instance judgement in respect of which the competitors were required to prepare their grounds of appeal. There were more twists and turns in the problem than one could possibly imagine, and the various complexities which it raised certainly tested the mettle of all participants.
Not only did the competing teams exhibit a high standard of advocacy and preparation, but the camaraderie which existed between them was a very pleasing aspect of the competition! May it continue well into the future!