Moot Club UiTM

WE WON IT BACK!

2011-12-30T22:11:00.001+08:00

8^th INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAL LAW MOOTCOURT COMPETITION 2011

The Road to Hong Kong;UiTM emerged Victorious
Lead Counsel : Prosecutor (Farhan)

Co-Counsel : Prosecutor(Shazwina)

Lead Counsel : Defence(Hannah)

Co-Counsel: Defence(Ellena)

First Day

This year’sInternational Humanitarian Law Moot was held in Universiti of Malaya. Thecompetition was held for 2 days and UiTM sent one team for both sides, FarhanZafry bin Faiz and Shazwina Binti Ahmad Mazli for the prosecution, Ellena BintiRazif and Nor Hannah Binti Nasir for the defence.

The day of thecompetition began like any other competition would, with fear and trepidation,butterflies in everyone’s stomach. But it was the unnerving confidence of Dr.Irwin in us which kept us going. When we arrived at Universiti of Malaya,everyone got down to business right away. We went to the canteen and practicedour oral presentation right away. Breakfast came and went, and not long afterthat we were called to get ready for the preliminary rounds in our respectivewaiting rooms. The team had a pleasant surprise when the Jessup 2012 team paidthem a surprise visit straight from the airport when they arrived from Indiathat very morning, and it only served as a morale boost for the IHL mooters astheir seniors and Miss Umi sacrificed their time to rest just to give moralsupport to them.

The firstpreliminary rounds went well for both sides with the UiTM team getting goodreviews from the guest judges. One of the mooters was no longer a ‘virgin’ asthe competition was the first time she mooted. The prosecution team wentagainst Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin and the defence team went againstUniversiti Utara Malaysia. Constructive criticisms were a must and we took itas a motivation for us to do better in the second preliminary round. The secondround also went well but the judges were more critical and pointed out ourinefficiencies thus making us more determined to improve ourselves for thebetter. The prosecution team went against Universiti Utara Malaysia and thedefence team went against Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin for the secondpreliminary round. When it finished, the team waited with bated breath for theresults. Almost an hour was spent with everyone relieved that the preliminaryrounds were over but tense to know the results and which four teams managed tocontinue to the semi-final rounds. The wait was soon over as everyone wascalled to the Tun Suffian Auditorium for the announcement of the results. TheUiTM contingent all screamed with joy when both the prosecution and defencemanaged to advance to the semi-final round. The other two teams who managed toadvance were Kolej Damansara Utama (KDU) for the prosecution and UniversitiSains Islam Malaysia (USIM) for the defence. We went back home for the day andour thoughts were circled around the obvious possibility that both UiTM’sprosecution and defence team were to go against each other in the semis. Thenext day held too many possibilities but Dr. Irwin advised us to get ample restso that we would be refreshed for the next day.

Day 2

The second dayof the competition started with a pleasant surprise with both UiTM’s prosecutionand defence team going up against each other in the first semi-final round.Both the teams were relaxed and actually had fun as they have practicedcountless of times together before the competition and that round was just likepractice to them.

Semi- Final

Prosecutor ( MARA ) v Defence ( MARA )

But, winning theround never left their minds and both teams battled it out evenly. The seniormooters were also present for the round and the God and Goddess of mooting;Shairil Farhana Ruslan and Izzat Asyraf Zamri came to give the team moralsupport. The round was interesting as we had a very ‘colourful’ judge whomprovided us with numerous anecdotes on life and the legal world. We weresmiling from ear to ear after the impromptu short lecture. After the firstround, the prosecution went against the defence team from USIM and the defencewent against the prosecution form KDU. It was tense and the round was fierce.After both the semi-final rounds ended, the teams went to lunch and mingle withother participants while waiting for the results. Not long after that, all theparticipants were called to the Tum Suffian auditorium for the announcement ofthe result. It was truly a nail-biting moment as both teams could make it orbreak it. The announcement of which prosecution team which made it went first.Screams of joy erupted from the UiTM’s contingent when the prosecution teammanaged to advance to the finals.

Both Farhan andShazwina were speechless and only managed to contain their tears of happiness.The happiness was cut to a halt when the defence team did not manage to make itto the finals. The adage ‘nothing is fair in love and war’ could not have beenmore apt for the situation. The defence team put up a strong fight and weretruly remarkable but it was sad that the judges did not think that way too. Itwas the defence team from USIM that managed to advance to the final round

Final Round

The final roundwas held at the Tun Suffian auditorium and the judges were distinguished ones includingDatuk Mary Chin, a High Court judge and a representative from the InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross and an international humanitarian law expert. It wastruly a grand affair. The finals started around 4pm with an almost fullauditorium of audiences.

After battling it out and giving it our all,the curtain was set. After the judges made their deliberation, everyone wascalled back into the auditorium for the announcement of the winner of thisyear’s 8^th International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition.Before announcing the winning team, the best oralist was announced. It was wonby Mohd Azim form USIM’s defence team. The moment of truth arrived and everyonewas holding their breath. When the Dean of the Law Faculty of Universiti Malayaannounced ‘and the winner of the 8^th International Humanitarian LawMoot Court Competition is Team 103 from Universiti Teknologi MARA! Farhan andShazwina were shell-shocked and could not wipe the smile off their faces. Theywent down to receive the trophy and the rest is history… UiTM Shah Alam willrepresent Malaysia in the 10^th International Humanitarian Law MootCompetition in Hong Kong March next year. Bon Voyage!

*** The Facultyawarded all four mooters with the “TunZaki Foundation : Award of Excellence” at the Annual Law Dinner on the 9^thof December 2011, in Shah Alam Convention Centre

prepared by: Shazwina,Farhan,Hannah,Ellena

Auditions for Jessup 2014 Squad

2011-10-31T15:56:00.002+08:00

Those who did not win automatic entry into the squad by winning one of the best oralist prizes at the recent Inter-Part Moot 2011, please turn up for an audition for selection into the squad at Cempaka Moot Court today, 6.00 pm. Just prepare one ground for submission based on the Inter-Part Moot question. 'Planktons' need not apply. You were selected last year when you were in Asasi. The new 'auditionees' will be joining you and the best oralist prizes winner as the new 'bilis' squad for Jessup 2014.

It's Back People!

2011-10-14T16:23:00.004+08:00

Join us and become our next superstar mooters!

DEAN'S CUP CHALLENGE 2011- THE MOOT PROBLEM

2011-10-14T16:14:00.003+08:00

IN THE MOOT COURT OF APPEAL OF UITM SHAHALAM

IN THE STATE OF SELANGOR DARUL EHSAN

APPEAL NO: W-007-TF OF 2011

BETWEEN

MARIA MERCEDES …APPELLANT

AND

ASPA LEE LAH …RESPONDENT

(In the matter of Civil Suit No: J-2627-EX2011 in the

Moot High Court of UiTM Shah Alam in the Stateof Selangor Darul Ehsan)

Between

Maria Mercedes …Plaintiff

And

Aspa Lee Lah …Defendant

Material Facts

1. Pedro Blanco and Aspa Lee Lah wasa happily married couple, living in the luxurious neighbourhood of Mont Kiara.They have been together for 10 years on top of 7 years of courtship before.

2. Pedro earns a steady income in“Grouch R Us”, a consultant firm specialising in strategies for monopolisingmarkets. Due to increasing competition from young upstarts at the firm, Pedrodecided the only way to get ahead is to get a doctorate to boost his curriculum vitae. He then went ahead andapplied to pursue a doctorate in Competition Law at London School of Law (LSL),much to the chagrin of Aspa when this was eventually relayed to her. Aspaherself is a practicing lawyer of 12 years experience with Beh, Lee Lah &Co, but despite her persistent and constant persuasion, she did not manage toconvince Pedro to change his mind. It was with a heavy heart that she let Pedroleave for London.

3. It was in LSL that Pedro thenmet one Maria Mercedes, a curvaceous blonde with luscious lips and flowinglocks that seemed a million miles apart from the cold and calculative Aspa. AsPedro spent more time with Maria, he further realised that this relationshipwould be good for his personal gain as well, seeing that Maria told him thatshe has numerous business contacts and Pedro could utilise that to bargain hisway up in Grouch R Us.

4. Pedro is not known to be aswinging Casanova but there was just something about this Maria that led Pedroto leave behind his stoic beliefs and embrace this new found way of abandon.Maria even knew of the existence of Aspa and convinced Pedro that all will bewell and asked him to divorce Aspa so that they can be together. Driven withlust and desire, Pedro went back and immediately filed for divorce, citingAspa’s constant lack of attention and putting her work before their marriagelife as the main reason. Pedro immediately instructed for divorce proceedingsto be taken out, and predictably did not seem to have pondered therepercussions that would follow.

5. Shell-shocked, Aspa pondered onfor days on what had befallen her until she stumbled across Pedro and Maria oneday having lunch outside. Once Aspa found out about the adulterous affairbetween Pedro and Maria, her grief and sorrow quickly turned into anger andvengeance. She set out a scheme and formulated a plan to get even with the twolovebirds. Aspa followed Maria around, engaged private investigators to trackher every day schedule and had nailed Maria’s daily habit to a tee. Eventually,she devised a clever way to seek revenge against the two of them afterprocuring enough information about Maria.

