Moot accomplishments by NUS Law students in 2024

As 2024 draws to a close, we look back at the achievements of our students in mooting competitions held at home and around the world.

Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition, the Philippines

Kelly Cheung ’25, Han Ying Jie ’24 and Li Minghan ’25 emerged as champions at the Southeast Asia Regionals of the Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition in February. This competition saw 26 teams and was held in Manila, the Philippines. Minghan was also recognised as Best Oralist (Final Round) and Kelly was recognised as 3rd Best Oralist (Preliminary Rounds). This year, the moot problem was concerned with the environmental impacts of oil exploration, pipeline construction, and oil extraction activities on mountain gorillas.

UCL Senior Mooting Competition, the UK

Judged by The Rt Hon. Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, the UCL Senior Mooting Competition saw NUS Law student Ryan Chan ’25 clinching the top position. Held at the UK Supreme Court in March, this moot is open to second- and third-year law students, including affiliate students spending a year abroad at University College London, and involves three preliminary rounds and two knock-out rounds before culminating in the finals.

International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition, The Hague

Kwa Zhi Cheng ’25, Mickel Ng ’25, Sheares Tiong ’25, Tan Ying Jenn ’25 and Yoon Shwe Yee ’24 emerged as quarter-finalists at the 11th Edition of the International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition (ICCMCC). Zhi Cheng clinched the Best Defense Counsel Speaker Award, and the IBA Award for Best Oralist of the Preliminary Rounds. Out of 88 teams from 44 countries, the team ranked 7th overall in the Preliminary Rounds.

The ICCMCC is the world’s largest moot court competition on international criminal law. The competition simulates proceedings of the International Criminal Court, and was held in The Hague, from 31 May to 7 June. Teams made arguments on contemporary issues of international criminal law and procedure, and the interpretation of the Rome Statute. Teams were evaluated by judges, academics and practitioners from all over the globe, including multiple current judges of the ICC.

International Negotiation Competition, Brazil

Leanne Chee ’24 and Harindrar Jayanthinathan ’24 placed first in the International Negotiation Competition 2024. The International Negotiation Competition is the oldest and the most renowned competition with a focus on international legal negotiation for law students from all over the world. Held from 10-14 July in Brazil, the negotiation problem was centred on different legal deals undertaken by a multinational company, to improve its environmental and social responsibility.

ALSA International Moot Court Competition, Sri Lanka

Ting Kaiwen ’27, Qu Chenxin ’27, Dorthy Wang ’27 and Benedict Woon ’27 emerged as first runners-up at the 9th ALSA International Moot Court Competition. Further, Dorthy and Kaiwen received honorable mentions for Best Speaker. This year, the competition took place in Sri Lanka from 8-11 August. The participants mooted on a contentious investor-state arbitration dispute, facing off against teams across Asia.

Asia Cup International Law Moot, Japan

Chang Li-Ann ’26, Natalie Koh ’26, Tan Hewie ’26 and Brendan Wang ’26 emerged as overall champions at the Asia Cup International Law Moot held in August. Brendan and Natalie also received individual awards for 2nd and 3rd Best Respondent Oralists, while Hewie and Li-Ann placed as 8th and 9th Best Applicant Oralists respectively. NUS Law is proud to announce that this is the best result achieved in the past six years.

This year, the competition took place in Tokyo, Japan, from 27 to 28 August and focused on issues of public international law and international trade law. After emerging national champions in the written round, Team NUS was selected to represent Singapore in the oral rounds against 15 other teams from across Asia, where they were eventually named overall champions. Asia Cup was started in 1999, and is co-organised by the Japanese Society of International Law and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. This year, the competition featured 66 teams from 18 countries.

B.A. Mallal Moot 2024, Singapore

It was a clean sweep for NUS Law undergraduates at the B.A. Mallal Moot held in October. Jeremiah Tan ’26 and Tan Kai Han ’26 took home the first and second prizes respectively, while Shaun Wittberger ’27 and Nicole Won ’27 were jointly awarded the second runner-up position. Melvin Seto ’25 earned the Best Memorial Prize for the best written legal document to support his position in the case.

The B. A. Mallal Moot is one of Singapore’s oldest and most prestigious mooting competitions, co-organised by the NUS Law Mooting and Debating Club and leading Singaporean law firm Allen & Gledhill LLP. The competition attracts participants from all three law schools in the country annually. This year, more than 100 law students battled it out over a series of four gruelling mooting rounds, with the top four finalists engaging in the issues surrounding the criminal liability for alleged stock market manipulation by an AI chatbot.

Cross Examination Moot 2024, Paris

Ronn Chiew ’26, Joshua Lim ’27, Tan Yan Ren ’26 and Nathaniel Yeo ’27 clinched the first runner-up prize among 15 teams at the Cross Examination Moot held in Paris in November. In addition to their outstanding journey to the finals, Tan Yan Ren ’26 was awarded the Best Cross Examiner Award for Quantum, for his cross-examination of quantum expert witnesses.

Organised by Sciences Po Law School this year, the event is the world’s only arbitration competition that focuses on cross-examination techniques where participants argue a case by examining and cross-examining witnesses in a mock-trial scenario. The tournament took place over the course of a week, with the team competing in four general rounds, followed by two rounds of cross-examining real quantum expert witnesses from economic consulting firm Compass Lexecon.

International Chamber of Commerce Mediation Competition, Hong Kong

Joan Goh ’27, Li Tianao ’27 and Taesha Tan ’27 emerged champions at the third International Chamber of Commerce Mediation Competition Hong Kong (ICC Hong Kong), after six gruelling rounds.  The competition was held in Hong Kong from 8- 12 December, and brought together teams from various jurisdictions around the world. Student teams negotiated to resolve international business disputes, under the guidance of professional mediators using the ICC Mediation Rules. They will be attending the annual ICC Mediation Competition at the Global Headquarters in Paris in February 2025.