These past few months have been exciting times for mooters from SMU School of Law as they faced off with local and international teams in various moot competitions held around the world. Despite stiff competition as the global level of mooting standard rises, Team SMU stood out in several moots to bring back honour for the University and the School of Law.  Here’s a quick round-up:

Williem C. Vis and Vis (East) Moot Competitions – Global Top 3 in Vis (East)

Hailed as the most prestigious private international law moot court competition, the Willem C. Vis and Vis (East) Moots are judged by top practitioners from the fields of international law and arbitration from around the world. The Vis (East) moot presents the same legal problem to contestants as the Vis moot, but is targeted at Asian universities and is held in Hong Kong, while the Vis moot is held in Vienna.

Chan Wei Liang, Goh Yong Ngee, Gladys Lim, Lim Joe Jee and Stephanie Sim were part of the SMU combined Vis team representing SMU in Hong Kong this year; while Andrew Chia, Gary Leow, Kenneth Loh and Trishna Menon were deployed to Vienna. The combined team was jointly coached by WongPartnership partner Lionel Leo and SMU international moot alumni Deya Shankar Dubey, Jacob Quek, Tan Jun Hong and Wong Yan Yee.

In Hong Kong, despite facing fierce competition from a record turnout of 128 terms, for the fourth year running, SMU was ranked in the top 3 after eight matches against teams from countries such as Australia, Brazil, Germany, Korea and the US. Joe Jee was also awarded an Honourable Mention for Best Oralist; in the pre-moot held in Kuala Lumpur, the team also won Best Memorial in addition to reaching the octo-finals.

In Vienna, SMU mooters were awarded an Honourable Mention for reaching the advanced rounds in a record field of 350 teams, with Kenneth and Trishna both receiving Honourable Mentions for Best Oralist.

[Photo: SMU's (3rd to 7th from left) Gladys, Stephanie, Joe Jee, Wei Liang and Yong Nge, with fellow competitors at Vis (East).]

Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot

Megan Ho, Ian Mah, Jodi Siah and Yap San Zhi represented SMU in the 16th edition of the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot, an annual international moot court competition organised by the Hong Kong Red Cross and International Committee of the Red Cross in collaboration with universities in Hong Kong.

Following a series of national and regional rounds which saw participation by over 100 law schools, the top 24 teams converged in Hong Kong for the international rounds.

SMU defeated Thammasat University, University of Colombo and University of Hong Kong before bowing out to eventual overall runners-up University of New South Wales at the semi-finals, marking the sixth time SMU has reached this stage since making its debut in 2011.

The team, which was again coached by alumnus Sui Yi Siong, also ranked third for Best Defendant Memorial.

[Photo: (L-R) Ian, Jodi, Megan, San Zhi and Yi Siong in Hong Kong.]

Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot Court competition

Chan Mei An, Kellyn Lee, Claire Lim and Priscilla Santa Nicole Maria represented SMU in the 11th edition of this moot. The team emerged as quarter-finalists after matches with teams from countries including France, India, and the US. The team was coached by alumni Daniel Liu, Sean Sim, and Luis Duhart.

SMU continues to have one of the best records in this moot, having reached the final twice – in 2015 and 2017 – and winning the last edition.

The Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot Court is the oldest and most prestigious student competition in the area of investment protection law. Its focus is on the oral presentation of legal arguments before an arbitral tribunal composed of specialists in the field during a one week final event. The competition is unique in that it combines the law of investment protection, one of the most modern and fastest developing areas of international law, with the history of international law and of international trade.  This year’s moot saw 47 international teams participating.

Philip C Jessup Moot – National Champion

In March 2018, SMU’s moot team won the national round championship for the fifth time in the last six years. The team, represented by Chia Chen Wei, Shriram Jayakumar, Alexander Lee, Dominic Liew and Melissa Ng, was coached by alumnus Nicholas Liu and Assistant Professor of Law Chen Siyuan. Besides earning the honour of representing Singapore at the International Round, Alexander and Shriram also shared the Best Oralist honours. At the International Round held in Washington D.C. the following month, Alexander and Melissa were ranked 7th and 9th respectively for Best Oralist, the highest SMU mooters have ever ranked in this competition.

[Photo: (L-R) Dominic, Shriram, Chen Wei, Melissa, Alexander Lee and Nicholas.]

Price Media Law Moot Court Competition – 1^st runner-up

Chen Lixin, Grace Goh, Shaun Ou, Nguyen Sinh Vuong, Kartik Singh and Aaron Yoong represented SMU in the 11th edition of the Price Media Law Moot Court competition this year, which saw the top 43 teams (out of a pool of around 100) qualify for the international rounds held in Oxford, England between 9 and 13 April.

Established by the Programme in Comparative Media Law & Policy at the University of Oxford since 2008, the competition aims to foster and cultivate interest in freedom of expression issues and the role of the media and information technologies in societies around the world. The Competition comprises six Regional Rounds (South Asia, Asia-Pacific, South East Europe, North East Europe, Middle East, Africa and Americas) and the selective International Rounds held in Oxford.

SMU won six matches against the likes of Sydney Tech, Osgoode Hall Law School and Rajiv Gandhi National Law University en-route to its fifth ever championship final in this competition.

In the final, the judging panel – which included European Court of Human Rights judges Albuquerque and Ziemele – adjudged SMU first-runner-up, and also named Grace Goh as the Finals Best Oralist. Grace was also named 4th Best Oralist of the tournament, while Shaun Ou came in 5th. SMU also won Best Memorials, its third such award in this competition.

The team was coached by alumni Eugene Neo, Saw Teng Sheng and Chow Zi En.

Air Law Moot Court Competition (SMU’s debut) – Runner-up

SMU participated in the International Air Law Moot Court Competition for the first time this year. The ninth edition of the International Air Law Moot Court Competition was co-organised by the Sarin Memorial Legal Aid Foundation from India, the International Institute of Air and Space Law of Leiden University in the Netherlands and Incheon International Airport Corporation in South Korea. Held from 12-15 April 2018, the moot provides a unique opportunity for students seeking to gain experience in the development of arguments in the field of international law and international air law, while also establishing contacts around the world.

The SMU team comprising Lyndon Choo, Charlotte Tang and Wayne Yeo competed with just under 30 teams, and eventually emerged second after five matches. The team was coached by alumni Shaun Pereira, Tan Jun Hong, and Daniel Ho.  Notably, this was the 13th time our moot team has reached the championship final of an international moot in its debut appearance.

Grateful for the support from the SMU community and the law fraternity

The SMU teams wish to express their gratitude to many faculty members as well as practitioners who had helped to judge practice rounds, not to mention the alumni and corporate partners who have provided invaluable mentorship, coaching and guidance to them. Once again, SMU’s international moot alumni community has been instrumental, and with the official partnership with WongPartnership, SMU’s programme has indeed been strengthened and is set to scale greater heights.

The next major international moot on the calendar is the International Criminal Court (ICC) Moot Court competition which will take place at the end of May 2018. We wish our SMU mooters all the best in The Hague, the Netherlands!

[Featured photo: The SMU Team which came in second at the Price Media Law Moot Court Competition. L-R: Lixin, Aaron, Vuong, Kartik, Grace and Shaun.]