6. Aspa created a bogus Facebookaccount, using the pseudonym of one “Dr. Irwan Shah Abdullah”, purportedly aneurosurgeon currently based in Singapore, on the pretext of getting close toMaria and getting the necessary information for her to use in the divorceproceedings and to turn the table against Pedro. Aspa knew that Pedro would notfind out about her doings as she knew very well Pedro is technologicallyilliterate, and would not have time to even bother with checking the onlinenetwork.

7. Aspa used information relatingto Maria’s personal life to make it appear as such that Maria had met “Dr.Irwan” before during one of the social events that Maria was accustomed to.Soon enough, what started as a fling had developed into something beyond, andMaria, the ever flirtatious one is overtly convinced that this Dr. Irwan would beable to provide more to her than Pedro could. Dr. Irwan seemed more poised,more assured in his future and it practically convinced Maria to leave Pedro.Once Maria had told Dr. Irwan of her current relationship with Pedro, Dr. Irwanhad persuaded her to leave the “two timing dimwit”.

8. The online relationship went onuntil Aspa was confident that she had what was necessary for her to use theevidence of this infidelity by Pedro. She was overjoyed when she managed toconvince Maria not to give some business to Pedro but to Dr. Irwan instead.

9. By the time the news broke thatDr. Irwan was just a sham, Maria had already cut ties with Pedro. Maria threw afit and proceeded with filing a civil suit against Aspa for misrepresentationand inducement.

10. The matter was brought forth and furiously litigated beforeAlfonso Alejandro J (now JCA), known in the legal fraternity as one of, if not the most brilliant and outstandingjudicial mind in the Commonwealth and one that has set numerous novelprecedents through vigorous exercise of judicial activism. In August 2011,Alfonso Alejandro J delivered the following judgment:

“In the first place, Miss Aspahere is an advocate and solicitor. Surely she would be in a good position toappreciate that her actions are well within the law. I do not think that suchan experienced practitioner of the legal fraternity would have fallen into sucha rage of jealousy and would discard her ethical practices to pursue thispersonal vendetta of hers.

Let us take the firstmatter pleaded. Miss Maria claimed that there had been a misrepresentation ininducing her to believe the existence of this fictitious character. One thatshe only knew through some online social networking interface. One that she hadvoluntarily engaged with without anyform of inducement whatsoever. She had taken upon herself to let a strangerbefool and trick her into believing that this Dr. Irwan Shah exists and she wasready to abandon this Pedro chap in a split second. This cannot stand on thebasis that misrepresentation can only be upheld if an existing fact wasmisrepresented. In this case, was the fact that this Dr. Irwan Shah is aliveand well and intended to marry Miss Maria an existing fact? I believe theanswer is in the negative, and I thereby dismiss the first prayer sought.

Secondly, Miss Mariaclaimed that Aspa had deliberately and knowingly induced her to break acontract. Let us examine the facts. Miss Maria had disclosed, again to astranger at that point, that she is in the midst of agreeing a deal withMyGrouper Inc, to procure the right to bring in and market a new revolutionaryoffice management software, Easy Office or as it is better known, Easy-O. MissMaria revealed that she has orally agreed to give the project to Pedro to actas consultant for the matter, but had a change of heart when this Dr Irwan Shahsaid “he” had a better candidate and that they can snag a more handsome profitout of the transaction if she agreed to hand it over to Dr. Irwan instead.Again, I find no basis for Miss Maria to claim that this had amounted to aninterference with the contract. It was a meresuggestion on the part of Dr. Irwan, or Miss Aspa, whichever way you lookat it, and I hold that such statements are not one that is sufficient tosustain the prayer sought.

Above all, I find herbehaviour totally deplorable and reek of opportunism. I am a strong believer inmaintaining and protecting the holiness of a family institution and Miss Maria’sactions in causing the downfall of one is, in my regard, appalling.

I accordingly dismiss bothclaims of Miss Maria, with costs to be taxed. I am very well aware that thisruling has great implications as it involves a novel interpretation of the law,but one which I am reassuringly accustomed to. I am therefore allowing MissMaria to file an appeal with the Moot Court of Appeal UiTM as matters of greatpublic importance are at stake here. I am confident that my views are correctand that the appellate court would also agree with the findings that I havemade.”

11. On 1^st September2011 Maria Mercedes filed an appeal with the Moot Court of Appeal UiTM on thefollowing grounds:

11.1. That there was a tort of misrepresentation on the part of Aspa LeeLah when Aspa Lee Lah deliberately and knowingly represented herself to be one“Dr. Irwan Shah Abdullah” for fraudulent purposes; and

11.2. That there was interference to a contract by Aspa Lee Lah when shecaused Maria Mercedes to breach a contract with one Pedro Blanco.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Clarificationson the moot question can be submitted to the following email address:

azinuddin.karim@gmail.com

2. Thedateline for submission of clarifications:

Date : 15 October 2011

Time : 5.00 p.m.

3. Clarificationsare only limited to the factual matrix contained in the moot question.

4. The full set of clarifications (if any)will be provided through the Moot Club, the manner of which will be informed ata later date

THE WORKSHOP

2011-10-14T16:13:00.000+08:00

I will let the pictures to tell the story =)

It was a full-house workshop! *claps*

our first speaker: Tuan Hurman Hussain

the judges for the demonstration

our second speaker: Ruzaini Zulkifli

The President & Vice President of Moot Club

Special thanks to:
-Kodie Hassan(President)
-Hidayah Kamsani(Vice-president)
-Zuraini Alimusa ( The Program Director)
-The committee( including the ad hoc)
-The mooters
-The Participants

MOOT WORKSHOP 2011

2011-10-01T15:04:00.000+08:00

The guest speakers for this workshop are:

1. Hurman Hussain

One of the Jessup mooter in 2005. Currently he is the Magistrate in Telok Datok. Last year, the case of Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya was brought before him and later, the case was transferred to the Shah Alam High Court

2. Ruzaini Zulkifli
He was the President of UiTM Moot Club in 2009 and mooted in Jessup Competition twice- 2008&2009.

3.Hazralika Hamzah
Also known as the 'Goddess' in the UiTM Moot Club. She won the best oralist award in the Jessup Moot Competition National Rounds 2010. Currentlty she is one of the chambering students in Thomas Philip.

OFFICIAL AUDITION RESULTS

2011-10-01T14:20:00.002+08:00

OFFICIAL RESULT: INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW MOOT COMPETITION AUDITIONS 28.10.2011

1.Hannah Nasir
2. Farhan Zafry
3.Shazwina Mazli
4.Ellena Razif
5.Dayang mazidah
6.Marlysa
7.Afif Daud
8.Zaidatul Aqila

Congratulations to the top four. They will represent our university in the IHL Moot Competition next month.

The List

2011-09-23T11:53:00.000+08:00

This is the list of mooters who will be selected to represent our university in International Humanitarian Law Competition 2011. The selection will be made through an evening audition next Wednesday (28/9/2011). A brief discussion with Miss Ummi will take place at the moot court tomorrow.

Good Luck and all the best!

1. Hannah Nasir
2.Ellena razif
3.Farhan Zafry
4.Marlysa Razak
5.Dayang Mazidah
6. Afif 'Bam' Daud
7. Zaidatul 'Lala' Aqila
8. Shazwina Mazli
9. Asmarina Sakila

IHL MOOT PROBLEM 2011

2011-09-23T11:45:00.001+08:00

Asia-Pacific Moot Court National Rounds 2011

Moot Problem

PROSECUTOR v. DAVID DABAR

Before the International Criminal Court at The Hague

1. Vanilia obtained its independence in 1959. It is bordered by the Maxicum Sea on the east with a coastline of morethan 500 kilometres, by the Republic of Berryland to the southand west and the Republic of Mingolia to the north.Vanilia is federal state divided into three provinces and has a population of around20 million people. It is populated by the Lemi people who are mostly Protestantand Swarohi speaking (56% of population) and by the Nomag people who are Catholicand Nomagi speaking (32% of population). The Nomag people, though spread acrossthe country, are in the majority in the province of Losovo,which borders Berryland. Many believe that the Nomags came to Vanilia fromBerryland during the colonial period as indentured labourers. Others think thatLosovo is in fact the original land of the Nomags, and that they later spread fromLosovo into Berryland. It was made part of Vanilia only because of the existingcolonial administrative divisions at the time of independence. Owing to thecircumstances of the independence of the three countries which left many issuesunresolved, Vanilia continues to have border disputes with its neighbours Mingoliaand Berryland. There have been sporadic border incidents with exchange of fireacross the borders.

