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UI law students shine in Asia Pacific moot court competition
A team of University of Indonesia Law School (FHUI) students won the 7th Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition for Asia Pacific, held earlier this month in Hong Kong
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A team of University of Indonesia Law School (FHUI) students won the 7th Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition for Asia Pacific, held earlier this month in Hong Kong.
Team members Katrina Marcellina and Tracy Tania - both from the class of 2007 - and Aloysius Selwas Taborat of the class of 2005, accompanied by coach Hersapta Mulyono, won their case at the competition held from March 6-7.
They beat 15 other universities taking part in the competition: the University of Adelaide, Chulalongkorn University, Beijing Normal University, China University of Political Science, Gujarat National Law University, City University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Hong Kong, Advance Tertiary College, the University of the Philippines, Ewha Women's University, National University of Singapore, National Taiwan University, the University of Tokyo and Xiamen University.
Organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the annual event was aimed at promoting understanding of international humanitarian law and the law of war.
Each team acted as prosecutor or legal counsel putting forward their case the moot International Criminal Court (ICC).
This year's case involved war crimes allegations and the ICRC's rights and obligation in time of war.
It required much research and practice to gain deep understanding of the law and to be able to present it well to impress the judges.
The national round of the competition began in December 2008. During that round, the FHUI team won the championship award, best memorial award and best orator award, ahead of eight other universities from across the country. With its dominant performance, the FHUI team deserved to represent Indonesia at the international stage.
Other coaches who helped prepare the team were Hikmahanto Juwana, Robert La Mont, Karen Mills, Hanna Azkiya, Tiza Mafira, Arief Budiman, Hadyu Ikrami, Bharata Ramedhan, Wincen Adiputra Santoso, Simon Barrie Sasmoyo, Novriady Erman, Ranyta Yusran, Harjo Winoto and Hadi Rahmat Purnama.
Despite financial constraints, the team made it to Hong Kong for the competition, arriving on March 3 for some paperwork and preparations.
In the general round held at the University of Hong Kong on March 6, each team competed against two other universities. The six teams with the highest average score went on to the semifinals held at the Hong Kong High Court.
The FHUI team played the defendant in the competition. In the first round, the team met Beijing Normal University from China and Gujarat National Law University from India.
Other universities that made to the final six included Gujarat National Law University, Ewha Women's University from Korea, the University of Hong Kong, the University of the Philippines and the University of Adelaide.
In the semifinals that took place the next day, the FHUI team competed against Ewha Women's University, a tough competitor due to their deep and intensive research. The University of the Philippines challenged Gujarat National Law University, while the University of Adelaide faced off against the University of Hong Kong.
By lunchtime, the FHUI team and its Indian counterpart were announced fit to go to the final round held on the same day.
The panel of judges in the final round comprised the Honorable Justice Patrick Chan (Hong Kong permanent judge, Court of Final Appeal), Michael C. Davis (Chinese University of Hong Kong) and Michael Crowley (Edith Cowan University, Australia).
With all eyes on the final, the two teams bantered arguments that excited the courtroom. The judges were very tough and asked both teams many difficult questions. The FHUI team, however, went through the entire proceeding smoothly. The judges took half an hour to deliberate the result, which was announced during the closing ceremony.
The closing ceremony was officiated by Russel Coleman, chairman of the Bar Council, Hong Kong Bar Association. All the awards were announced and the FHUI team got the Honorable Submission award and runner-up for Best Memorial award. The team was very nervous when the committee called the time to announce who won the competition. Even after the announcer named the Gujarat team the runner-up, the FHUI team was in stupor, still in shock to hear that they had actually won the competition.
It was six months of hard work that paid off. By winning the competition, Indonesia made its mark on the international law community.
Rivana Mezaya Head of Public Relations International Law Moot Court SocietySchool of Law, University of Indonesia
