Today, 13 July 2018, Beijing Normal University won the final round of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Moot Court Competition, Chinese version, held in ICC Courtroom II in The Hague (Netherlands). Soochow University and Liaoning University won, respectively, second and third place. The Best Speaker award went to Yiwei Guo of the Beijing Normal University.
Sitting on the bench this year were ICC Judge Chang-ho Chung and ICC legal officers Eleni Chaitidou and Anthony Abato. The teams competed on a fictitious case, presenting oral arguments during an appeals hearing in the roles of Prosecution, Defence and Legal Representatives of the Victims.
After a break for deliberations, the jury announced the bench’s 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 website.
This year, 48 universities participated in the competition, where students put to the test their knowledge of the applicable law and jurisprudence of the ICC. After the main rounds and semi-final, the three top teams came to The Hague for a six-day study visit before the final competition at the ICC.
The study visit offered the students a unique opportunity to gather in an exciting setting and to meet with eminent personalities of the international law scene. The students visited several international institutions and organizations, such as the International Criminal Court, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, the International Development Law Organization, the T.M.C. Asser Institute, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the Anne Frank House, and the Leiden University. This version of the ICC Moot Court Competition is organised by the Chinese Initiative on International Criminal Justice (CIICJ).
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.
