Pre-Law Mock-Trial Competition Rules 2025
Please note: These rules are at the discretion of the Pre-Law Vice President. All questions
about the rules or the competition should be directed to the Competition Directors who will
consult with the Pre-Law Vice President.
Eligibility & registration
1.​ Subject to Rule 2, all students who are Ordinary Financial Members of the Blackstone
Society at the time of registration may enter the competition.
2.​ The following persons are excluded from competing:
a.​ a person who has graduated from a recognised institution with a legal
qualification;
b.​ a person who is currently enrolled in a post-graduate degree, at any tertiary
institution;
c.​ a Blacklisted Person;
d.​ the Competition Directors;
e.​ the Blackstone President;
f.​ the Pre-Law Vice President; and
g.​ the Competitions Vice President.
3.​ Competitors who withdraw from the competition after the materials have been distributed
will face blacklisting (see Blacklisting Policy at Annexure 1).
4.​ Students compete in teams of two (2). Competitors will conduct all research and
preparation for the competition without assistance from any other person.
5.​ Students must provide an associate for their courtroom if asked by the Competition
Director or the Pre-Law Vice President.
Competition Structure
Number of competitors
6.​ Up to 32 competitors compete in Round One, 16 in Round Two, 8 in Semi-Finals and
4 in the Grand Final.
7.​ If less than 16 teams apply to compete, the number of competitors will be capped at
the closest non-prime number to 32.
8.​ If an odd number of teams sign up, preference will be given to those who signed up
first.
9.​ In each round, teams are assigned to a court, and represent either the
prosecution/plaintiff or the defendant.
Problem and Applicable Law
10.​48 hours before the trial, the Competition Director will email competitors a legal brief
containing details of:
(a) the Court, date and venue of the trial;
(b) in a criminal matter, details of the charge and the defendant’s
plea; and
(c) proofs of evidence of all witnesses to be called at the trial.
Conduct of the Trial
11.​All trials commence at either 5pm or 7pm. Competitors must be in the courtyard 30
minutes before their trial begins.
12.​The trial will proceed as follows:
13.​There will be no re-examination.
14.​Counsel may object and state the grounds for their objection. Senior Counsel may not
object to questions put or evidence led by opposing Junior Counsel, and vice-versa.
15.​The maximum duration for each stage of proceedings must be strictly observed.
However, judges may grant a short extension of time to allow competitors to respond
to questions.
16.​At each stage of the proceedings, the associate will display a warning sign when ‘5
minutes’ remain, ‘2 minutes’ remain and at ‘Time’.
17.​Competitors will dress professionally but will not robe.
Judges and Assessment
18.​All preliminary rounds will be presided over by a single judge.
19.​Any person with relevant experience may be a judge. This includes, for example,
judges, magistrates, legal practitioners, legal academics or any other person with a
demonstrated experience in judging competitions.
20.​Judges will award each competitor a score out of 100 marks in accordance with the
score sheet.
21.​No draws are possible.
Witnesses
22.​Any person who is not a competitor in a round of the competition may act as a witness
in that round.
23.​Teams must inform the Competition Director of the names and contact details of the
two people they have arranged to act as witnesses at least 24 hours prior to the
commencement of their trial.
24.​Teams will not examine the people whom they have arranged to act as witnesses.
Teams will be informed of the identity of their witnesses on the evening of the trial.
25.​Witnesses must adhere to their proof of evidence as closely as possible and may not
lie, contradict their proof or intentionally mislead counsel for either side.
26.​Witnesses are not expected to memorise their proof of evidence and may read from
their witness statements at any time.
27.​Counsel will have 20 minutes prior to the commencement of the trial to prepare their
witnesses.
Appeals
28. If a Competitor wishes to appeal the way in which a competition is run on the night, or the
result of a competition, they must follow the prescribed appeals process (see Annexure 2)
Pre-Law Mock Trials 2025
Annexure 1: Blacklisting Policy
Purpose and application
1. This policy applies to all Blackstone Society competitions and is strictly enforced.
2. This policy aims to ensure that:
(a) registration for competitions is not abused; (b) only those students who are serious
about competing register for
competitions; and (c) competitors respect their fellow competitors and volunteer
judges.
