This practical session, organized by the Criminal Department of the Faculty of Law, forms part of the academic activities of each of the three modules that students are required to pass during the degree course.

The methodology is quite straightforward: the teaching staff convene the students in the classroom at 9.00 a.m. and, once there, explain the case they have to resolve, in teams, either as the defence or the prosecution. From this point onwards, the students have six to eight hours to prepare their arguments based on case law and must finally record all these deliberations in a document, the ruling, and present it to the teaching staff in charge of the course.

The way in which each team organizes its tasks and draws up its arguments is completely up to them. The teams have special reserved areas in the University in which to work and hold discussions which are used as offices to allow them to keep their strategy secret until the time of the actual hearing.

Finally, by means of a draw, one group for the defence and another from the prosecution set out their arguments and counter-arguments in the Faculty’s Courtroom, where the teaching staff act as the judges or magistrates.

Apart from being an excellent means of assimilating the concepts that students have learnt during the course, this activity is also aims to give students a closer insight into how legal practices work. In their professional lives they will be handed cases and asked to quickly prepare a defence to protect the interests of their clients.

This practical exercise, as well as the chance to use the courtroom, is another factor that differentiates UIC Barcelona compared to other law faculties in Catalonia and provides students with an experience that will benefit them in the labour market.