Reception to celebrate mooting triumphs

A reception celebrating the accomplishments of students from the School of Law (SLW) in nine international mooting competitions during 2010-11 was held on 1 September.

The SLW mooting teams comprising 36 students in total earned top honours in all nine moots held in seven countries and regions. The contests covered human rights, investment arbitration, commercial arbitration, international law, maritime law and space law. The teams displayed impressive knowledge of the law, commitment and confidence, and outstanding mooting skills throughout the competitions.

In attendance at the reception were Dr Simon Ip Sik-on, Co-chairmen of the International Advisory Board (IAB) of SLW, and Professor Daniel Fung, Mr Andrew Liao Cheung-sing, and Professor Gerard McCoy, members of IAB; Mr Sun Xiaofei, Third Secretary, Department of Treaties and Law, Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of China in the HKSAR; Brother Steve Hogan, Principal, La Salle College; Dr John Kennard, Principal of St Paul's College; Mr Chan Ka-kui, Council member of CityU; and CityU’s management including Professor Way Kuo, President, Professor Arthur Ellis, Provost, Professor Gregory Raupp, Vice-President (Research and Technology), Professor Paul Lam Kwan-sing, Vice-President (Student Affairs), and Professor Julia Tao Lai Po-wah, Chief-of Staff.

“This tremendous success is a credit to the diligence, enthusiasm and dedication of all the students and coaches involved. CityU is committed to teaching students in the context of the real world, and mooting is very much a part of how we prepare legal professionals for the future,” Professor Kuo said.

According to Dr Ip, the teams demonstrated great breadth of knowledge and depth of debating talent in the nine competitions. “These excellent results will begin to develop a culture of debating and become the hallmark of the SLW,” Dr Ip said.

Professor Wang Guiguo, Dean of SLW, said: “Three years ago our school formulated plans to assist our students in mooting competitions. With confidence in our students, our colleagues have enthusiastically participated and been involved in making this happen. I am very fortunate to have the whole-hearted support and wise guidance of our IAB and the University. This is the beginning of the future, and with our determination and joint effort, we look forward to future celebrations.”

Competitions	Achievements
The International ADR Mooting Competition 2011	– Champion
IASLA Space Law Moot Court Competition (Asia Pacific Regional Rounds)	– Joint World Champions – Regional Champion – Asia Pacific Regional round best oralist: Yan Yuli (JD 2009)
8th Annual Willem C. Vis (East) International commercial Arbitration Moot	– First runner-up – Honourable mention for best oral advocate: Sajnani Suraj (LLB 2008) & Chow Yan-lin (LLB 2009)
Susan J Ferrell Intercultural Human Rights Moot Court Competition 2010-11	– Best team – Second runner-up best memorial – Fourth best oralist: Li Jiani (JD 2009)
The 2011 Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition (Hong Kong Regional Round)	– Best Memorial for Appellant – Best Memorial for Respondent – Second best oralist: Louie Chan Ka-hang (LLB 2008)
Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot Court Competition	– Top four best oralists: Eric Lai Kwok-wai (JD 2009) & Eric Ng Kar-yan (JD 2010)
12th International Maritime Law Arbitration Moot Competition	– Second best respondent memorandum
Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition (Asia-Pacific Regional Rounds)	– Best oralist: Ngai Wing-nga (LLB 2008)
18th Annual Willem C. Vis International commercial Arbitration Moot	– Ranked 7th out of 254 teams – Honourable mention for the best oralist: Eric Ng Kar-yan (JD 2010)