Model Courts of Justice 2012

Rules of Procedure

I. General Statements

1. The official language in all matters related to the Court’s function shall be English.

2. The Model Courts of Justice Rules of Procedure shall be considered as adopted in advance and

shall not be challenged or appealed.

3. The Members of the Organization Team may at any time address the Court concerning the

organizational matters.

4. Three official warnings which may only be given when a certain member of the court

persistently resists the Rules of Procedure may cause the dismissal of the concerned member

temporarily or indefinitely.

5. The Model Courts of Justice shall consist of two Presidents, one Rapporteur, thirteen judges

and two advocates for each party.

6. Parties to a case shall be the Applicant and the Respondent. The burden of proof shall

primarily belong to the Applicant. This burden of proof is preponderance of the evidence.

7. All members of the Court and the advocates hold the responsibility to show utmost respect to

each other and shall act accordingly.

II. The Secretariat

1. Composition

a. The Secretariat shall consist of the Secretary General, the Deputy Secretary General and

the Academic Staff.

2. The Secretary General

a. The Secretary General may at any time address or authorize the members of the Secretariat

to address the Court in relation with the cases.

b. The Secretary General shall ensure the observance of the Rules of Procedure and his/her

instructions shall be certain.

c. The Secretary General may temporarily designate a member of the Secretariat to act in

his/her place.

d. The Secretary General shall carry the obligation to abide by the Rules of Procedure and

shall refrain from any action that might undermine his/her position.

3. The Deputy Secretary General

a. The Deputy Secretary General shall bound by the Rules of Procedure and Secretary

General’s instructions and be responsible to the Secretary General.

b. The Deputy Secretary General may address the Court in relation with the cases pursuant to

the authorization of the Secretary General.

c. The Deputy Secretary General shall perform all duties and obligations of the Secretary

General in his/her absence.

d. The Deputy Secretary General shall refrain from any action that might undermine his/her

position.

4. The Academic Staff

a. The Academic Staff shall be bound by the Rules of Procedure and the instructions of

Secretary General or Deputy Secretary General and shall be responsible to the Secretary

General.

b. Members of the Academic Staff may address the Court in relation with the cases pursuant

to the authorization of the Secretary General.

c. Members of the Academic Staff shall refrain from any action that might undermine their

position.

III. Members of the Court

1. President

a. Model Courts of Justice 2012 shall have two presidents of equal authority.

b. President of the International Court of Justice shall be appointed by the Secretariat prior to

the conference amongst the applicants and they shall remain in duty until the closing of

proceedings unless otherwise is decided by the Secretariat.

c. The Presidents shall be responsible for the implementation of the Rules of Procedure and

moderate all phases of the trial.

d. The Presidents shall refrain from any actions that might undermine their impartiality and

credibility within their position and shall be responsible to the Secretary General.

e. The Presidents also act as judges. They shall have equal vote and say with another judge

in all matters relating to the case before the Court.

f. Presidents shall also have one vote in procedural voting procedures.

g. The Presidents are obliged to follow the instructions given by the Secretariat. Should any

disagreement or ambiguity exist as to which article or provision of this Rules of Procedure

shall apply to a specific situation the decision of the Secretariat shall be certain.

h. Although the presidents shall dictate the implementation of Rules of Procedure in the

Court, they shall not have authority over the decision of the other judges unless certain

judges’ opinion is obviously biased in which case the concerned judge shall be given an

official warning by the Presidents or the Secretariat.

2. Rapporteur

a. The Rapporteur of the International Court of Justice shall be appointed by the Secretariat

prior to the conference and s/he shall remain in duty until the closing of proceedings.

b. The Rapporteur will primarily be responsible for taking copious notes of court

proceedings, arguments of the conflicted parties, deliberation of the judges and decisions

of the Presidents.

c. The Rapporteur shall not possess the right to participate in decision-making process. In

other words, s/he does not have the right to vote in procedural and substantive matters.

d. The Rapporteur will take and record the oaths of the agents and witnesses before

presentation of any evidence by the advocates or the testimony of the witnesses. The Oath

shall follow as: “I solemnly declare upon my honor and conscience that I will speak the

truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”.

e. The Rapporteur is obliged to study the case to the detail. If need be, the rapporteur may be

required to share his or her knowledge of facts by the majority of the justices. This motion

may only be given during the judges’ deliberation or anytime that the advocates are asked

to leave the court room.

f. The Rapporteur will provide the linkage between the Court and the Press. S/he is

authorized to inform the press of the proceedings; however, any information that will have

impact on the trial proceeding shall not be released.