2. After the independence, Vanilia adopted a political system ofrepresentative democracy with a multiparty system. The President appoints theleader of the party which wins the majority in the legislative elections asPrime Minister, who then chooses the members of his cabinet among electeddeputies. The People's United Democratic Party (PUDP) has formed the successivegovernments since independence. Though the PUDP claims to be secular and have countrywidesupport, it is mainly supported by the Lemis. Its main political agenda is saidto be the protection and promotion of Lemi rights and well-being (which feelthat they were discriminated against as a minority during the colonial era). TheFederal Democratic Party (FDP) hasbeen the main opposition party and openly claims to protect the interests ofthe Nomags.

3. There is a general resentmentamong Nomags that they have been neglected by the successive governments and arenot proportionately represented in the political decision-making which hasresulted in the neglect of their welfare and economic development. The Nomagcommunity has been demanding since the proclamation of the Federal Constitutionthat the Nomagi language be declared as an official language of Vanilia. Successivegovernments have refused to accept the demand. Some organisations also claimthat the Nomags are under-represented in the main sectors of economy anddiscriminated against in the public service. Ever since independence, some Nomaggroups have been spearheading the idea of an independent Losovo state.

4. In January 2008, general elections were held in Vanilia. The PUDPagain obtained the majority of seats in the federal legislative assembly andformed the government. Three months later, in the provincial elections, the FDP won an overwhelming majority in the LosovoProvincial Assembly and formed the executive council. In August 2008, a radicalizedfaction of the FDP established theNomag Democratic Resistance Alliance (NDRA), with the avowed objective to obtainthe independence of Losovo. David Dabar, elected to the Losovo ProvincialAssembly on behalf of the FDP andin charge of law and order affairs in the Losovo Executive Council was seen asthe figurehead of the NDRA. Several support groups were formed in differentregions of Vanilia with similar goals. Media reports in Losovo indicated thatthis was the result of disenchantment with the successive federal governmentsand disappointment with the failure to achieve a fair representation of Nomaginterests at the federal level.

5. In Rizoba, the capital city of Losovo,on 15 October 2008,the day of Vanilia's independence, a demonstration of around 500 peoplebelonging to the NDRA hoisted a "Losovo national flag", whiledesecrating and burning the Vanilia national flag. On the same night, fivepeople belonging to the NDRA were arrested in their residences and chargedunder the Respect for National Symbols Act. These arrests led to streetprotests in different parts of Vanilia. After these incidents, a group calledthe Vanilia Patriotic Forum (VPF) was formed in Rizoba mainly consisting of Lemipeople. It claimed that its main objective was to protect the sovereignty andpolitical integrity of Vanilia and that it would support the federal governmentto the greatest possible extent to achieve these objectives. The VPF opened itscentral secretariat in the 'Pleasant Gardens' area of Rizoba,which was predominantly a Lemi-inhabited area, and actively started to recruitnew members, both men and women. The NDRA also started to accelerate its recruitmentand declared, on 30 November 2008, that it was breaking away from the FDP. David Dabar was proclaimed the chief of the NDRAunder whose leadership the NDRA would campaign for the achievement of theindependence of Losovo. Dabar remained a member of the Losovo Executive Council.

6. A few days later, on 5 December 2008, students from the Rizoba Universityformed the Nomag Student Alliance (NSA) and announced that they would establishco-ordination with other groups fighting for Nomags' rights. On 8 December 2008, the NSAissued a call for the indefinite boycott of classes in the University whichthey declared would be enforced, if necessary, in "militant forms".During the following weeks, factory workers, journalists and universityteachers also formed pro-independence associations. In Losovo, the situationbecame more and more tense with regular protests and demonstrations during themonth of January 2009.

7. On 2 February 2009, the NDRA convened ameeting in which the NSA and other pro-independence associations took part. Inthe discussions, the participants agreed that they should all coordinate their workand activities for the independence of Losovo and seek the necessary nationaland international support. The final declaration indicated that allassociations would take guidance from the NDRA and its leader David Dabar.

8. On 3 February 2009, there were severalattacks on the Lemis of Losovo in five towns near the provincial border,leading to the loss of 126 lives with 239 people injured. The media reportedthat the increased level of violence in the last months made it difficult to identifywho was responsible for the attacks. However, it was strongly believed by thegovernment of Vanilia, and the most important newspapers of Vanilia, includingthose based in Losovo, that the NSA was behind these attacks.

9. Several newspaperspublished a report based on an NDRA internal document, which said that the organizationwould strive towards eliminating the influence of Lemi in Losovo. Governmentauthorities of Vanilia confirmed the expulsion of Lemis out of Losovo into the neighbouringprovinces. Temporary camps were set up by the Vanilia government near theborder to shelter the displaced families. Neither the NDRA nor the NSA deny theirinvolvement in the forced expulsion of Lemis, but alluded in their pressreleases that Lemis that had left the province would be welcomed back in onlyafter Losovo had achieved independence and on the condition that they wouldswear allegiance to the new state of Losovo.

10. On 10 February 2009, apro-Lemi TV channel reported that increasing attacks on Lemi residences inRizoba by NSA members were to be expected. The same evening, David Dabar wentaround the Pleasant Gardens area along withNDRA members and ordered the latter to erect roadblocks to control the movementof residents. He explained to the media that they wanted to check everymovement through the locality, in particular to protect the Lemis from growingviolence. The NDRA cadres said that they would not allow any one to enter thearea. On the same night, NSA members easily went into Pleasant Gardenswithout being stopped by NDRA roadblocks. The NSA members, divided into groups,went to the residences and forcibly brought out more than 400 Lemi residentsinto the area's main square. The NSA members divided the residents into twogroups: men in one group and women and children in another. They were told thatthey would be brought to the border until their safety would be ensured inRizoba. After an hour, several trucks left the area without any hindrances. The trucks were granted unimpeded passage outof Pleasant Gardens through NDRA roadblocks. On 12February, media reported that the Lemi people from the Pleasant Gardenslocality were taken by the NSA and kept in camps, 60 kilometres away fromRizoba. The media of Berryland also highlighted that the camps were actuallylocated just across the border, on the territory of Berryland,though this territory remained a contentious one as Vanilia also claimed itdespite an arbitral award in favour of Berryland, which was disputed byVanilia.

11. Responding to criticism,Dabar declared that the NDRA's aim was secession from Vanilia. There was nointention to target or injure Lemi civilians. On the contrary, measures hadbeen taken to ensure their protection from the disorganised violence caused bythe federal government's acts. He said, however, that the NDRA also expectedLemi civilians to appreciate the genuine demand of Nomag people, otherwise itwould become difficult in such tense situations to control the emotionallystirred-up and politically agitated Nomag population. He further invitedhumanitarian organisations, including the International Committee of the RedCross (ICRC) to visit the camps.

12. The Prime Minister ofVanilia, Nijimon Yavi, issued a stern warning to those involved in thedisplacement of Lemi people and deployed security forces in Losovo with thebackup support of 300 army soldiers. In the next few days, it was reportedthat, across Vanilia, several attacks had taken place on property of theVanilian government, as well as on private property. There were instances ofweapon-wielding young men attacking Lemi people, and in different incidents 39people were killed. In some instances, Lemi people from Losovo were againforced to leave their residence and flee to other provinces. Several groups claimedresponsibility for some of the attacks. The month of March witnessed continuousprotests by NDRA supporters across Vanilia but mainly in the province of Losovo.Vanilian security and intelligence forces arrested a chain of weapons suppliersoperating from Berryland whom they claimed the NDRA was acquiring weapons from.

13. On 22 May 2009 ataround midnight, a camp of the security forces on the outskirts of Rizoba wasattacked by armed men and in the pitched battle that ensued between the armedmen and security forces, the camp site was in ashes by the next morning. 156bodies of the security forces and 53 unidentified bodies were recovered fromthe site. It was reported by local officials that armed men were continuingtheir attacks on government property, mainly offices and vehicles, as well ason Lemi people and their property. Three highways connecting Losovo with othercities in Vanilia were blocked by armed youths at Losovo borders.

14. On 28 May 2009, David Dabarconvened a press conference and declared that the NDRA would organise a rallythe next day and declare the independence of Losovo. On 29 May 2009, thousands of peoplegathered on the Rizoba University grounds. Dabargreeted the crowds and thanked them for being supportive of the cause of theliberation of Losovo. He announced that the FDPgovernment had issued a declaration of independence. Losovo was now anindependent sovereign country. The NDRA was soon to be in control of the entireprovince. He said that from now on, the Losovo administration was going to bein the hands of Nomag and for the interests of the Nomags. All Nomags in otherparts of Vanilia were welcome to settle in Losovo to participate in thedevelopment of the new country. Adoptinga warning tone, he said that non-Nomag people could remain in Losovo. However,he added, all, including Lemi people, should respect the law of the country. Atthe end of the meeting, he introduced Wilson Mula, leader of the FDP, and announced that he would be leading theinterim government for the next one year, until a new constitution was draftedand a constitutionally-elected government took over.

15. On 2 June 2009, Berrylandrecognised Losovo, followed by Mingolia on 4 June. In an extension ofsolidarity to a fellow people, the Berryland government waived the visarequirement for Losovo citizens for one year, which it said would help stabilisingLosovo. The Berryland Prime Minister also promised to extend the necessarysupport to the newly formed Losovo government.

