Mock Trial is a learning project in the Economics & Law subject of grade 11 students at Olympia High School. Students will play the roles of plaintiff, defendant, and lawyer in a civil lawsuit between two businesses.

In the role of a lawyer, Pham Nguyen Minh Anh (11th grade student SS1), representing the defendant in the mock trial, analyzed and found the opponent's weaknesses, and argued based on the law to maximally protect the client's legitimate interests.

Minh Anh said that when she received the assignment, she felt quite confused because it had many disadvantages for the defendant. But after carefully studying the law and listening to advice from teachers and lawyers, she began to dig deeper, finding angles and details that could be exploited.

Minh Anh's group then studied more than 400 articles of the Civil Code and more than 300 articles of the Commercial Law to solve the problem. "For the first time, I had access to the law and applied it in practice instead of just reading through books and the internet. Thanks to that, I have honed my analytical skills, strong arguments, debating skills, legal thinking skills and looking at problems from all aspects," Minh Anh said.

Since 2 years ago, the female student has dreamed of pursuing a career in economic law. When she directly participated in litigation, Minh Anh said that her love for the field was reinforced and she was greatly inspired to pursue this field in the future.

IMG_9666.jpg
Mock trial is a learning project in Economics & Law subject of 11th grade students (Photo: Quynh Trang)

Ms. Ma Thi Thanh Xuan, a teacher of Economics & Law, said that adding a mock trial to the subject is one of the optimal methods to help students practice law in depth instead of just reading the law.

“Through this, students will know how to apply the law to argue in favor of the defendant or plaintiff. The process of applying it to make arguments to protect rights also helps students practice legal thinking. This is also the highest level of application in this subject,” said Ms. Xuan.

Starting the project at the beginning of the school year, students have more than 3 months to research and participate in preparing defenses for a criminal case and a civil case. The two best teams will be selected for the final round, litigating a commercial civil case.

Ms. Ngo Thi Thu Ha, a teacher of Economics and Law, said that in court, everything is no longer emotional from a personal perspective. Students have to analyze the most profound details, self-reflect, and apply the law to consider real-life situations.

IMG_9739.jpg
Students in the role of lawyers, representing the defendant in a mock trial (Photo: Quynh Trang)

When organizing this mock trial, teachers also had to seek support and professional advice from lawyers and lecturers at Hanoi Law University. “During the debate, students were not informed in advance of the questions from the jury - which were handled by lawyers and law lecturers.

Therefore, students must carefully read the details and additional documents about the project. The real-life situation at the trial requires students to think and analyze the law on the spot to apply it accurately to gain the upper hand."

After the course, Ms. Ha said that students have mastered the litigation process and know how the law is applied in life. That is the goal of the ability and also the value of this course.

Students do projects instead of midterm exams . Participating in the Model United Nations Conference as a representative of the United States to talk about brain drain, Bao Khang had more than a month to research and come up with feasible solutions.