Singapore Management University’s (SMU) moot team has taken to the world stage again, and shone!

The team, comprising final year law students Aleksandar Georgiev, Chong Hui Ying, Kenneth Tan, Liu Zhao Xiang Daniel and Shaun Pereira made SMU’s debut in the international rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition this month, after sweeping all the prizes at stake in the National Round in February.

SMU was representing the Republic for the first time; this was also Singapore’s first appearance in the finals of the 54-year-old competition since 2004.

Tight competition was to be expected – this year’s edition saw the registration of 632 teams from 92 countries, with the top 130 teams making it to the International Rounds held in Washington DC.

The SMU team defeated Costa Rica, Tehran, Seoul and four-time world finalist Andres Bello in the general rounds, and qualified for the knockout stages as the fifth seed.  It then beat the teams from Rome, Indonesia, Israel, and Buenos Aires in round 32, round 16, the quarter-final, and the semi-final respectively, thus becoming the first international team in the competition's history to reach the final on its debut.

The final between SMU and National Law School of India University was intense.  The teams represented two fictitious countries disputing the consequences of one of their territories being submerged by rising sea levels.  They presented arguments and answered questions from a panel of three judges from the International Court of Justice.

While the team came in second, its members displayed great teamwork, conviction, as well as sharp analyses and delivery.  Notably, SMU’s Shaun Pereira was also ranked as one of the top 15 oralists in the contest.

Team coach and Jessup alumni, SMU Assistant Professor of law Chen Siyuan said that standards had become stiffer since he took part in Jessup as a student in 2007.  "If both Singapore law schools continue to excel in international moots, people will know our law students are world-class, and in turn, our young lawyers are world-class.  It all begins here," he said.  Securing such results in international competitions like Jessup sends a signal to the world that Singapore's legal minds are the very best, he added.

Kudos to the Jessup team for doing us proud at the University’s first crack at the competition!  Thanks also go to Assistant Professor Chen Siyuan, SMU and Jessup alumnus Mr Charles Li (JD'2013) for coaching the team, as well as Assistant Professor Mahdev Mohan, Assistant Professor Pasha Hsieh and Assistant Professor Jeremy Leong, who helped to guest-judge the team and prepare them well for the intense challenge. Special thanks also go to Rajah & Tann LLP and Singapore Academy of Law for their financial support given to the SMU international moots program. R&T had also helped guest-judge a number of practice rounds for the Jessup team.

Notable Jessup alumni in Singapore include Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh and Attorney-General Steven Chong.

Related:
SMU makes history at the 2013 Singapore National Round of the Jessup Moot Court Competition (27 Feb 2013)
SMU places 2nd in moot court contest (The Straits Times, 8 Apr 2013)

[Featured photo: Celebrating their success in Washington – (from left) Aleksandar Georgiev, Chong Hui Ying, Daniel Liu Zhao Xiang, Shaun Pereira, Kenneth Tan and Assistant Professor Chen Siyuan]