Week 7 Tutorial: Classification moot

A structured moot arguing both sides of China's individual-business-owner registration mechanism

Graded checkpoint, checked live at the start of the session · Weight: 2%

Before the session#

Read the assigned explainer on Meituan and Ele.me’s individual-business-owner registration mechanism. Because sides in the moot are assigned at the start of the session, build a brief that could argue either direction: list the strongest facts for “this is a genuine business arrangement” and the strongest facts for “this exists to avoid an employment finding.”

In the session#

A short, structured moot in small groups: one side argues the individual-business-owner structure is a genuine business arrangement, the other that it exists to avoid an employment finding under China’s Labour Contract Law. Groups swap sides partway through — the same person who argued “genuine arrangement” in round one argues “avoids an employment finding” in round two.

Afterwards#

Note which arguments survived being argued from both directions — those are usually the ones worth citing in the system-up-close essay.