Kawaskimhon Moot

The 20th anniversary Kawaskimhon Moot, held at the U of T Faculty of Law in 2014

The Kawaskimhon (which is Cree for “speaking with knowledge”) Moot is unique among moot court competitions in that it is a consensus-based, non-adversarial moot that incorporates Indigenous legal orders alongside federal, provincial and international law.

The Kawaskimhon Moot has grown exponentially since it began at University of Toronto in 1994. Though it started small, it now has participants from nearly every law school in Canada. The Moot has its own bundle which is passed from host school to host school. The Moot uses a talking circle style in an effort to facilitate consensus building.  Law schools from across Canada represent various interested parties and are required to prepare written arguments and give oral presentations on matters arising out of the moot problem. Each law school represents one or two parties participating in the negotiations. Participants present their client’s positions to their circles and volunteer facilitators sit in the circle and gently guide the discussions, with the goal being to reach a consensus on the issues at stake.  The format continues to evolve with the tone and style being set each year by the host school.

UofT last hosted in 2014 for the 20^th anniversary read more about it here

https://www.law.utoronto.ca/news/kawaskimhon-aboriginal-moot-celebrates-20th-anniversary

Current students should check the course list to find up-to date information on this course