3. In the event of serious breaches of ethical and professional standards, the Pre-Law VP
may refer the competitor to the Law Faculty.
Blacklisting conduct
4. Students can be Blacklisted conduct including, but not limited to:
(a) Withdrawing from a competition after the materials have been released without
a reasonable excuse;
(b) Failure to provide an associate, client or witness when instructed to do so by the
relevant Competition Director or Pre-Law Vice President; and
(c) Engaging in behaviour that is likely to offend, intimidate, harass or threaten any
person involved in the competition, or is disrespectful to fellow competitors,
witnesses, associates, clients, judges or University property.
Removal from Blacklist
5. A student who is Blacklisted will be prevented from participating in any Blackstone
competition for 2 semesters after they are placed on the Blacklist, unless they are
removed from the Blacklist.
6. Students can be removed from the Blacklist at the discretion of the Competitions Vice
President. Conduct which may result in removal from the Blacklist includes: •
Providing a reasonable excuse for the withdrawal.
• Providing an apology to competitors involved.
• Volunteering as an associate or client in a Blackstone Competition.
• Partaking in approved Blackstone Volunteering (with prior approval from the
Competitions Vice President).
• Proof of involvement with Guild Volunteering.
7. Students who wish to appeal the decision of the Competitions Vice President may
appeal by following the process outlined in the “Appeals” section (see Annexure 2)
Annexure 2: Appeals
Appeals at the competition
1.​ All appeals on the night of the competition should be brought to the attention of the
relevant Competition Director as soon as possible. If practical, the Pre-Law Vice
President should also be contacted.
2.​ On the night, the decision of the Competition Director or the Pre-Law Vice President
is final and shall govern how the competition is conducted on the night. {Examples:
students appealing the appropriateness of a witness provided, clarification on the
interpretation of a rule, any issues regarding a conflict of interest with a judge or other
issues that are likely to arise on the night.}
Appeals after the competition
3. A competitor has 24 hours after the competition to appeal the conduct of the
competition.
4. A competitor has 24 hours after the release of results to appeal the result of the
competition.
5. Competitors wishing to appeal must email the Competitions Vice President giving
notification that they wish to appeal and outlining the basic facts giving rise to the
appeal.
6. Upon receipt of an appeal, the Competitions Vice President:
(a) will acknowledge the receipt of the appeal to the Competitor and other
interested parties;
(b) has the authority to ask any person who may be able to inform them of the
facts for further information, including but not limited to the judge presiding
the competition on the night and the most senior member of the Pre-Law
Subcommittee present on the night of the competition;
(c) has absolute discretion to resolve the appeal in any way, including, but not
limited to, dismissing the appeal, upholding the appeal in part, adjusting
scores, adjusting results, overturning a decision made by the Competition
Director, and disqualifying competitors; and
(d) will inform the Competitor of the outcome of their appeal within 48 hours
of the appeal being lodged.
Further appeal
7. If a Competitor is dissatisfied with the decision of the Competitions Vice President,
then they may, in writing, inform the Competitions Vice President of the reasons for
their dissatisfaction.
8. The Competitions Vice President will, in consultation with the Blackstone President, or
their representative, decide if the appeal should be heard by the Competition Review
Board. If so, the appeal will be heard within 24 hours. The Competitor may be asked
to attend.
9. The Competition Review Board shall consist of the Blackstone President, or their
appointed representative, two other members of the Blackstone Executive unless they
are ineligible, and the most senior member of the competitions subcommittee present
on the night of the Competition in dispute.
10. Ineligible members of the Competition Review Board are:
1. (a) The Competitions Vice President;
2. (b) Any member who has competed, or is competing in, the Competition.
11. The decision of the Competition Review Board is final and no further appeal is
available.