Student Activities
Mooting Society
The Mooting Society provides a great opportunity to take part in mock trial competitions called moots. This is not a great opportunity to develop your understanding of the law and presenting legal arguments, it is also a good opportunity to develop your research skills and your presentation skills. The society meets on a weekly basis and offers training courses and mock trial competitions for new and experienced mooters alike.
The society also hosts a number of internal competitions during the year, including the Advocacy Competition for New Mooters, and a moot competition for each academic year. The society also organises fun ‘mock trials’ with recent competitions including R v The Three Little Pigs on a count of murder, and R v Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, on one count of theft and one count of manslaughter.
The Society has also participates in a number of National Competitions , including the OUP/ICCA National Moot, the Welsh National Mooting Competition (which Aberystwyth have won twice), and the University of Leicester Medical Law Mooting Competition (where Aberystwyth was one of the two finalists).
The Society has also held mooting competitions in real courts, including a moot competition held at the Supreme Court in 2016, as well as Aberystwyth Justice Centre. Moots are judged by legal practitioners, and are therefore an excellent opportunity to meet with solicitors and barristers.
Law Society
The department also boasts an active student Law Society who organise trips to courts and law fairs, talks, book sales, social evenings as well as the high point of the calendar which is the annual law ball. https://www.abersu.co.uk/society/6283/
Criminology Society
The Criminology society are also an important part of departmental life with a varied programme of crime movie nights, prison visits and study support sessions before exam periods. https://www.abersu.co.uk/society/criminologysociety1/
Aberystwyth Law and Criminology Journal
The Aberystwyth Law & Criminology Journal is an exciting initiative which aims to provide a platform for displaying the highest quality work produced by students. It is an opportunity to publish your academic writing, especially if you have completed a substantial piece of research such as a dissertation. The Journal also commemorates a former student of the department, Ern Nian Yaw, by awarding an annual award in his memory. Ern Nian was a student who helped to launch the journal, but who was killed before the first issue of the journal was published. The prize is awarded to the author of the article that demonstrates the very qualities possessed by Ern: outstanding academic ability, fantastic work ethic, and an eye for detail. To find out more and please visit our website https://auslcj.wixsite.com/aberlawjournal