16. With regard tointernational relations, in his first press conference, Mula announced thatLosovo wished to maintain friendly relations with all countries and that itwould succeed to all multilateral international treaties to which Vanilia was aparty that dealt with human rights and international humanitarian law. Withregard to other treaties, including bilateral treaties, they would be reviewedwithin the next two years. The first official act of the new government was togrant by decree Losovo citizenship to all Lemis residing in the province. Otherresidents were to be granted citizenship at their request if they undertook tolive in Losovo and swore allegiance to the new State. A new law on citizenshipwas soon to be adopted.

17. On 5 June 2009, the PrimeMinister of Vanilia, Nijimon Yavi, said on national television that Losovoprovince was an integral part of Vanilia and blamed neighbouring countries, inparticular Berryland. Supporting the NDRA and its secessionist stanceconstituted an unacceptable intrusion in Vanilia's internal affairs in violationof the UN Charter and would be dealt with in an appropriate manner. In manifestcontradiction with the situation on the ground, he said that Vanilian securityforces were in total control of the situation in Losovo, that they would takeinto custody the main leaders of the NDRA soon, and that they would try them inaccordance with law. Meanwhile, NDRA fighters continued to be in directconfrontation with Vanilian forces at the Losovo borders. The NDRA successfullythwarted the Vanilian security forces' attempts to gain control of Losovoterritory, let alone to re-take control of Rizoba. The Vanilia governmentcalled for international support and expressed concerns about the security ofthe Lemi people in Losovo.

18. On 8 June 2009, a message wascirculated among NDRA and NSA members that Vanilian forces were employingcivilians to counter the NDRA control. In the night of 9 June 2009, more than 500 Vanilianforces were attacked when they moved into Losovo, but nonetheless managed tocome within 100 kilometres of Rizoba. Fierce fighting continued through thenight resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.

19. During the night of 10June, NDRA fighters patrolling Rizoba and reinforcing their control over thecity took control of the VPF secretariat office. They found around 150 people,including women and children, having taken their quarters in the building. Interrogatedby the NDRA, they replied that because of the continuing fear of attacksagainst them, they had taken refuge in the secretariat's premises to spend thenight. After searching the premises, 16 Vanilia-manufactured weapons were foundin one of the rooms located at the back of the building. When questioned aboutthe weapons, the occupants said they knew nothing about them. The NDRA fightersthen separated the women and children, and took the men along with them. The nextmorning, David Dabar declared that they had successfully thwarted an attempt ofVanilian forces, wearing civilian clothing, taking shelter in the VPFsecretariat to imminently attack, in co-ordination with other forces enteringLosovo, the new government of Losovo.

20. On 11 June 2009, the 'LosovoMessenger' daily published the details of 108 people who were taken intocustody by the NDRA during the night of 10 June. It further reported that thedetails were provided by the family members who were there on that night at theVPF secretariat and all were confirmed as not belonging to Vanilian forces. On thesame evening VPF members convened a press conference and introduced 12 memberswho were reported to have escaped from the hands of the NDRA fighters. They declaredthat they were ill-treated and subjected to severe beatings. When journalistsasked about the others that were taken away, they said they were doubtfulwhether they were still alive. In response to these allegations, the NDRAissued a statement that all those who were questioned on the night of 10 June atthe VPF secretariat were either active supporters of the Vanilian forces, ifnot members thereof. It added that the NDRA had successfully thwarted theattempt of Vanilian forces in the garb of civilians, and that they were nolonger in their custody. However, the NDRA failed to clarify the whereabouts ofthose who were taken away. On 22 June 2009, newspapers reported that the human remains of 15 personswere found in a suburban area. They were later identified as some of those whowere taken by the NDRA on 10 June.

21. In the last week ofJune 2009, it was reported by the media that the camps, in which Lemis werekept since the 10 February 2009, were evacuated and the people were allowed to go. It wasfurther reported that most had not returned to Rizoba. It was unclear whetherthey had been prevented to return or did not wish to return because of thesecurity situation.

22. As the situationworsened, on 6 July 2009,the Minota Economic Forum (MEF), a regional organisation working for economicco-operation in the region, appealed to all parties to restrain themselves andto declare a ceasefire, and requested the United Nations Security Council tointervene in the matter. It further invited the Vanilian government and the FDP to Genevato negotiate a solution to the conflict. The Vanilian government expressed itswillingness and nominated a ten-member delegation. The FDPalso expressed its willingness to send a delegation provided that the issue ofsecession remained non-negotiable. The FDPnominated its delegation headed by Mr William Tanatia, the Minister for ForeignAffairs of the interim government of Losovo.

23. Meanwhile, bothAmnesty International and Human Rights Watch had reported violations ofinternational humanitarian law by both sides: killings, torture, displacementof civilians, attacks on civilians and destruction of civilian property. At theinstance of several complaints to Office of the Prosecutor, the prosecutor ofthe International Criminal Court (ICC) initiated proceedings against severalindividuals from both sides of the conflict.

For the purpose of thepresent case against David Dabar, the prosecutor decided to bring the followingcharges against him:

I. David Dabar was charged, on 26 July 2009, withthe crime against humanity of 'deportation or forcible transfer of population'under Article 7(1)(d) of the Statute of the International Criminal Court for acts committed during the incidents thattook place in Rizoba city on or about the 3 and 12 February 2009.

II. David Dabar was charged, on 26 July 2009,with the war crime of 'taking of hostages' under Article 8(2)(c)(iii) of theStatute of the International Criminal Court for acts committed during theincidents that took place in Rizoba on or about 12 February 2009 and thereafter.

III. David Dabarwas charged, on 26 July 2009, with the war crime of 'killing' under Article8(2)(a)(i) of the Statute of the International Criminal Court for actscommitted during the incidents that took place in Rizoba on or about 10 June2009.

24. Based on the warrantissued by the ICC Prosecutor, and confirmed by a pre-trial chamber of the ICC,plain-clothed Vanilian security forces took David Dabar into custody from hisresidence in Rizoba on 5 August 2009 and surrendered him to the ICC for trial.

PREPARATION OF THE BRIEF

You have been nominated to acteither the prosecution or defence for David Dabar inrelation to the THREE (3) charges above.

In preparing the brief, the counsels for both Prosecution and Defence are expected to establish thefollowing issues:

- The type(s) of armed conflict that is applicable to the present case

- The Elementsof Crimes for each of the 3 charges against David Dabar based on the United Nations Doc. PCNICC/2000/1/Add.2 (2000)

- Written and oral arguments on behalf of theProsecution and Defence are to be confined to these THREE (3) chargesonly.

- Other relevantissues and jurisprudence that are applicable to thepresent case

The following information are to benoted:

- Vanilia is a party to the Four Geneva Conventions of1949 and their two Additional Protocols of 1977.

- Vanilia ratified the Statute of theInternational Criminal Court on 25 October 2006.

- Questions relating to jurisdiction of theICC need not be raised unless they are substantially linked to the merits ofthe case.

- STATUTEOF THE ICC: ELEMENT OF CRIMES

Article 7 (1) (d) - Crime against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer of population

Elements of Crimes

1. The perpetrator deported or forcibly transferred, without groundspermitted under international law, one or more persons to another State orlocation, by expulsion or other coercive acts.

2. Such person or persons were lawfully present in the area from which theywere so deported or transferred.

3. The perpetrator was aware of the factual circumstances that establishedthe lawfulness of such presence.

4. The conduct was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attackdirected against a civilian population.

5. The perpetrator knew that the conduct was part of or intended theconduct to be part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against acivilian population.

Article 8 (2) (c) (iii) - War crime of taking hostages

Elements of Crimes

1. The perpetratorseized, detained or otherwise held hostage one or more persons.

2. The perpetratorthreatened to kill, injure or continue to detain such person or persons.

3. The perpetratorintended to compel a State, an international organization, a natural or legalperson or a group of persons to act or refrain from acting as an explicit orimplicit condition for the safety or the release of such person or persons.

4. Such person orpersons were either hors de combat, or were civilians, medical personnel orreligious personnel taking no active part in the hostilities.

5. The perpetratorwas aware of the factual circumstances that established this status.

6. The conducttook place in the context of and was associated with an armed conflict not ofan international character.

7. The perpetratorwas aware of factual circumstances that established the existence of an armedconflict.

Article 8 (2) (a) (i) - War crime of wilful killing

Elements of Crimes

1. The perpetrator killed one or more persons.

2. Such person or persons were protected under one or more of the Geneva Conventionsof 1949.

3. The perpetrator was aware of the factual circumstances that establishedthat protected status.

4. The conduct took place in the context of and was associated with aninternational armed conflict.

5. The perpetrator was aware of factual circumstances that established theexistence of an armed conflict.

UiTM Moot Club's Eidul Fitri Celebrations 2011

2011-09-19T11:31:00.000+08:00

There was a carnival atmosphere in UiTM's Law School as the mooters celebrated Hari Raya 2011. In keeping with the club's reputation of also being a food club, the 'pot luck' mode of contribution resulted in too much food being available. For the first time in Moot Club history, there was food left over. Here are the pictures.

