Strong Debut at ELSA Moot Court Competition Finals

The NUS European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) World Trade Organization (WTO) moot team made their debut in the Geneva Finals in June this year. The team qualified as one of the top five teams from the Asia Pacific Regional Rounds in February for the ELSA Moot Court Competition, and went on to represent NUS in the Geneva Finals at the WTO. A total of 79 teams from some of the top universities in the world competed in the ELSA Competition this year.

Despite the very strong competition, the NUS team comprising of Chan Meiyi ’17, Reuben Ong ’17, Benedict Teong ’17 and Kenneth Mak ’18 made it as far as the semi-finals. All four members spoke during the Geneva Finals and the team received considerable praise from the panelists and other teams.

In the semi-finals, NUS was defeated by Istanbul Bilgi University who made it to the Grand Finals where they faced Harvard University.

Harvard University came up tops at the competition, with NUS alumni Zach Tan ’16 named as the best speaker from that round. Zach is currently doing his Juris Doctor at Harvard University.

Associate Professor Michael Ewing-Chow expressed his sincere thanks on behalf of the team to all those who helped coach the team and to the admin staff who helped with the rooms for training and the finances. In particular, Deena Bajrai ’98, Derek Loh ’95, Elizabeth Chelliah ’88, Wong Chian Voen, James Losari and Mary Chong, all of who helped in the preparations for the Geneva Round. Also, those who helped train the team for the Regional Round, Associate Professor Eleanor Wong ’85,
Tara Davenport ’10 (LL.M), Associate Professor Wang Jiangyu, Ranyta Yusran, Yvette Anthony ’08, Jonathan Lim ’11, the previous ELSA WTO Moot Team members Chee Jia Wei ’16, Tan Pei Wei, Zoe Pittas, and also James Losari and Yvette Anthony, both of whom did two rounds of training with the team. Without their help, the team would not have gone as far as they did.

Special thanks to the Singapore Permanent Representative to the WTO, Ambassador Tan Yee Woan and the Deputy Permanent Representative Ms Eunice Huang who provided wonderful support and hospitality in Geneva and attended the semi-final round of the competition.