3. Judge

a. The Judges shall be appointed by the Secretariat amongst the applicants prior to the

conference and shall remain in duty until the closing of proceedings unless otherwise is

decided by the Secretariat.

b. Judges are responsible to determine the rules of international law on the specific case and

reach a final judgment. The final judgment of the Court shall be written and announced by

the judges and the presidents.

c. Each judge shall have one vote in procedural and substantive voting procedures.

d. Judge’s decisions and actions must be unbiased. If they fail to meet this criterion they may

be given official warning by the President or the Secretariat as stated by Section III,

Article 1/h.

e. Judges may ask questions to the agents or witnesses in designated phases of the trial

proceedings by virtue of the rules stipulated in Section VIII, Article 2.

4. Advocates

a. Advocates shall be appointed by the Secretariat prior to the conference amongst the

applicants and they shall remain in duty until otherwise is decided by the Secretariat.

b. Advocates are obliged to defend the stance of their States. The presentation of evidence,

questioning of the witnesses and other methods of proof shall constitute the instruments of

advocates while carrying out their duty.

c. Advocates of the Applicant party shall carry the burden of proof. Burden of proof can only

be reversed if the Respondent has extraordinary claims such as trying to disprove an

acknowledged fact or an incident that has already been proved by the Applicant party.

d. Advocates, as any other member of the Court, are obliged to abide by the Rules of

Procedure and final decisions of the Presidents. The official warning procedure envisaged

for the judges in Section III, Article 3/d shall also apply to the advocates.

e. The Applicant will be required to write a Memorial and the Respondent will be required to

write a Counter- Memorial prior to the conference and send it to the Secretariat of Model

Courts of Justice.

f. Stipulations will be prepared by the two parties during the conference after the advocates

deliver their opening statements.

g. Advocates do not have the right to vote in substantive or procedural voting. They may

raise some motions however such as “motion to appeal President’s decision” or “motion

to reduce/extend the speaker’s time”

h. Advocates may raise a Point of Order, a Point of Parliamentary Inquiry or a Point of

Personal Privilege pursuant to the rules set forth in Section VIII, where it is necessary.

IV. Phases of Trial

1. Opening Statements

a. The time allocated for each party is set by the president and it can be amended by the

advocates or judges before the trial phase begins. Once it begins it cannot be amended. If

need be, some extra time determined by the President may be given to the advocates

provided that same additional time will also be granted to the opposing side. If the

Applicant was not given any additional time, the respondent must complete their opening

statements by the time originally designated.

b. Opening statements are brief speeches which can be considered as the re-statement of the

written pleadings. The parties intend to show what they will try to prove during the trial.

c. The Applicant starts the phase. After the Applicant is finished with the opening statement

the Respondent will proceed.

d. Questioning of the advocates by the judges will not be possible until the sides start

presenting their evidence.

2. Stipulations

a. A stipulation is a document agreed upon by the Applicant and Respondent parties which

state certain number of pre-determined facts that cannot be challenged during the trial.

b. Preparation of the stipulations will start after both sides are finished with the opening

statements while the judges are deliberating on the case. The advocates will be dismissed

and be required to prepare the document before the presentation of the evidence.

c. Should the advocates fail to produce stipulations they will not be able to rely on pre-

determined facts that cannot be disproven by the opposing party.

d. Stipulations will be in the form of a simple list clearly defining the events and facts that

both parties agree upon.

e. Stipulations must be signed by all advocates as Applicant and Respondent before it can be

delivered to the Court.

3. Presentation of Evidence

a. Evidence is any object decided to be reliable by the Court. It can be newspaper articles,

international agreements, multilateral or bilateral treaties, reports, resolutions or anything

that in essence helps the advocates to prove their arguments.

b. Prior to the presentation of evidence, the Rapporteur shall have the advocates take their

oaths as stated by Section III, Article 2/d. An advocate refusing to take the oath will not be

able to continue counseling.

c. The procedure related to the time allocated for the opening statements shall be applied to

the presentation of evidence mutatis mutandis.

d. The Rapporteur may claim that evidence is unacceptable or the Presidents may ex officio

decide likewise. This decision must be announced and it can be appealed by one of the

judges or the advocates by virtue of the rules which are set forth in Section VII, Article 4.

If the decision of the Presidents is successfully appealed the evidence will stand as valid.

If no appeal takes place or if the decision of the Presidents stands after the appeal process,

that piece of evidence cannot be referred to during the presentation.

e. The Applicant party shall present their evidence and establish its relation to the case first.

They will be followed by the respondent. The questioning of the advocates by the judges

shall follow this phase.

