This is a breakthrough for UPH and the International Law Moot Court Community (ILMCC) of UPH Faculty of Law
After winning the 2012 Indonesian National Rounds of International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition, the UPH IHL Moot Court Team consisting of Natasha R. U. Situmeang and Rosalind Ratana as Oralists, as well as Bernadeth Anashtasya as Researcher, together with coaches Jessica Los Banos and Sianti Candra, flew to Hong Kong from 14th-16th of March 2013 to compete for the International Rounds of the 11th Red Cross International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Moot (2013) [IHL moot competition] (An Inter-University Competition for Asia-Pacific Region) organized by the Hong Kong Red Cross and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
This is a breakthrough for UPH and the International Law Moot Court Community (ILMCC) of UPH Faculty of Law, as this is the first time UPH IHL Team proceeds to the International Rounds of IHL moot competitionafter series of attempts from 2008 to 2011. This time, the team did not only represent UPH, but also Indonesia in an international competition and faced a higher level of competition compared to the national rounds, since 20 teams around Asia-pacific, such as Australia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, India, Cambodia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Philippines also competed in the international rounds. Most of the teams came to Hong Kong after clenching the title of national champion of their respective countries, beating their fellow universities.
This year’s international rounds’ case is an entirely new problem, differing from the National Round’s case, since the accused is an incumbent president allegedly responsible for several war crimes committed by his subordinates, namely biological experimentation, using underage children to participate in hostilities, and biological warfare, all of which are prohibited under IHL.
In the preliminary rounds, the team competed against the Indian team and City University of Hongkong. Unfortunately, the team’s overall scores fell short to qualify for the next round. Nevertheless, the team still managed to bring an award, which is the 2nd Honorable Submission for the Memorial of the Prosecutor. This achievement is quite remarkable considering that the team comprised of first-time mooters and first year law students.
This competition invited penal of judges comprised of distinguished lawyers, legal scholars, and judges from Hong Kong and overseas, as well as IHL experts from ICRC and the Red Cross National Societies.
Furthermore, here the team did not only compete, but also participated in several programs such as exploration activity of IHL, held by the ICRC and local Red Cross National Society members for humanitarian purposes. The activity introduced the activists’ fight to help those in need; either in Ethiopia where they brought food or in China, where they helped educating little children. Furthermore, the mooters were brought up-to-date on the harsh reality of how the 3rd world nations are faring; facing natural disasters, plagues, hunger, lack of education, and other emerging humanitarian issues. This exploration activity made definitely instilled some seeds of compassion and solidarity within the mooters.
Lastly, the experience of joining the Asia-Pacific rounds was beneficial in so many ways, since this competition aims toenhance knowledge and application of international humanitarian law (IHL) rather than black letter law and raise awareness of international humanitarian issues among law students. Thus, the UPH team learned not only about knowledge of IHL and its application but also experienced the international round competition where the best teams of Asia-pacific came together and showed their outstanding mooting skills. (jm)
Testimonials:
Natasha R. U. Situmeang: “This was an unforgettable and valuable experience. It was a chance to test myself against law students abroad, though it was surprising to find that we were the youngest ones there, as most of them were at least on their 6th semester. Nevertheless, I got to meet new friends there, and know more of the distinguished figures in the law/humanitarian field as well.”
Rosalind Ratana: “It was awesome. I get to meet friends from many countries, have an international mooting experience; feel the difference between National and Asia-Pacific rounds of the competition, and makes me totally aware of the world problems, especially in the humanitarian field. Bottom line, it makes me want to encourage the 2013 students to also join in this wonderful and once in a lifetime experience.”
Bernadeth Anastasya: “You can get many connections, and get to know new friends of different cultural backgrounds, and you know how it feels to present yourself to court. But most importantly, you know how to be patient and big hearted.”