Even the senior mooters from the Jessup 2010 National Championship team showed up. Faez Razak is not around as he is now in King's College London doing his LL.M.

Here is some of the great food brought by various members of the club.

There were games after the first round of eating and the mooters worked off some of the weight gained.

At the end of the day, after multiple visits to the buffet table, there was still so much food left over. Therefore, the only thing left to do was to 'bungkus' and take it back home. Kodie (Moot Club President) and Hidayah (Moot Club Vice-President), led by example.

Photographer for the day: Marlyza

Up Next: The International Humanitarian Law Moots 2011, 12 and 13 November

2011-08-24T18:02:00.003+08:00

Thanks to Dr Sujata of Universiti Malaya for e-mailing the invitation. Dr Azmi must be licking his wounds after Spurs lost 3-0 at Old Trafford. ;-)

Dear Sir/Madam,

The Faculty of Law, University of Malaya has had the honour of organising the International Humanitarian Law Moot Competition (the IHL Moot) with the International Committee of the Red Cross/Crescent (ICRC) for the past six years. This year, the IHL Moot will be held on 12 and 13 November 2011 at the Faculty of Law, University of Malaya.

The ICRC is a non-governmental organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland and one of their functions is to further the education of International Humanitarian law. The IHL Moot competition is one of their efforts towards achieving this noble purpose. The IHL Moot competition has prizes for the best mooter, best memorial and of course, the best team. The winning team goes on to compete at the Regional rounds which will be held in Hong Kong.

We would like to take this opportunity to invite your law faculty/law school to send a team to participate in this year’s IHL Moot competition. Each team comprises of four mooters, namely two mooters for the Applicant and two mooters for the Respondent.

If your faculty/law school would like to send a team, please register with Mr Fork Yow Leong of the ICRC, who may be contacted at 012 6584221 or via email at fyowleong@icrc.org or yowleong69@yahoo.com.

The closing date for registration of teams is 9 September 2011. Upon receiving confirmation of your acceptance to participate, the Moot problem will be released to your institution.

If you have any queries please feel free to get in touch with me at 03 7967 6544 or sujatabalan@um.edu.my.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Sujata Balan

On behalf of

Dr Azmi Sharom

Moots Co-ordinator

Faculty of Law

University of Malaya

Dr Sujata Balan
Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Law
University of Malaya
Tel: 03 - 79676544
Email: sujatabalan@um.edu.my

I strongly encourage all law schools in Malaysia, public or private, to take part. It will provide an unforgettable experience for your students.

PS. Mr Fork, if you happen to be reading this, UiTM would like to send more than one team for the competition, if the logistics of the competition permit it. We sent a record 5 teams for the Law Asia Moot 2011. Of the five teams that made it to the final round, two were from UiTM.

Post LawAsia 2011, An Open Letter to Mr Raphael Tay

2011-07-28T13:47:00.003+08:00

Dear Sir,

Thank you for organising another wonderful moot tournament. It has provided an opportunity for junior mooters to refine their mooting skills and adapt to the competitive atmosphere. More importantly, the moot competition is also a place to make new friends, well in advance of the future battles that they may face as opposing legal counsels in court.

There are two things on my wish list for the 2012 moot: First, each university has the right to send a maximum of seven teams. Second, Malaysia have three representatives instead of the current two for the international rounds.

Meanwhile, keep up with the great work and we are here to support you in anyway that we can. All the best for the international rounds and next year's competition.

Yours sincerely,

Irwin U.J. Ooi

Coach, UiTM's Moot Team.

LAWASIA 2011: TURNING UP THE HEAT

2011-07-27T02:44:00.003+08:00

A ‘step-up’ is how I view our performance in the LAWASIA Moot Competition 2011. Two out of 5 teams( Khairil’s and farhan’s team) qualified to the final rounds and one of them finished as the second runner-up with the highest total raw score for the final rounds. Two of our mooters (Khairil Khalid and Farhan Zafry)was listed in the top 5 of the entire mooters of the competition. More than that, some of the judges were also astonished with our team’s performance; most of us received personal encouragement, positive feedback and invitation to pursue internship and chambering from the bench. The two day competition revealed the fighting spirit that I’ve never imagined; we mooted tooth and nail, our legal acumen beyond the mediocrity level and on top of that, the most precious hidden treasure that we discovered throughout this competition would be the teamwork. Frankly speaking, mooting is not about personal achievement but it is the reflection of team dynamic and I was impressed with the high- level of understanding and mutual tolerance among the mooters.

It was amazing to see how our promising and future mooters- Farhan Zafry, Dayang Mazidah, Marlysa Razak, Hannah Nasir, Ellena Razif, Afif Daud, Zaidatul Aqilah and Asmarina Sakila worked from scratch with their impeccable research skill. They too,diligently improved their advocacy skills during the training session. The experienced mooters- Khairil Khalid, Arina, Alia Amran, Auzan Syaidi, Atiqah Razif and Fikri did well by providing guidance and support to the team. The strategy was tremendous - the uprising mooters laid down the basic ground and we- the experienced mooters, strengthened the ground firmly. Everyone played their role not only as a mooter but also as a moot team.

The most notable value during this competition would be the determination and zealousness to win. Personally, I was amazed to see that everyone took this task seriously; the mentality of training ground was totally vanished as everyone wanted to meet each other during the final rounds. Special mention to Alia Amran’s team; they won 2 rounds unanimously but their triumph was denied by the total raw score rules and up until now I still believed they deserved to meet Khairil’s team during the final rounds.

Words can’t describe on how these unsung heroes dedicated their tireless effort and endless time to the team: Dr.Irwin, Madam Mazlina Mahali, Miss Ummi and Mr.Iqbal. All of them deserved our utmost admiration and salutation. It is also noteworthy to give our respect and thankful to our captain- Khairil Khalid who postponed his trip to India just because for this competition. He is, indeed a dedicated and the most down-to earth captain I have ever worked with after Mama Shai. It is also paramount to mention that LAWASIA 2011 would be the final competition for my most charming and stylish co-counsel, Arina Lum. She disembarked her career as the UiTM mooter gloriously; I never felt her ‘ratu ’ effect since the IMLAM Competition 2010 and during this competition, this ‘WOW’ factor sparkled again and she elegantly turned down ATC’s dream to win during the preliminary match. Thank you for your one year sacrifice to UiTM Moot team.

Last but not least, it is an honour for me to moot with all of them- Khairil Khalid, Arina Lum, Alia Amran, Auzan Syaidi, Ellena Razif, Farhan Zafry, Dayang Mazidah, Marlysa Razak, Hannah Nasir, Afif Daud, Zaidatul Aqilah, Atiqah Razif, Zulfikri Ibrahim and Asmarina Sakila. When I was far from home for two weeks in order to complete this mission, they were indeed my family and it was a pleasure for me to share the time to eat, pray and moot together.

This competition would be another benchmark for us to moot beyond our present level as the stake will become higher from now onwards. We need to keep our faith and believe that we can beat any team- even the so called ‘immortal’ and unbeatable team in moot competition. The time of being inferior had lapsed; and now the other universities will feel intimidated with our participation in any competition. But still, never be arrogant to the humble and never be humble to the arrogant. Pay our respect to our learned opponents and praise them if we think they deserve to.

Last but not least,

‘’ Winning is not final, defeat is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts’’

Thank you for the outstanding achievement in LAWASIA 2011 and yes, the journey to glory continues!

IMLAM = Indeed Most Loved Avid memories

2011-07-25T21:07:00.017+08:00

Tuesday, 5th of July 2011

As grand the beginning of the ordeal, as grand as the competition was, there shall also be a grand ending to IMLAM 2011. It doesn't take much to figure it out. When the table is set, a feast is dawning.

The Grand Dinner and the Prize Giving Ceremony of the International Maritime Law Moots 2011 was scheduled tonight. The premonition of the pleasant acquaintances and a hearty delicious meal, are all the reason the mooters need to excite themselves above and beyond to attend the grand dinner.

All of the 18 International Institutions had taken that step, that not all of us would have. The competition was fierce. The level of the competition was off the roof. The level of advocacy the participants presented, was extraordinary. Tonight, we all pat ourselves on the back for the good run we all had, and also, congratulate the exceptional winners of the various awards and prizes of IMLAM 2011.

The Final Results of the competition could be referred to through this link, http://www.law.murdoch.edu.au/maritimemoot/IMLAM_2011_final_results.html

The MARA mooters donned beautiful and colorful traditional outfits. Mr. Auzan rocking a sleek Baju Melayu, while the proud ladies of MARA, Miss Alia Amran, Miss Atiqah Razif, Miss Hannah Nasir and Miss Ellena Razif were a sight to behold, in their gorgeous Baju Kurung. Exception to Mr. Fikri for his regretful forgetfulness to carry his Baju Melayu together for the trip. Yet, instead, he went on to try a failed attempt to dress like Alpacino in his later years.