4. Questioning of the Advocates by the Judges Following the Presentation of Evidence

a. After the completion of the presentation of evidence, the judges and naturally the

presidents shall have the floor to question the advocates. The judges to ask questions shall

be recognized by the presidents.

b. The Judges may question any side they prefer; however, they may only ask one question

at a time.

c. There shall be no certain time limitation for the questioning of the advocates; nevertheless,

the presidents may at any time decree to end the questioning. This decision of the

President is subject to appeal.

d. The questions of the judges shall not be limited by the scope of the presentation.

e. One advocate from each side shall answer the question of a judge. Intervention from the

other advocate will not be allowed. However, the parties are free to decide which counsel

will answer any given question.

f. The President may at any time rule a question or answer out of order and this decision

cannot be appealed.

5. Testimony of the Witnesses

a. Prior to the conference the Applicant and Respondent parties must specify up to two

witnesses including their names, positions and relation to the case. The Secretariat

afterwards shall inform the advocates of the names of the witnesses and their contact

information so that the witnesses can be prepared by the advocates before the trial.

b. These witnesses shall be called upon by the Rapporteur. After they take their oaths the

Court may proceed with the testimony of the witnesses.

c. There shall be no certain time limitation for the testimony of witnesses. However, the

presidents may warn the advocates or judges should the testimony needlessly exceed a

reasonable amount of time.

d. The testimony of witnesses shall consist of two main parts as direct examination and cross

examination.

e. During the direct examination, the sides shall be questioning their own witnesses. The side

that is examining directly shall not be able to ask leading questions.

f. Examining the opposition’s witness is called a cross examination. Leading questions shall

be appropriate for the side that is cross-examining.

g. During the cross examination the side questioning the witness may only ask questions

related to what the witness has said during the direct examination. Any other questions

shall be ruled out of order by the presidents or objected by the opposing party.

h. Applicant shall be the first to present witnesses. After the direct examination by the

Applicant, the Respondent shall have an opportunity to cross-examine the witness. Lastly,

the witness shall be questioned by the judges. However, the judges’ questions are not

limited by the witness’ statements during the direct examination. The same procedure will

apply to the witnesses of the Respondent.

i. Hearsay questions shall not be in order. Such questions are subject to the opposition’s

objection. The presidents shall also be able to rule the question out of order ex officio.

6. Rebuttal

a. During the rebuttal the introduction of new evidence shall be strictly forbidden. However,

the advocates shall ask the triers of the case to admit previously presented documents and

witnesses into evidence.

b. During rebuttal the parties shall try to determine where their argument was lacking and try

to compensate.

c. There shall be no specific time limitation for rebuttal. Presidents must make sure that both

parties are treated equally.

d. After each party finishes their rebuttal, the judges shall have the opportunity to question

the sides. Questioning of a certain side shall immediately start after they have delivered

their rebuttal.

7. Judges’ Deliberation

a. This phase refers to the period of trial when the advocates are asked to leave the court

room and judges discuss the case in private.

b. During the deliberation, the debate shall be regulated in accordance with the rules which

provided for in Section VII of the Rules of Procedure.

c. Length of the judges’ deliberation shall be determined by the presidents and announced.

They may allow additional time; however, their final decision shall not be subject to

appeal.

d. During the judges’ deliberation the press members shall also be asked to leave the court

room. Press may later on seek the Rapporteur to be enlightened on the process of the trial.

Rules stated in Section III, Article 2/f shall be considered while releasing information to

the press.

8. Closing Statements

a. Closing statements shall be given by the parties to the case.

b. During closing statements the parties shall try to present what they have proven through

their evidence, legal elements and witnesses and deliver their prayer.

c. The time for speakers shall be determined by the presidents. The procedure in Section IV,

Article 1/a will be applied mutatis mutandis.

V. Objections

1. Hearsay

a. Questions to the witnesses shall be related to the witness’ own experience only. It must be

possible for the source of the information to be examined directly during cross-

examination.

b. If one of the parties to the case asks hearsay questions to a witness, the opposing party has

the right to raise an objection.

c. The final decision on the objection shall be made by the presidents and this decision shall

not be subject to appeal.

d. The President shall announce the decision on the objection as “granted” or “overruled”.

e. Hearsay objection may interrupt the speaker.

f. If the objection is granted by the presidents, the assertion subject to objection shall be

removed from any court records and parties shall refrain from referring to that specific

assertion.

2. Leading Question

a. Leading questions may only be asked by the side that is cross-examining. There shall be

no leading questions asked during the direct examination of a witness.

b. In case of a leading question during the direct examination the opposing side has the right

to object.

c. Section V, Article 1/c-d-e-f shall be applied to leading question objections mutatis

mutandis.

