THIRD ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION

Tampa-St. Petersburg

The Tampa-St. Petersburg area is adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico. The average high temperature for early November is 80, and the area provides a host of recreational opportunities, including fishing, boating, and golfing. St. Petersburg is home to the Florida International and Salvador Dali Museums, while Tampa offers visitors the Busch Gardens theme park and animal preserve, the Florida Aquarium with over 4300 of Florida's aquatic animals and plants, and the nightlife of historic Ybor City. Stetson is also a short 90-minute drive from Orlando and Walt Disney World, Epcot Center, Disney-MGM Studios, Universal Studios Florida, and Sea World. Each Competition packet will include the St. Petersburg 1998 Official Visitors' Guide highlighting these and other recreational activities.

Click here for more information.

 

Results of the 1997 Competition

The 1997 Competition was a great success. Twelve teams from six states and one foreign country participated. The problem was based on issues related to the proposed construction and operation of two nuclear power plants in Cuba.

In addition, several individual oralist awards were given. A videotape of the semifinal rounds and the final round can be ordered by contacting Professor Royal C. Gardner at Stetson.

The winning teams are listed here.

The Competition

This Competition provides an excellent opportunity for law students to explore issues of international environmental law in the context of a dispute before the International Court of Justice. The participants' memorials (briefs) will be evaluated by international environmental legal experts selected with the assistance of the ABA International Environmental Law Committee, Section of International Law and Practice. Orals will be evaluated by local attorneys and judges with experience in international law, environmental law, and appellate advocacy. In a change of format for the 1998 Competition, each team will have the opportunity, after the problem is distributed, and on a first-come, first-serve basis, to select which side it will represent on the memorial. Each team will then represent that same side through three preliminary oral argument rounds. The two best applicant teams and the two best respondent teams will then advance to the semifinal round. During the semifinal round, each team will argue before one panel of distinguished judges. The top applicant team and the top respondent team will then advance to the final round. This new format, which is based on a recent proposal by Judge Alex Kozinski of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, is a more realistic, client-based approach to moot court that we hope will enhance the participants' experience.

1998 Schedule

1998 Invited Final Round Judges

We have invited Judge Choon-Ho Park of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and Carol A. Petsonk, International Counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund, to serve as judges in the final round. We will also invite a distinguished academic or government official to judge the final round. The list is subject to change, but we do expect to have high-quality judges who are experts in the international and environmental fields.

Registration

The rules for the Competition will be made available, along with the Competition packets, to participating schools. A team may be composed of two or three full-time law students. Space is limited to the first 16 teams that register and pay the registration fee. The registration fee for entries postmarked after August 3, 1998 is $300.

Any school wishing to enter a second team may request to be placed on a waiting list. Second teams will be permitted to enter on a space available basis as of July 17, 1998. The registration fee for any second team selected will be based on the date the team requested placement on the waiting list.

 

If you have any questions concerning the Competition,
please contact Professor Royal C. Gardner
at gardner@hermes.law.stetson.edu
or (813) 562-7864.

We look forward to hearing from you.

We welcome your comments.
Please e-mail us at gardner@law.stetson.edu.

This page was last updated on 05/17/02.