Shanghai Fudan University wins ICC Moot Court Competition, Chinese version

Today, 13 June 2014, Shanghai Fudan University won the final round of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Moot Court Competition, Chinese version, held in ICC Courtroom I in The Hague (Netherlands). Beijing University and Chinese University of Hong Kong won, respectively, second and third place. The Best Speaker award went to Jianchao Li of Fudan University. The winning team is composed of Zhian Lu, Jingyang Hua, Jianchao Li, Haolai Ren, Lei Ge, Chao Xu, and Shenwei Pang.

The teams competed before ICC Judge Geoffrey A. Henderson (presiding), Judge Liu Daqun of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and ICC Legal Officer Ms Elizabeth Little, on a fictitious case, presenting oral arguments during a confirmation of charges hearing in the roles of Prosecution, Defence and the Legal representative for a Government. The final round of the ICC Trial Competition in Chinese was also web streamed live on the Court’s official website.

After a break for deliberations, the bench announced their decision and an awards ceremony was held for all participants. The finalists’ peers attended the event in the Court’s public galleries and the event was web streamed live on the Court’s official website.

This year, 13 Chinese universities, including one from Hong Kong, participated in the competition, where students put to the test their knowledge of the applicable law and jurisprudence of the ICC. The three top teams came to The Hague for a six-day study visit before the final competition at the ICC. During their time in The Hague, the students visited several international criminal tribunals including the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). The itinerary also included visits to the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) and Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW). The study visit, organized by the Chinese Initiative of International Criminal Justice’s (CIICJ’s) Secretary-General, Michael Liu and his team, offers to the students a unique opportunity to come together in an exciting setting and to meet with eminent personalities of the international law scene.

This version of the ICC Moot Court Competition is organised bythe CIICJ and Peking University Law School, with the institutional support of the ICC and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the support of the Royal Dutch Embassy in Beijing.

In the context of its Academic Programme, the ICC supports the organisation of ICC Moot Court Competitions in Chinese, English, Russian and Spanish, with a view to also support Arabic and French versions in the future. These initiatives play a critical role in galvanising interest in the Court’s work with academic communities as well as in enhancing promotion and respect for international criminal law.

Photos of the competition and awards ceremony are here.

For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: [email protected].

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