The NUS Law team competes in the World Finals of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and wins Best Oralist awards

L to R: Arjit Pandey ’22, Rebecca Loo ’21, Abhishek Srivastava ’21, Bay Jia Wei ’22, Timothy Chong ’21

We would like to congratulate the NUS Law team who represented Singapore and competed in the World Finals of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition on Saturday, 17 April 2021.

In keeping with the focus on topical issues of public international law, this year’s problem saw concern in a global pandemic, and the obligations and responses of States with respect to the outbreak. It also involved questions of the jurisdiction of the Court, a desperate claim for political asylum by an alleged rogue scientist, and State responsibility for a suspicious aircraft explosion.

The international rounds usually held in Washington, D.C. were held online this year due to the pandemic, and the Championship Final was judged by three sitting judges of the International Court of Justice. The team did us proud and ultimately emerged 1st runners up!

Team members
Abhishek Srivastava ’21
Arjit Pandey ’22
Bay Jia Wei ’22
Rebecca Loo ’21
Timothy Chong ’21

Best Oralist (Championship Round)
Bay Jia Wei ’22

Best Oralist (Preliminary Rounds)
Abhishek Srivastava ’21

“Behind every word that was spoken were copious amounts of legal research put together by a very frantic (yet capable) team and the brilliant minds of 5 very inspiring (yet humble) coaches. There was faith (in each other), unspoken hunger, and quiet resilience — I’d like to think that the team’s every step towards the World Finals was a culmination of those.” – Bay Jia Wei, Best Oralist in the Championship Rounds for the World Finals of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

“It is truly humbling to join the ranks of distinguished NUS Law alumni that have performed exceedingly well in the Jessup Competition and achieved the Best Oralist awards. This could not have been possible without my incredibly talented teammates, our superhuman coaches, and the unwavering support of our professors, seniors and loved ones.” – Abhishek Srivastava, Best Oralist in the Preliminary Rounds for the World Finals of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

The team would like to thank their coaches: David Isidore Tan ’16, Joshua Hiew ’17, Natalee Ho ’20, Victor Leong ’16 and Victor Yao ’17, for their relentless dedication, tireless guidance and tender loving care. The team also wishes to thank Vice Dean Eleanor Wong, the NUS Law deanery, Law Faculty staff, NUS Libraries, Jessup Alumni and all who have helped them along the way. The team is also grateful to those who provided the facilities and equipment support for the virtual competition.