Congratulations to the Champions of the ALSA International Moot Court Competition 2021!

L to R: Austen Lim’23, Perl Choo’23, Toh Ding Jun’22

The ALSA International Moot Court Competition (AIMCC) took place from 3^rd to 5^th September 2021. As it is considered an international moot, the competition involved teams from the Southeast Asian countries, India and Australia.

The moot problem involved a Claimant-investor who had made an investment in a patent related to mental health within the Respondent-State’s jurisdiction. Due to a mental health crisis that the Respondent-State faced, it took a series of measures vis-a-vis the Claimant – this included the introduction of a compulsory licensing regime, the grant of a compulsory licence on the Claimant’s patent and, finally, complete revocation of all patents relating to mental health treatments within its jurisdiction. The issues arising for the tribunal’s consideration included significant issues relating to whether virtual hearings can be conducted in light of the respondent’s objections (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and substantive issues relating to the respondent’s fair and equitable treatment obligations, expropriation, and damages.

NUS Law would like to congratulate our Champions and the teams who participated!

Champions – Team Strandburg
Toh Ding Jun ’22 (Team Leader and Best Speaker in the Finals)
Austen Lim ’23 (2nd Best Speaker in the Preliminary Rounds)
Perl Choo ’23

Second Runners-up – Team Selden
Ernest Sng ’24 (Team Leader)
Benjamin Goh ’24 (5th Best Speaker in the Preliminary Rounds)
Johanna Lim ’23
Tan Ying Qian ’24

Quarter-Finalists – Team Waldron
Yan Jun Yi ’24 (Team Leader)
Ajay Nair ’24 (3rd Best Speaker in the Preliminary Rounds)
Daniel Loh ’23
Ben Ng ’24

Toh Ding Jun ’22 took home the Ex Curia International Final Round Best Advocate Award, which is awarded to the best speaker of the final round.

 “The tournament was a tough one, with teams from all around Asia competing in it – including three from NUS Law. I would not have been able to clinch the best speaker award if not for the support of my team mates, who provided valuable assistance to me in all the rounds, and my coaches (Joel Quek, Dana Chang ’18, Joshua Phang ’19, and Long Shi Han ’21) for working closely with me to improve my style and delivery. Last, but not least, I would also like to thank my seniors and batchmates who have readily agreed to assist my team in preparing for the competition. Without them, I would not have been able to clinch the award. Indeed, it takes an entire village to raise a child, and I am glad to have so many dedicated individuals walk this journey with me. Thank you!” he said.

Team Strandburg and Team Selden would like to take this opportunity to thank their coaches Joel Quek, Dana Chang ’18, Joshua Phang ’19, Long Shi Han ’21 (Team Strandburg), Jerald Tan ’22, and Yeoh Su-Jane ’22 (Team Selden) for their unwavering support and guidance on this journey.

In addition, for their time and feedback in numerous practice rounds and consultations, the three teams sincerely thanks Emeritus Professor M Sornarajah, Associate Professor Eleanor Wong ’85, Associate Professor Michael Ewing-Chow ’95, Adjunct Associate Professor Dr Matthew Secomb, Adjunct Assistant Professor Aditya Singh, Adjunct Assistant Professor Sim Khadijah ’07, Dr Charalampos Giannakopoulos, Gitta Satryani ’05, Joan Lim-Casanova ’06, Keith Han ’11, Ian Ming Choo ’18, Ong Chee Yeow ’18, Kiu Yan Yu ’18, Seah Ern Xu ’19, Tan Fong Han ’20, Ng Wei Qi ’21, Ong Kye Jing ’21, Abel George ’21, Shaun Cheng ’21, Samuel Wittberger ’21, Shayna Robinson ’22, Ariel Tan ’22, Ngai Hei Yee (Khione) ’22, Bay Jia Wei ’22, Valerie Lim ’22, and Arjit Pandey ’22.