South Asia moot court competition

At a time when the world is steeped in vicious cycles of violence, complex armed conflicts span borders and numerous atrocities are being inflicted on humanity, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continues to raise awareness among law students on themes of international humanitarian law (IHL). Conducting annual moot contests has been the ICRC’s platform to spread the word about the knowledge and the application of IHL. This has helped bring to life lessons learnt in lecture halls.  

Mooting involves the oral presentation of a legal argument or problem that is contentious, against an opposing counsel in the presence of a panel of judges. The annual competitions have provided an excellent opportunity for undergraduate students to engage in the field of IHL by moving outside the theoretical understanding that they gain at lectures and immersing themselves practically in the subject. It also allows the students to improve and develop writing and research skills; to become confident in public speaking and oral advocacy as well as to gain practice in developing critical thinking and defending arguments.   

 

Each team had to argue for the prosecution and the defence against two different teams. The Sri Lankan team went up against the Indian teams from Nirma University and Gujarat National Law University

Sri Lankan National Rounds

The Sri Lankan national rounds of the 17th Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Court Competition, organized by the ICRC, took place on July 27 and 28, 2017 in Colombo at the College House, University of Colombo.  

The number of teams that competed in this first round suggested how far this initiative had come. The 2017 competition attracted the largest number of participants to date, consisting of nine teams of undergraduate law students competing against each other.   

The team from the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, emerged overall champions and comprised of Sindhu Ratnarajan, Tavini Nanayakkara and Thahira Cader. The team was coached by Sajith Bandara.   

Tavini Nanayakkara was named best advocate and the team from the Faculty of Law also received the award for the Best Memorial, which is a written submission containing arguments for the Prosecution and the Defence.   

Tavini Nanayakkara speaking on her team’s success said that “this was a day that we would never forget in our ICRC Journey. It was not the win in itself but the 3-week intense mooting boot camp that made it memorable. Although all three of us had mooted in the past, we had not dealt with the area of International Humanitarian Law before.

South Asia Rounds 

The Colombo Law Faculty team then headed for the next stage of the competition, which was to be held in Kathmandu, Nepal from November 30 to  December 2, 2017. In preparation, the team began brainstorming in new arguments for the regional rounds.    

The competition was held at the Radisson Hotel, Kathmandu and began with a briefing session for the participants, which was followed by a reception in which the teams were able to meet each other and engage in fellowship.  

The preliminary rounds were held on December 1, and the Sri Lankan team went up against a team from Nepal in the morning where they argued for the prosecution. That afternoon, the Sri Lankan team went up against a team from Iran, where they argued for the defence. The results were announced in the evening, and the Sri Lankan team, along with the team from Iran and the two teams from India, qualified for the semi finals.  

The semi finals were held in the morning of December 2. Each team had to argue for the prosecution and the defence against two different teams. The Sri Lankan team went up against the Indian teams from Nirma University and Gujarat National Law University.  

After an intense morning of mooting, the team from Nirma University, India and the team from the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, advanced to the Finals.  
The finals began on December 2  afternoon and the Sri Lankan team argued for the prosecution in the first round and the defence in the second round.   

At the awards ceremony which followed, the team from Sri Lanka was adjudged runners up amidst much enthusiastic applause from the crowds. They qualified to participate in the Asia Pacific Rounds to be held in Hong Kong in March 2018.   

The 2017 competition attracted the largest number of participants to date, consisting of nine teams of undergraduate law students competing against each other  The 2017 competition attracted the largest number of participants to date, consisting of nine teams of undergraduate law students competing against each other  

Asia Pacific Rounds

Thahira Cader speaking on the team advancing to Hong Kong, said that “it is very exciting to have qualified for the next stage of the competition. We understand that the Asia Pacific Rounds will be challenging but we feel like we have come a long way since July 2017 and are willing to take up the mantle. While the experience of mooting and learning IHL in itself was eye-opening, this competition has also been about the bonds of friendship we forged as a team. In a short space of time we’ve become family.”  

The team is currently preparing for the final stage of the competition which is to be held in Hong Kong from the March 7 -10, 2018.  

Finally, the team would like to say “a big thank you to all those who helped us and supported us to get to this stage of the competition – to our lecturers, mentors, family and friends. Most importantly to our coach, Sajith Bandara, to whom we are deeply indebted. Thank you for being our pillar of strength and for giving more than we ever asked for. For having our back, every step of the way. We would not have done it without you!”