The food was great and we couldn't be more thankful for the warm hospitality the organizers and the moot officials provided.

Eventually MARA was presented their certificate of participation by the Moot Director, Associate Professor Kate Lewins. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our mooters for their persistence and dedication.

During the evening, amdist all the congratulatory wishes, we also bid our farewells to the beautiful people of IMLAM that had made the competition a swell, enjoyable and outright memorable competition.

MARA with Universitas Gadjah Mada

Universitas Indonesia and Universitas Padjajaran. (Photo courtesy of Miss Ashila Reza from UPAD)

The Law School of Excellence (Dr. Ambedkar)

University of Goa.

Mr. David Martin Clarke. (Photo courtesy of Miss Aldila Mesra from UI)

The champions, Murdoch University.

University of Southampton and Queensland University of Technology

The beautiful ladies of IMLAM 2011

On one end, it was great to have congregated and just enjoy each others' acquaintances but it was heart-wrenching at the same time, to bid our goodbyes, and to part our ways.

As been told by our good friend Mr. Rifky and Mr. Dirgantara, what we feel right now, is what they call 'Galau' A state of mind of mixed feelings. Though it might have only been one week, but the bond we all had was steadfast. We all wished we had more time to spend together. In regards also to the fact that when we part tonight, it shall be a long time till the time we meet again.

I remembered telling them that, what I felt tonight was cheesy. But what touched my heart is when they told me, it is never cheesy or lame, if it came from the heart.

IMLAM is not only International Maritime Law Moots. It also stands for Indeed Most Loved Avid Memories.

How we traversed and held our grounds.

2011-07-25T11:41:00.010+08:00

Monday, 4th of July 2011

The general rounds of the International Maritime Law Moot 2011 ends today. The MARA claimants shall go against the respondents of the University of Queensland, Australia.

The claimants, eager to go through the final session of the general rounds.

Again as expected, the bench was critical. The focal point of the moot was the issue of international conflict of law. There was extensive discussions and queries on justifications on the proposed law to be applied by both sides.

The MARA claimants persevered and never gave up the fight. They stood their ground and articulately answer the questions put forth against them.

After the deliberations, the arbitral tribunal had decided in the favor of the Respondents from the University of Queensland. Nevertheless, we couldn't have been more proud for the MARA claimants for their efforts, confidence and sacrifices.

After all the session for the general rounds had ended, the total scores of all the competing Universities were calculated. We all anxiously waited for the results. 'All' per se, means together with the lovely MARA supporters whom had gone the extra mile to be with the mooters in Singapore.

Our undying gratitude for all the MARA supporters. Your presence is welcomed, and utterly appreciated.

After a long period of waiting, it was time for the finale. However, MARA didn't break into the quarter finals. It was difficult but ultimately, the truth.

Amidst the results, the journey had been a blast. We have gained many great experiences and friendship. We are deeply grateful and proud of all the MARA mooters whom had performed in steel-stern valor, rock-hard confidence and stonewall-rigid perseverance. To all of our great friends from all other institutions, we take the greatest pleasure to have had your acquaintances.

We have berthed and discharged our obligations at the port of the Merlion. Fire up the engine, raise the anchors and fly the flag of MARA. We set sail. We set course to yet other opportunities to moot and learn the tools of the trade. Our dearest salutations to our Masters, Dr. Irwin and Miss Ummi Hani for their undying dedication. Looking back at it now, and in the future, we shall always remember, how we traversed and held our ground.

Putting all the cards on the table.

2011-07-25T09:13:00.017+08:00

Sunday, 3rd of July 2011.

Today, the invigorating scent of competitiveness fills the corridors of the Eu Tong Sen Building in NUS's faculty of law. Both of MARA's esteemed respondents and claimants anticipate an enlightening moot round. In the morning session, MARA's respondents shall go against the esteemed Universitas of Gadjah Mada. In the later afternoon session, MARA's claimants go head to head against the University of Goa.

The learned counsels for the claimants, Miss Hannah Nasir, Miss Ellena Razif, Mr. Auzan Syaidi and our coach, Miss Ummi Hani, in full gear, full throttle, to triumph.

The first session between MARA and Universitas Gadjah Mada, was chaired by Mr. Werner Tan, and presided by Dr. Paul Holmes and Mr. David Martin Clarke himself. Our great and esteemed friends on the claimant's bench were Mr. Rifky Wicaksono, and Mr. Roichan Akbar. They were also accompanied by the rest of their team, namely, Mr. Dirgantara Adi, Mr. Eldo K. Alwi and Miss Vierna Tasya Wensatama. A great congregation of caliber and articulation indeed.

The session was a critical one. Questions were full of insights and substance. It was quite a handful. The arbitral panel were excellently versed with the questions and issues at hand. It was an arbitral force to reckon.

The claimants had indeed taken a different approach to the question and was very impressive indeed. Especially upon the part in which Mr. Roichan presented the claimant's quantum of damages. Great job nonetheless.

It was intense. The moment the tribunal settled for deliberation, and we exited the courtroom, the heat of the moot also exited.

The counsels, while awaiting the results, had a an extensive discussion on the earlier session.

All in all, the counsels all agreed it was a superb and enjoyable round. Most importantly, it was the beginning of a heartfelt friendship with the great individuals of Universitas Gadjah Mada.

After the long and extensive deliberation, the arbitral tribunal had decided in the favor of Universitas Gadjah Mada. It was a very close match as been stated by Mr. Werner Tan. Nonetheless, it was an enlightening experience to have sat with a thoroughly worthy opponent and critical and renowned arbitrators. For our great friends from Universitas Gadjah Mada, we wish all of you the best for your future endeavors.

In the afternoon, the MARA's counsels for the claimants took the day up a notch when they performed brilliantly in their first round against the University of Goa.

The bench was as critical as we had expected. The arbitrators were insightful and threw critical queries against the counsels from both sides. However, to our delight, the arbitrators though critical, they were more than pleasant to the bench.

Miss Hannah Nasir, and Miss Ellena handled themselves well. They were able to answer all the arbitrators' questions and articulated their thoughts vividly.

Appraisals were given to MARA mooters by the presiding arbitrator for their ability to remain poised and composed when the arbitrators steer them away from their tempo and submission.

Miss Hannah and Miss Ellena having a preparatory revision before the round in one of the many discussions room.

After the deliberations, the arbitrators had decided in the favor of the MARA claimants. A great triumph indeed. They had performed very well and deserved the win.

Its all smiles for the MARA claimants and we are all very proud for their success today. Today, we had put all of our cards on the table, and undoubtedly, MARA had gained many great experience, friendship and knowledge.

A journey of a thousand miles, starts with a single step, or moot in a sense.

2011-07-02T21:32:00.009+08:00

Saturday, 2nd of July 2011

This is it. The thrill that your heart races and ready to burst. The andrenaline rushes through out like an ocean tide, ravishing all in its path. Cold sweat runs down your face, and it drops as it dance in rhythm of the heartbeat. This shall surely come. It shall happen. Its inevitable.

12.oo noon, the team prepares themselves for the first leg of the prelims. The respondent shall compete with the University of Southampton in round 2B at 3.30pm.

Upon reaching the Eu Ton Seng Faculty of Law at NUS, the team first had an exquisite buffet lunch at the modernly furnished staff lounge at the faculty.The menu extends from Korean Grilled Chicken, and Italian Spaghetti bolognese. Superb indeed.

The team then proceeded to the discussions room at level 4 to calm our nerves in anticipation of the round to come. And to our delight, the seniors have serenaded us with their appearance. Special mentions to the seniors, Shairil, Izzat, Danial and also Hadi. Your attendance, was greatly felt, and utterly appreciated. Love you guys thoroughly.

3.30 pm, and all of us, in togetherness , entered courtroom 3 as we march onto the field of healthy intellectual trial. My learned friends, namely Oluwatobi Seriki, and Katherine Law respectively from the University of Southampton, is a force to reckon with. The competition was fierce. Both of the teams were equally competitive, passionate and convincing.

The round was set in a standard claimant 1 and 2, then respondent 1 and 2 setting. After all was said and done, the wise arbitral tribunal was left to deliberate. To our delight, and fortunately, the round was decided in MARA's favor. Alhamdulillah, and Praise be to God.

Nevertheless, this is merely a drop in the ocean the team must traverse. We pray avidly, and work diligently, that what ensues, mirrors our triumph today. All the best MARA. And to my friends from Southampton, all the best for your future rounds as well.

Onwards, to the next round!

Moot = Food = Acquaintance = Good.

2011-07-02T09:00:00.008+08:00

Friday, 1st of July 2011.

In the morning, my learned friends proceeded to preside over nutritional rations duty. Simply put, they cook. The aroma entices, and hustle in the kitchen excites our hungry stomachs. On the frying pan, was Miss Alia, Miss Atiqah caters to ingredients, and Miss Ummi as the Sous Chef, monitors the procession. While waiting for the meal, the others went on to have a session with Miss Ummi. The by-product; Voila!. It was tresbien. Belissimo.

