The prize for the ANU Gender Identity + Sexuality Moot will be a donation in the name of the winning team to a charity working to improve conditions for LGBTQIA+ people anywhere in the world.
It is the only moot that focusses on the law as it relates to queer experiences in Australia specifically.
By Aidan Hookey (student ambassador)
The annual Australian National University (ANU) Gender Identity + Sexuality Moot will return for its third rendition this September.
The competition is the first of its kind to focus on the legal issues faced by LGBTQIA+ people, and lays bare the law’s ability to mitigate or compound inequality, marginalisation and injustice.
Once again, the Honourable Justice Michael Kirby AC, CMG (HonLLD '14) will oversee the grand final.
James Fisher, Director of Moots and Competitions at the ANU College of Law, said he is excited for this year’s competition.
“Mooting gives an applied approach to legal reasoning, as well as confidence and humility. All sorts of things we want emerging jurists to have before they enter practise,” he said.
“[The competition] offers something quite distinct in mooting, particularly in Australia. It is the only moot that focusses on the law as it relates to queer experiences in Australia specifically.”
In particular, there is a focus on making the competition as accessible and open to new mooters as possible.
“The moot is run exclusively online, so that brings down the costs of engagement,” Mr Fisher said. “We also have dispensations in registration fees for teams that may not be able to meet the registration fee out of institutional resources.”
“We also explicitly focus this competition on novice mooters and students who are members or allies of the queer community, and those who might be new to mooting and who are perhaps not from demographics that are overrepresented in spoken advocacy in the professions and who may have been put off from other competitions by the tone of formality and exclusivity.”
“We want to ensure maximum representation on the bench at all stages of the competition and also in participation from people in the communities the moot is aiming to highlight.”
Registrations for the competition were open to teams from Australian and New Zealand law schools. The competition will take place from the 11-22 September 2023.
Enquiries about the competition can be made to the Gender and Sexuality Moot Organising Committee at gender.sexuality.moot@gmail.com.
Thanks to Aulich, sponsor of the 2023 ANU Gender and Sexuality Moot, for their generous support of the competition.
