Guidelines-Kirby Cup Law Reform Competition
What is the Kirby Cup Law Reform Competition?
Eligibility
Structure of the Competition
Judging Criteria
Submission of Entries
Notification of Finalists
Competition Topic– 2007
Interpretation and Application of these Guidelines
Appeals
What is the Kirby Cup Law Reform Competition?
The Kirby Cup Law Reform Competition encourages law students to participate in a practical way in the process of law reform. The Kirby Cup was donated by the Honourable Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG, a current Justice of the High Court of Australia and the first Chairperson of the Australian Law Reform Commission. The Kirby Cup was originally held in association with the Australasian Law Reform Agencies Conference, which occurs every two years. It is now held as part of the Annual National Australian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) Conference.
The format of the Kirby Cup has varied over the years. This year entrants are asked to develop a proposal for law reform relevant to a current ALRC inquiry. The Competition provides law students with the opportunity to engage in a meaningful way with policy-orientated law reform, and provides a unique insight into the workings of the legal system.
Eligibility
1. The competition will be open to students:
a. currently enrolled in an LLB at an ALSA- affiliated university or invited international university;
b. who have completed an LLB at an ALSA- affiliated university or invited international university in the six months prior to the closing date; or
c. currently undertaking a post-graduate course in law or a related field at an ALSA- affiliated university or invited i nternational u niversity.
2. A team consists of two students. Team members may be, but are not required to be, from the same university. There is no restriction on the number of teams from a university that may enter in the competition.
3. Teams wishing to enter the Kirby Cup must register for the competition by 6 April 2007.
4. Entrants do not require the endorsement of their university or campus law students’ association.
5. The competition has both a written and an oral advocacy component.
Written Component
6. The written component consists of a submission to a law reform body. The submission must address an issue related to a current ALRC inquiry, which will be set by the ALRC and published on the Kirby Cup website. The submission shall comply with the following requirements:
a. No longer than 15 A4 single sided pages in length;
b. Times New Roman font shall be used with a font size of 12 in the text and 8 in the footnotes;
c. Spacing shall be 1.5 lines.
7. The submission shall address the following:
a. Problem description – what is the social problem addressed in the proposal for law reform;
b. Critique of the existing law – what is the law, if any, which impacts on the social problem identified and what is the evidence of defects in the law;
c. Proposal for law reform – considering the existing legal framework, what is the proposal for law reform to address the social problem identified? The proposal should address both substantive and procedural issues and provide evidence and persuasive argument in favour of the proposed solution(s);
d. Strategies for implementation – identify and discuss the most effective strategy to implement the law reform(s) proposed.
8. Given the page limit, it is not advisable that the submission address all issues being considered as part of the relevant inquiry. It is up to the entrants to determine the issues on which they wish to focus.
Oral Advocacy Component
9. Up to three teams will be selected, based on the assessment of the written component, to advance to the Oral Advocacy Round.
10. Each team will have 20 minutes to make a submission to a panel of at least three judges, selected by the ALRC. Both team members are required to participate in the oral submission. The division of time between each team member is at the discretion of the team. While the format is less formal than a moot or courtroom presentation, teams can expect questions from the judges. Teams can assume that they will not have an opportunity to read extensively from prepared notes. Both team members should have a good knowledge of all of the relevant issues. This will allow team members to share the answering of questions, which will enhance teamwork.
11. Written Component – the written component carries a weighting of 60%. In assessing the written component, the assessors will have regard to:
a. Substantive argument;
b. Originality;
c. The contribution of the submission to law reform addressing the problem identified;
d. Writing style, with an emphasis on clarity of expression and plain English.
12. Oral Advocacy Component – for the three teams advancing to the oral advocacy round of the competition, this component carries a weighting of 40%. In assessing the oral advocacy component, the judges will have regard to:
a. Conceptualisation – submissions are relevant to the problem identified and the law reform proposed;
b. Presentation – for example the use of concise, clear language; dealing effectively with questions from the judges; appropriate pace; avoiding distracting mannerisms and verbal habits; maintaining appropriate eye contact with the judges; effective use of demonstrative aids.
13. The judges’ decision will be final.
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Submission of Entries
14. The submissions must be provided in electronic form via e-mail to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) at kirbycup@alrc.gov.au.
15. The closing date for submissions is 5.00 pm (Sydney, NSW time) on Monday, 30 April 2007. Late submissions arising from technical malfunction only (for example, a problem with the ALRC e-mail system) may be accepted at the absolute discretion of the ALRC.
16 . The winners of the oral submissions will be announced during the ALSA Conference.
17. The teams advancing to the Oral Advocacy round of the competition will be posted on the Kirby Cup website by Monday, 14 May 2007.
18. The Oral Advocacy Round will be held in Melbourne Canberra during the 29th Annual National Australian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) Conference to be held from 2 to 3 July 2007. The date and time of the Oral Advocacy Round will be posted on the Kirby Cup website as soon as they are determined.
Competition Topic – 2007
19. Teams must address the following topic:
Would further modification or abrogation of legal professional privilege in some areas be desirable in order to achieve more effective performance of Commonwealth investigatory functions?
Interpretation and Application of these Guidelines
20. In any matter requiring interpretation and/or application of these Guidelines, the decision of the ALRC will be final.
Appeals
21. Appeals about the application of these guidelines, other than appeals about judging decisions, may be made to the ALSA competition appeals panel. The ALRC will be notified of any appeals and given an opportunity to respond. Decisions in relation to the respective merit of entries at the written and oral rounds will be final. No appeals in relation to judging decisions will be accepted.
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This page was posted on 5 February 2007 anbd updated on 28 February 2007