On the 6th of December 2023, the Lao National round of the ICRC International Humanitarian Law Moot Court competition took place at the Faculty of Law and Political Science (FLP) organised by the University of Luxembourg through the Inter-University Cooperation Project.
This year, three teams, representing in turn the Defence and the Prosecution, competed against each other. As usual, the fictitious case on which teams were pleading in English was set before the International Criminal Court (ICC). Judges for this year’s national round of the competition included Mr. Jirat Jitwarawong from International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Regional Delegation Bangkok (Legal Adviser) and Ms. Sophia Cason from The Asia Foundation (Chief of Party, Laos Legal Aid Support Program).
The University of Luxembourg organized and financially supported this year’s IHL Moot Court competition. Dr. Lawrence Siry devoted considerable effort in training all participating teams. His weekly online training sessions were instrumental in shaping the legal minds that would grace the courtroom.
This IHL Moot court is a great way to stimulate legal thinking, by applying legal reasoning and learning how to develop arguments appropriately. Students also improved their presentation skills, debating skills and English! After years of virtual pleadings, the winning team is going to Hong-Kong in March 2024.
Congratulations to all the participating teams for their remarkable performance in the national round, and special congratulations to the winning team Ms. Duangdaophet Keobounphanh, Ms. Souphavanh Nanthaphone and Mr. Sonethalin Chanthavong, which will be representing the FLP at the International Round of the competition in March 2024 in Hong-Kong!
