The Junior Chamber of Advocates’ (JCA) is once again organising its annual Moot Court. However, this year the event will be taken to new heights.
The JCA is an established law student organisation aimed towards bridging the gap between students reading for the Advocacy courses within the University of Malta and the legal profession. Being an integral part of the Chamber of Advocates, JCA promotes a practical approach to the legal profession in general with the ultimate aim being to instill an ethical approach towards the profession from the very start of one’s career.
JCA’s Annual Moot Court is a perfect platform where students are provided with an ideal scenario of what they will be facing while practising as lawyers in court.
Over the past few years, JCA always strived to provide students with the opportunity to participate in a model scenario, which is as realistic and factual to the legal profession.
The model scenario case deals with a variety of criminal offences, such as homicide, possession of illegal substances and grievous bodily harm
In such a set-up, students are allowed to form part of teams, so as to challenge a mock case presented to them according to the rule of procedure applicable in the Maltese Law Courts. This encompasses the preparation of oral and written submissions, the selection of witnesses, examination and the cross-examination procedure and other possible situations presented to a warranted practising lawyer.
Due to the high concertation of academic material, the law course does not provide the practical exposure to students who would eventually end up practising in court. Thus, this offers students an opportunity to start practising, in a monitored environment, their legal skills with a hands-on approach, hence putting their theoretical studies into practice.
This year the model scenario is entitled ‘The JCA Moot Court - A Trial by Jury’, which deals with a typical criminal case. The case deals with a variety of criminal offences, such as homicide, possession of illegal substances and grievous bodily harm. Moreover, the organising team had to prepare additional materials to complement the model scenario, such as a list of witnesses and forensic evidence relating to the challenge posed.
Throughout the years, JCA sought to introduce a number of new features to spice up its Moot Court competition, thus bringing it close to a real day-to-day scenario faced by a practising lawyer. This saw the introduction of witnesses in last year’s competition and for this year, for the first time ever, the Moot Court will also be setting up a jury.
The Moot Court competition hearings will be heard on March 11 and 18 at the Law Courts in Valletta. Magistrate Francesco Depasquale and Mr Justice David Scicluna have accepted the invitation to preside over the Court.
Organising such a huge event would not be possible without the constant help of the Law Courts administration who, every year, along with the Chamber of Advocates, do their utmost to ensure that students get the best possible memorable experiences.