The AAU College of Law organized a Moot Court for students who have completed the practicum course at the public departments of the General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police and Abu Dhabi Courts. The event took place at the AAU Abu Dhabi campus with the attendance of  Dr. Noor Aldeen Atatreh, AAU Chancellor; Prof. Abdelhafid Belarbi, AAU Vice President; Dr. Mahmoud Abdelhakam, Deputy Dean of the College of Law; faculty members; and students of the college of Law. 

Prof. Abdelhafid Belarbi, AAU Vice President, stated that the College of Law gives the practical side of the profession the attention it needs through providing all required means that would open the door for the students’ careers referring to the professionals who graduated from the university and have participated in the judiciary system. Belarbi reiterated that the Moot Court is not merely a theoretical activity; rather, it is an emphasis on extending the legal culture and embodies the importance of the legal text in practice highlighting that linking legal texts to court procedures and principles inevitably prepares the students to fully comprehend the text and make the connection according to the court’s requirements.

On his part, Dr. Mahmoud Abdelhakam, Deputy Dean of the College of Law, mentioned that the Moot Court is considered a simulation of a real trial which is a deviation from the typical style in the educational process. Students take up different judicial roles (judges, prosecutors, lawyers, etc...), and the moot court is performed in the presence of an audience to enhance the public feature of courts. The importance of the Moot Court lies in enabling students to acquire the necessary skills to practice law in addition to the skills required for judges; it also develops the students’ personal skills in argumentation and rhetoric. Moreover, the Moot Court allows the development of the necessary skills for legal consultancy work.  

The focus of the moot court was case 1088 of 1998 of Abu Dhabi criminal court. The case revolved around disclosing the particularities of drug possession for the purpose of trading. After listening to the witnesses, the defendant was indicted. The court sentenced him in accordance with the penal code.