3. Speculation

a. This objection shall be raised if a witness tries to predict the result of an answer or

possible outcome of an event.

b. In case of speculation the opposing party has the right to object.

c. Section V, Article 1/c-d-e-f shall be applied to speculation objections mutatis mutandis.

4. Irrelevant

a. All assertions by the parties shall be relevant to the case at hand.

b. If the assertion made is irrelevant to the case the opposing party shall have right to object.

c. Section V, Article 1/c-d-e-f shall be applied to speculation objections mutatis mutandis.

5. Badgering

a. During the examination of the witnesses parties have the responsibility to refrain from

intimidation and distressing methods.

b. If one of the parties fails to meet this criterion, the opposing party shall have the right to

raise an objection.

c. Section V, Article 1/c-d-e-f shall be applied to speculation objections mutatis mutandis.

6. Immaterial

a. Assertion of law by the parties must be in accordance with the Article 38 of the Statute of

International Court of Justice. Furthermore, the assertion of facts must be certified under

oath.

b. If one of the parties fails to abide by this rule, the opposition shall have right to object.

c. Section V, Article 1/c-d-e-f shall be applied to speculation objections mutatis mutandis.

7. Prejudicial

a. All assertions of law and facts shall respect the personal integrity of the counsels, justices

or officers.

b. If an assertion by one of the parties harms the personal integrity of a Court member, an

objection may be raised by any of the above-mentioned persons.

c. Section V, Article 1/c-d-e-f shall be applied to speculation objections mutatis mutandis.

8. Competence

a. This objection shall be raised when a speaker asserts to a technical detail which cannot be

assessed by the mentioned speaker.

b. The objection shall only be raised by the opposing party.

c. Section V, Article 1/c-d-e-f shall be applied to speculation objections mutatis mutandis.

VI. Verdict

1. The majority vote of the justices shall be required for the writing of a verdict.

2. The verdict shall include the following aspects:

a. The date of judgment

b. The names and signatures of the judges authorizing the verdict

c. Names of the parties and counsels

d. Summary of the trial

e. Statement of the facts

f. Legal ground

g. Submission of the parties

h. Dissenting and concurring opinions

3. Dissenting opinion can be written and added to the verdict by justices who oppose the

judgment of the Court.

4. Concurring opinion can be written and added to the final verdict by justices agreeing with

the final verdict but having different legal basis.

5. Each justice shall have one vote. Unlike the procedural voting, the justices may abstain

from the voting procedure on the final verdict.

VII. Rules Governing Judges’ Deliberation

1. Debate and Speakers’ List

a. The Presidents shall establish a Speakers’ List in which judges may speak generally

regarding the case. The judges shall never be required to stand up or go up to the podium

while making speeches.

b. In order to be registered for the Speakers’ list, a note to the Presidents shall be sufficient.

c. The Speakers’ list is continuously open until a motion for a closure of the debate has been

passed by a two-thirds majority vote.

d. The Speaker List may be continued or renewed in other Judges’ Deliberation sessions

upon the discretion of the Presidents.

2. Speeches

a. The time limit for speeches conducted within the Speakers’ List shall be set by the Presidents

and it can be amended by raising a motion thereby either extending or reducing the allocated

time.

b. No judges may address the Court without the permission of the Presidents.

c. The Presidents may call the speaker in order, if the speaker exceeds the allotted time or if the

speaker’s remarks are not relevant to the topic under discussion or offensive to the members

of the Court.

d. The judges shall be allowed to answer other judges’ questions which are raised in accordance

with the rules set forth in Section VIII, Article 2, if willing and has remaining time to do, at

the conclusion of a speech. All questions and replies shall be directed through the Presidents.

3. Yields

a. A judge granted the right to speak on a substantive issue may yield his/her

remaining time of speech to another judge, to points of information or to the

Presidents. Yields are to be declared by the conclusion of the speeches.

b. No yields are allowed during procedural speeches or if the judge’s time has

expired.

c. Once there has been a yield by the speaker to another judge, this yielded time

cannot be re-yielded.

d. Concerning the time yielded for questions, the Presidents shall select questioners,

which are granted one question each. Only the speaker’s answer shall be deducted

from the speaker’s remaining time.

e. Director shall have the right to call to order any judge whose point of information

is, in the opinion of the Director, rhetorical and leading and not designed to elicit

information.

f. Should the remaining time be yielded to the Presidents, the Presidents will then

move to the next speaker.