Come evening, the team headed off to the National University of Singapore, NUS, to attend the welcoming ceremony and the briefing. Upon reaching the Law Faculty, we were in awe. The exquisite Victorian exterior accentuates the aura of lex.

The briefing and welcoming speeches began around 5.50 pm in the evening. And what an astounding sight. People from all corners of the world had commiserated in unison. Indonesia, France, United Kingdom, India, Australia, Malaysia are some to mention.

After an enlightening experience in the auditorium, we were dismissed to have some finger-food and to do some ice breaking. Moot = Food = Friends = Good.

Great individuals, superb atmosphere. Tomorrow, the respondents shall begin on the first leg of the competition. MARA v University of Southampton, UK. Fret not, for the best is to come.

We dont sing in singapore. We moot

2011-07-01T13:37:00.011+08:00

Thursday, 30th of June.

When the hands met at the face of time, it strikes 10.45 am and the team embarks to singapore. No indiana Jones antiques here. In the spirit of competitive mooting, and academical hunt, we brace ourselves.

It was quite a handful to thread through the urban landscapes of singapore. The delicate and hefty nature of our bundle of authorities adds to our demise. But, we all took it as an opportunity to further enrich ourselves with bodily fitness. At least in cardiovascular sense.

Though the experience of taxiing to Geylang was quite difficult and frustrating, amidst our worries, the residence had taken us in delight. Its nicely furnished, designed in simplicity and practicability as well as comfort. Kudos to Mr. Auzan, respectively.

After a brief refuge at the residence, we took a tour to Ochard Road via the SMRT. It was quite a refreshing sight after so long we inhibit the moot court. Orchard Road is definitely a modern, flashy and exciting commercial premise. In simpler terms, a fun shopping place.

After replenishing ourselves with appropriate sustenance, the team set sail back to the residence. In anticipation of the briefing at NUS tomorrow, we pray that from now onwards, the journey shall be smooth, enjoyable and ultimately, triumphant.

Good Luck Maritime Mooters

2011-06-29T16:01:00.006+08:00

All the best in Singapore for IMLAM 2011!

Last Training Session for IMLAM 2011

2011-06-29T12:15:00.002+08:00

The Maritime Moot team is currently having its last training session before embarking for Singapore to take part in the competition tomorrow. As Singapore is just across the causeway, the team will be travelling there by bus.

In between moot rounds, the mooters have been munching on Marlysa Razak's (LawAsia 2011 Mooter) 'kek batik', exquisitely made with luxurious dark chocolate, and sandwiches by Ellena Razif.

For the record, the maritime team consists of:

1. The Claimant: Hannah Nasir (lead counsel), Ellena Razif (co-counsel) and Auzan Syaidi (bench counsel).

2. The Respondent: Zulfikri Ibrahim (lead counsel and team captain), Atiqah Razif (co-counsel) and Alia Amran (bench counsel and Best Mooter at IHL Moots, Malaysian National Rounds, 2010).

Time to Report for Law Asia Moot 2011 Training

2011-06-21T10:39:00.004+08:00

Those who have been registered for the Law Asia Moot 2011 competition, please report for training at the Cempaka Moot Court. Some eager beavers (Afif, Marlysa, Aquillah and Dayang) have been here since the last week hanging out with the Maritime Mooters (Captain Fikri, Atiqah, Alia, Hannah, Ellena and Auzan) who are currently training for the July 2011 competition. There will be a brain-storming session on Thursday, 22 June 2011, 2 p.m. to work out the issues that you will have the use in your submissions. Please download the moot problem and relevant documents from the Law Asia website: http://lawasiamoot.org/problem.aspx

Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition 2011

2011-06-17T10:00:00.000+08:00

On the first day I joined moots, the first thing the Dr Irwin, the moot coach said to me was;

"Congratulations on passing the audition, but that is just the first hurdle in your goal to mooting in Jessup 2011"

Yes. He had us aiming for that goal even from then. That was 2 years ago.

____________________________________________

Jessup Moots.

Like winning the gold medal of the race. The biggest enchilada of all things moot. The big cheese.

Jessup is equated to be THE peak of excellence in which most (if not all) mooters will aim for throughout their mooting career. Every aspiring UiTM mooter were told from day one that we are to train our *ahem* laurels off in order to be ready to participate in Jessup Moots. Of course, we were not exempted from this terms.

For Jessup 2011 the team consisted of Khairil Khalid, Izzat Asyraf Zamri, Arina Lum, Zharif Badrul and myself. We were guided every step of the way under the diligent supervision of Madam Azlena Khalid, Miss Ummi Hani and of course, Dr Irwin. Madam Mazlina was also always at hand to shed some light whenever we reach any sort of obstacle.

On paper, the preparation for Jessup took a solid 2/3 months. However in reality we were preparing for it for about a year. Eventhough we joined numerous other competitions however Jessup had always been the main goal. In that 3 months the team basically were living in the war room, immersing ourselves in every aspects of international law.

Initially we were quite at a loss as to how to go about researching on the issues provided in the moot problem as out of the 5 people in the team, only two had studied international law and one of them (yours truly) had only studied it for one semester. So you can guess how frantic we were reading up on books or articles we could in order to get a grasp on the issues presented in the moot problem.

Oral trainings were also all over the place. And I mean this literally. Not only did we spend any free time practicing in the moot court, but more often than not you could find any one of us stealing time training with the advisors in their rooms. The memory of trekking up the hill during lunch to train with Dr Irwin will be one of my favorite memories of Jessup =)

Overall, thank goodness there were the trainers and coaches. Needless to say, without them I think we would still be grasping in the dark until today!

To cut the story short, the whole experience preparing for Jessup had been filled with various ups-and-downs. We were unable to recreate the success our seniors had achieved last year, however I truly believe in the saying that "It is not the destination that shapes a man, its the journey". The moot team (not just the ones involved with jessup) managed to learn a lot from this experience, Insyaallah we will strive to be even better next year around.

We'll come back stronger than ever, you can bet your money on that *winks*

As belated as this may be, thank you to everybody who had a part in our fight for Jessup 2011, all of you are the real champions in our hearts.

To the Jessup 2011 team, thank you guys for all your dedication and hard work. Even after days gone by and nobody even remembers us anymore, I will remember every drop of sweat and tears which you guys have shed for this endeavor. You guys are the best teamates anybody could ever ask for, I love you people to bits.

Truly, no other words can convey it better than this; Thank you =)

Signing off,
Shairil a.k.a. Mama Shai a.k.a Retired Dictator

Postponement of 'Bilis' and 'Plankton' Squad Activities

2011-01-19T18:45:00.002+08:00

Members of the 'Bilis' and 'Plankton' squad please take note that there will not be any meeting this weekend for both Maritime Moot or the Internal Moot League Ladder. I will be spending time with the senior squad to complete preparations for Jessup 2011.

Sorry chaps.

If you are planning to meet up on your own to discuss a moot question, please go ahead and organise the session(s) yourselves and pass on any questions you have to me later.

Congratulations Mr Zarif Badrul

2011-01-16T16:11:00.002+08:00

Well done to Mr Zarif Badrul who has just been awarded the Tun Suffian Scholarship. Only 11 law undergraduates in Malaysia were awarded this special prize and Zarif was the only winner of this scholarship from UiTM. Congratulations. The Senior Moot Squad is lucky to have a student of your caliber for the Jessup Moots 2011.

Plankton Squad Internal League Moot Ladder

2011-01-15T22:34:00.003+08:00

The provisional rankings for the commencement of the Plankton League Moot Ladder is as follows:

1. Azalea Azarae and Puteri Eleni

2. Azim Razak and Adila Ali

3. Haziq Aziz and Afiqah Zaini

4. Erickka Farrise and Lyyana Jamal

5. Ariff Afizi and Alya Aqilah

Team 1 has challenged Team 5, and Team 2 has challenged Team 4. Good luck for the first round.

'Plankton' Squad Training

2011-01-14T08:42:00.002+08:00

Just a reminder. Training this Saturday afternoon is at 3 p.m. at the usual venue. Special agent Nurhadi Zainol @ Elmo, will also be around. Hadi, please book a room close to the Cempaka moot court. The Jessup Squad will be using it for training. Do not forget to download last year's Law Asia moot problem and the winning memorials from the website (Team No.2010 from the International Rounds page) for your training programme.

New Members of the 'Bilis' Squad

2011-01-10T11:39:00.003+08:00

The current 'Bilis' Squad (also known as the Junior Moot Squad) consists of Alia Amran (IHL Moot 2010 Best Oralist), Atiqah Razif (Most Promising Young Mooter Award, Inter-Part 2010), Auzan Syaidi, Nurhadi Zainol and Zulfikri Ibrahim (Best Mooter in the Final Rounds, Inter-Part 2010).

