Team SMU has won the Singapore National Round of the 2018 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, and are on their way to represent the country in Washington, D.C. 

The SMU Jessup moot team comprises final year law undergraduates Chia Chen Wei, Melissa Ng, Alexander Lee, Shriram Jayakumar and Dominic Liew.  Alexander and Shriram were also joint winners of the Best Oralist prize.  The team was co-coached by Assistant Prof Chen Siyuan and Nicholas Liu (Juris Doctor, Class of 2015).

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, now in its 59th year, is the largest and most prestigious public international law moot competition in the world, with participants from over 645 law schools in 95 countries represented.  The moot issues this year include the invalidation of an arbitration award, the navigational rights of underwater drones, nuclear disarmament obligations, and the use of force.

This is the fifth time SMU has won in the Singapore National Round in the past six years that we have participated.  SMU had also won the International Exhibition Rounds in 2011 and 2012, and came in second in the International Championship in 2013 and 2014.

This victory represents the culmination of months of rigorous training and ardous work by the team and their dedicated coaches.  We wish the team all the best as they fly the Singapore flag high in Washington D.C. next month.

[Featured photo: (L-R) Dominic Liew, Shriram Jayakumar, Chia Chen Wei, Melissa Ng, Alexander Lee and Nicholas Liu.  Photo credit: Chen Siyuan.]