Under the coaching of attorney Dr. Sandra Gerdes, LL.M., four teams of the University of Bremen consisting of two students per team will participate at the competition in Giessen.
The Justus Liebig Moot Court is a simulated court hearing on German civil and civil procedural law, which takes place annually for the 14th time at the University of Giessen under the direction of Prof. Dr. Martin Gutzeit. It consists of two parts: During the first part, each student team will draft either a statement of claim or a statement of defense for the court proceeding. In the second part, the teams with the best written memoranda will compete against each other in oral arguments. From the outset, the oral rounds are held on a knockout basis. The winner of a round advances to the next round, where a modified set of facts is to be presented. No team will, therefore, plead the same case twice during this competition. From that perspective, the Moot Court is significantly more practice oriented. The Justus Liebig Moot Court is much less time consuming than, for example, the Soldan Moot, making it an ideal introduction to the legal practice for students in their fourth semester or above.
This year's case focuses on contract formation using generative artificial intelligence. A car dealer used AI to represent him during contract negotiations and the conclusion of the contract for the purchase of a historical car without the knowledge of a private car seller. Now, the car dealer wants to withdraw from the contract because the generative AI made an error in calculating the appropriate purchase price.
Two teams of the University of Bremen represent the plaintiff and the other two represent the defendant. They are currently drafting the memoranda in the role of lawyers. They face not only the challenge of mastering the tasks of legal practice, but also of dealing with current and contentious substantive legal issues.
Following the written phase, all teams of the University of Bremen will compete against each other in internal practice rounds. Some hearings will be recorded in the Moot Court Room of the faculty to provide optimal feedback. Regardless of their success in the written phase, all participants from the University of Bremen will have the opportunity to gain practical experience in pleading in front of a court.
Those who qualify for the oral phase of the competition will present their arguments this year before a chamber of three judges consisting of Federal Court of Justice judge Prof. Dr. Patrick Gödicke, a representative of the Frankfurt Bar Association, Attorney Tanja V. Pfitzner, LL.M., and Prof. Dr. Martin Gutzeit from the University of Giessen.
Moot courts are unique opportunities to practice not only substantive law but also the practical challenges of the legal profession while still studying. Therefore, the University of Bremen is continuously expanding its moot court participations and will send teams to a total of four competitions this academic year.