Rules

Requirements

To participate in the contest, contestants must fulfill the following requirements:

• Register with InternetBarContest.org by November 30-- no charge. (If you have registered, please log in.)
• Prove either (a) enrollment in an undergraduate/graduate program or equivalent in Law, Dispute Resolution, Conflict Resolution, Peace Studies, Political Studies, Economics or Business or related fields, or (b) a degree from any such program, earned no earlier than 2003.
• Provide valid contact information.
• Fluency in English
• Participation in the Internet Bar Contest requires a certain code of conduct, the violation of which is grounds for disqualification.
• Collegiality and respect must be maintained at all times. Contest participants must abstain from all forms of personal attack, and must address the viewpoints of others in a respectful fashion.
• Engage in a robust exchange of ideas, opinions, and principles. Participants are discouraged from speech or conduct that may have a "chilling" effect on open and free debate. Examples include threats, epithets, and slurs.
• Conflicts between ideas will only be resolved by allowing all sides and views the opportunity to express their opinions and state their case.

Participants must abide by the decisions of the judges, who will act as arbitrators in the contest. By participating, contestants acknowledge the right of the judges to enforce the rules and that the judges will be held harmless for their decisions.

Slander/libel of any kind (whether it be against the judges, the IBO, other participants, or entities which may be the subject of a case study) will not be tolerated.

Participation:

Participants should begin at the contest issues development forum and the latest posts forum, where they can contribute their answers and ideas.

The contest will be judged in part based on the terms of the frequency, contribution, and value of each participant's posts to the Internet Bar Contest discussion boards. The nature of contribution and value will be determined by the judges based on a variety of criteria.

Judgment of each participant's collected body of work will take place in two rounds. In both cases, a participant's entire body of work will be considered, so participants should strive for the highest standards from the beginning.

Round One (Ends January 15)

• Contributing to the development of key issues to be mediated.
• Demonstrating a knowledge of the legal principles involved.
• Demonstrating a resolutionary attitude, defined by the likelihood, as determined by the judges, that a participant can make a meaningful contribution to legal scholarship in Round Two.
• Demonstrating leadership potential within a group that aims to create a trusted legal community on and through the Internet.

Round Two (Ends March 15)

In addition to overall scholarship, the finalists will be selected based on their skill in or commitment to:

• Working in a collegial manner.
• Practical ideas about resolving the issues in mediation.
• Depth of understanding demonstrated.
• Leadership potential.
• Oral and written scholarship or excellence

Note that awards will be made for both team and individual performance.

In Round One individuals will join teams of four or fewer that will develop materials for mediation around one of the slected issues. We will seek teams to represent all sides on each issue.

In Round Two ten finalist teams will compete for prizes and individuals will also compete for individual prizes. An individual may be selected to compete for prizes in Round Two whether or not his or her team was selected as a finalist.

Please see the Prizes tab under this menu for information about the prizes.