4. Appeal to the Presidents’ Decision

a. Any decision of the President, with the exception of matters that are explicitly stated to be

unappealable by the Rules of Procedure, may be appealed immediately by a judge.

b. The President may speak briefly in defense of the ruling. The appeal will then be put to a

vote, and the decision of the President will stand unless overruled by a two-thirds majority

of the Court.

c. A “Yes/In favor” vote indicates support of the President’s ruling; a “No/Against” vote

indicates opposition to that ruling.

5. Moderated Caucus

a. A Judge may move for a Moderated Caucus by raising a motion, thereby facilitating the

debate on a specific issue.

b. Such a motion may be raised at any time when floor is open.

c. The Judge raising the motion must state the purpose of the moderated caucus and specify a

time length of the caucus, not to exceed twenty minutes, and a speakers’ time.

d. The Presidents may rule the motion out of order without any possibility of appeal or may

alter the length of the caucus, speakers’ time or the purpose of the caucus and put it to a

vote.

e. This motion shall be put a vote and its adoption requires a simple majority of the Judges.

f. Adoption of such a motion temporarily shall suspend the Speakers’ List for the specified

time and the judges who signify their desire to speak by raising their hands may speak in

turn upon recognition of the President.

g. Where the specified time has expired, the Speakers’ List is resumed provided that there are

not any motions for another moderated or unmoderated caucus or other motions of other

qualities.

6. Unmoderated Caucus

a. A Judge may move for an unmoderated caucus by raising a motion. Such a motion may be

raised at any time when the floor is open.

b. The Judge raising the motion must specify a time length of the caucus, not to exceed

twenty minutes.

c. The Presidents may rule the motion out of order without any possibility of appeal or may

alter the length of the caucus and put it to a vote.

d. This motion shall be put a vote and its adoption requires a simple majority of the Judges.

e. Adoption of such a motion temporarily shall suspend the Speakers’ List for the specified

time and the judges shall carry an informal discussion without leaving the room.

f. Where the specified time has expired, the Speakers’ List is resumed provided that there are

not any motions for another unmoderated or moderated caucus or other motions of other

qualities.

7. Extensions

a. A moderated or unmoderated caucus may be extended after the end of the proposed time

limit with a motion given by a judge.

b. This extension may not be longer than the caucus that it is being extended. For the sake of

the deliberation, otherwise can be rendered by the Presidents.

8. Suspension and Adjournment of the Meeting

a. A judge may propose a motion for a suspension of the meeting for a specified time

and purpose to suspend all Court functions until the next session.

b. A judge may propose a motion for the adjournment of the meeting to suspend all

Court functions for the duration of the Conference.

c. The Director may rule such motions out of order and these decisions are not subject

to appeal.

d. There are no debates for these motions, for they are immediately put to vote and

will require a simple majority to pass.

e. A motion to adjourn the meeting will be out of order until three-quarters of the time

allotted for the last session has elapsed.

f. The provisions of this Article will apply to all sessions of the Court mutatis mutandis.

VIII. Rules Governing Points

1. Point of Personal Privilege

a. Members of the Court may request the Presidents to correct discomforts provided that

such a discomfort prevents their ability to participate in the proceedings.

b. Point of Personal Privilege may only interrupt a speaker when a member of the Court has

difficulties regarding audibility.

2. Point of Information

a. Judges may direct questions to the advocates and the witnesses upon the Presidents’

recognition, when floor is open to Points of Information.

b. Judges who have recognized by the Presidents may direct questions to the speaker if

she/he opens herself/himself to Points of Information during the judges’ deliberation.

c. Judges’ questions shall not be subtracted from the time which is allocated for the

advocates or the witnesses or the speaker.

d. A Point of Information cannot interrupt a speaker.

3. Point of Order

a. Members of the Court may raise a point of order to indicate an improper implementation

of the parliamentary rules by Presidents or another other member of the Court.

b. The Presidents shall immediately take into consideration the point pursuant to the Rules

of Procedure. A Point of Order which is dilatory or improper may be ruled out of order

without any possibility of appeal by the Presidents.

c. Member of the Court raising a Point of Order may not speak on the substance of the

matter under discussion.

d. A Point of Order may not interrupt a speaker unless it is an absolute necessity in that the

speech is not observing the proper parliamentary procedure.

4. Point of Parliamentary Inquiry

a. Members of the Court may raise a Point of Parliamentary Inquiry requesting an

explanation on the Rules of Procedure from the Presidents.

b. A Point of Parliamentary Inquiry may neither interrupt a speaker nor be in regard to

substantive matter.