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SWEDISH LEGAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The Swedish Legal Championships is a nationwide competition in litigation before Swedish courts. The competition is organized by the Association for the Swedish Legal Championships, SSJM. It is a non-profit association founded by the legal associations in Uppsala, Stockholm, Lund, Örebro, Gothenburg and Umeå. Law students from the universities in these cities are invited to participate in the competition. In addition to the chance to win 10,000 kronor, participants also have an excellent opportunity to gain litigation experience and showcase their knowledge.
Read more on SJM's official website .
Who can compete?
To participate, you must be studying at one of the law schools in Uppsala, Stockholm, Lund, Örebro, Gothenburg and Umeå and be or have been enrolled in the procedural law course, i.e. semester 5 at Lund University. These are the formal requirements. The competition places high demands on your ability to argue for your client – your arguments must be sharp both in writing and orally. But you are not alone in the fight. You compete in a team, consisting of yourself and another person from the same place. Keep in mind that the best team is not the one where you and your fellow competitor can do the same thing, but where you complement each other's knowledge. Please register a person in reserve in case someone is unable to attend.
Here's how it works
In the first phase, teams, consisting of two people, compete against other teams in the same location. Each team is tasked with presenting a written submission in a case, based on a fictional case written by Justice Johnny Herre. A competition jury consisting of judges, lawyers and researchers selects the six best submissions in each location. The selected teams then have to make oral arguments in front of the same jury in a local final – which in Lund usually takes place in Lund District Court. The best team in each location is then chosen to represent their university in the national final at the Supreme Court.
Prior to the national final, additional conditions are presented in the fictitious case. The finalists from each university are divided into plaintiff and defendant teams. You must therefore be prepared to see the case from both sides. The final is decided in the Supreme Court through oral arguments before a jury of justices. In the national final, the competition phase focuses solely on the oral presentation and the teams do not need to present any written submissions beyond stating their claims and grounds.
It is in the national final that you and your team will show that you are worthy of the title "Swedish Master of Law". In three trials, plaintiff and defendant teams from different locations meet. When the dust has settled, the jury selects the best plaintiff team, best defendant team and best location. The winning teams receive - in addition to the title and honor - 10,000 kronor each. A walking trophy goes to the university whose team has received the highest score from the jury. Mannheimer Swartling also awards a specially established litigation prize to a person for a particularly well-executed performance. The final day ends with everyone becoming friends again. In a convivial atmosphere, competition participants, judges and officials get to eat and drink well and participate in or witness the award ceremony.
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