A
moot court is an
extracurricular activity at many
law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, which usually involves drafting memorials or memoranda and participating in
oral argument. The term "moot" traces its origins to Anglo-Saxon times, when a
moot (
gmot or
emot) was a gathering of prominent men in a locality to discuss matters of local importance. The modern activity differs from a
mock trial, as moot court usually refers to a simulated
appellate court or
arbitral case, while a mock trial usually refers to a simulated
jury trial or
bench trial. Moot court does not involve actual testimony by witnesses,
cross-examination, or the presentation of evidence, but is focused solely on the application of the law to a common set of evidentiary assumptions to which the competitors must be introduced. In most countries, the phrase "a moot court" may be shortened to simply "a moot" and the activity may be called "mooting". Participants are either referred to as "mooters" or "mooties".