After the auditions last Saturday, two new mooters have been added to the Junior Moot Squad:

Noor Hannah bt Mohd Nasir

Nur Ellena bt Mohd Razif

Congratulations to both of you. The 'Bilis' Squad is now preparing for the International Maritime Law Arbitration Moots 2011 which will be hosted by NUS in the first week of July 2011

I hope you enjoy reading your moot problem which is only 100++ pages long!

Also joining the 'Bilis' Squad are the following 'solicitors':

Dayang Mazidah

Farhan Zafry

Asmarina Sakila

Marlysa Razak

Zaidatul Aquilla

Welcome to the team newbies!

Members of the 'Plankton' Squad

2011-01-10T11:22:00.004+08:00

The 'Plankton' Squad is the most junior moot squad in UiTM, consisting of students from the Asasi UiTM and KPTM Students. I suppose one could describe them as the Junior 'Junior Squad'. The squad is now preparing for the Law Asia Moot 2011 and will be the youngest mooters that UiTM have ever sent for a competitive moot.

Meet the Planktons who are currently registered with the Moot Club:

Abd Azim Bin Abd Razak

Ariff Hafizi Bin Mohd Radzi

Erickka Farrise Bin Amir

Haziq Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz

Lyyana Bt Jamal Hassan Damanhoori

Nur Adila bt Md Ali

Nurul Azalea Binti Azarae

Nurul Afiqah binti Ali Zaini

Puteri Eleni binti Megat Osman

Welcome to the mooting fraternity of UiTM's Law School.

Planktons who have not registered (i.e. Alya Aqilah and Muhammad Jalil), please see me as soon as possible to register. You can contact me at:

dr_irwinooi_uitm@yahoo.co.uk

Audition for the 'Bilis' Squad in preparation for Jessup 2012

2011-01-03T10:06:00.003+08:00

Those students in Parts 1-4 of BLS who are interested in joining the 'Bilis' Moot Squad, please show up for auditions at 3.30 p.m., Saturday, 8 January 2011, Cempaka Moot Court. Please report to Miss Ummi Hani and Dr Irwin U.J. Ooi, your moot team advisors.

The 'Bilis' Squad is the Junior Moot Squad. Your primary objective is mooting for UiTM's Law School at next year's Jessup moots (2012), after the current senior squad retires. Those who successfully pass the audition will join existing teams members in preparing for the following moots: International Maritime Law Arbitration Moot 2011, Law Asia Moot 2011 and International Humanitarian Law Moot 2011.

For the audition, please pick one ground from the Inter-Part Moot 2010 moot problem and prepare a submission which is no longer than 10 minutes. Be prepared for Q and A on the legal issues raised in your submission.

Good luck! See you at the audition.

P.S. Existing 'Bilis' squad team members (Hadi, Auzan, Atiqah, Alia and Fikri, plus solicitors Afif and Ashraf) need not re-audition.

Calling all members of the 'Plankton' Moot Squad

2011-01-03T09:59:00.002+08:00

The two Asasi / Matriculation teams from Shah Alam which took part in last year's Inter-Part Moots (i.e. the Dean's Challenge Trophy), please meet with your moot team advisors, Miss Ummi Hani and Dr Irwin U.J. Ooi at the Cempaka Moot Court, Saturday, 8 January 2011, 2.00 p.m. This is a preliminary meeting to fix your training schedule for the Law Asia Moot 2011. Welcome to the competitive mooting fraternity of UiTM's Law School.

Honourable Retirements in 2010

2010-12-29T06:49:00.003+08:00

Honourable mention here of those mooters who have retired from the moot squad in 2010:

Azad Akhbar Khan (Law Asia 2009, 2010, and IHL 2009) and Daniel Nizam (Law Asia 2009, 2010 and Maritime 2010). Both will be commencing their LL.B(Hons.), congratulations for qualifying for that programme. When both of you become famous senior partners at a big law firm, I expect you to contribute ten percent of your firm's profits to the Moot Club. ;-)

Kodie Hassan (Law Asia 2010). Reverting back to her role as Secretary 'Extraordinaire' of the Moot Club. As UiTM will be hosting the Malaysia National Rounds of Jessup 2011, her administrative expertise will be sorely needed by the faculty and the club. Ellie (Moot Club President), you have another 'slave' to work with! ;-)

Retirement from competitive does not mean in activity, and I expect all of you to be contributing as trainers for the 'Plankton' and 'Bilis' squads, ... ... ... and also all the 'makan-makan' sessions which the Food Club, I mean Moot Club is famous for.

Have a great 2011. :-)

2010 - A Great Year for the UiTM Moot Club

2010-12-27T19:16:00.002+08:00

It is that time of the year again when one cannot help but reminisce about the year that is about to come to an end. The overwhelming feeling that I get for 2010 is what a wonderful year it has been and that an even better year lies ahead. What can I say, I am an optimist ... at least, most of the time when I am not cynical.

2010 kicked off with a fantastic win at the Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. The senior squad at that time (who are not sadly in retirement) consisting of Azinuddin Karim, Afif Ahmayuddin, Hazralika Hamzah and Faez Razak won the National Rounds for UiTM, the very first win for the university in its history. What made the victory even more meaningful was that this very same foursome also won the Best Memorial prize and Hazralika Hamzah pick up the Best Oralist prize. As a coach, I would have been happy if the team had just won the best team trophy, but winning every single prize on offer was an achievement beyond my wildest dreams. This awesome foursome will forever be remembered and given a special place in the history of UiTM.

Inspired by this, the 'Bilis' (i.e. Junior) Moot Squad at that time (who are currently the senior squad preparing for Jessup 2011) had famous victories over Melbourne University and Southampton University at the International Maritime Law Arbitration Moot 2010 during the first week of July. That team, consisting of Shairil Farhana (captain), Khairil Kahlid (vice-captain), Arina Lum and Zarif Shafiq, came back with the first ever prize won a UiTM moot team at an international competition when they picked up the 'Achievement Award'. I just cannot wait until January 2011 when you guys start 'kicking-butt' at the Malaysian National Rounds of Jessup. No pressure! ;-)

Very soon after, it was time for the Law Asia Moots 2010 at KLRCA. This time, a team led by anchor mooter Zarif Shafiq and Arina Lum as well as Nurhadi Zainol made it to the final round. Azad Akhbar Khan also deserves a special mention as he finished as one of the top three mooters for that competition.

With the distraction of most competitions behind the club by August, the UiTM Moot Club had the time to concentrate on internal matters. The moot squads conducted very informative workshops on mooting at branch campuses. As a result of their efforts, when the Inter-Part Moot Competition (i.e. the Dean's Challenge Trophy) was held, there was a record number of entries. This competition unearthed a number of gems. For example, Atiqah Razif (winner of the Most Promising Young Mooter Prize) and Zulfikri Ibrahim (winner of the Best Mooter in the Final Rounds). There were also two teams of very enthusiastic mooters from Asasi / Matrix Shah Alam who will now form part of the 'Plankton' squad (i.e. Baby / very Junior Moot Squad) as well as mooters from Kedah's Asasi / Matrix programme who will be coming into Part One of BLS in January 2011 who will be invited to audition for the regular 'Bilis' (Junior) squad.

Last but not least, the icing on the cake came at the International Humanitarian Law Moots in December. The defence team consisting of Atiqah Razif and Alia Amran made it all the way to the finals. Alia added more icing on the cake by winning the best mooter prize. By the way, both your names are on the list for Jessup 2012!

As I said earlier, it has been a great year. I wonder what's in store next year? If the rock on which this success was built on, Miss Ummi Hani continues to give her time, effort, and geeky knowledge of International Law, great things lie ahead. Thanks also to Mazlina Mahali for keeping the club afloat with your administrative endeavours and thanks to the faculty as well as its leadership for continuing to support the club.

IHL Moots 2010, 10 and 11 December @ UM

2010-12-13T15:47:00.002+08:00

Congratulations to Joshua and Danni (UUM) who defended their title by winning the competition again this year. All the best in Hong Kong. I know you will make Malaysia proud. I hope you will go one better this year and win the international rounds as well.

Further congratulations to the UiTM 'Bilis' (i.e. Junior) Moot Squad for a great performance. The team consisting of Muhammad Nurhadi Zainol and Auzan Syaidi (representing the prosecution) as well as Alia Sumayyah Amran and Nur Atiqah Razif (representing the defendant) performed beyond expectations.

In particular, the defence team of Alia and Atiqah, mooted fantastically and made it to the finals where they eventually lost to Joshua and Danni. Special mention should also be made of Alia, as she won the Best Oralist prize.

The best memorial prize went to ATC. Well done for posting a very good score. Better luck in the oral rounds next year.

Last but not least, thank you to Mr Y.L. Fork and the ICRC as well as UM (i.e. especially Dr Azmi Sharom and Dr Sujatha Balan) for organising a great tournament.

Preparation for International Humanitarian Law Moots 2010

2010-11-10T14:54:00.002+08:00

Preparation begins on the day after the final paper. Therefore on Monday, 15 November 2010, please meet at the Cempaka Moot Court at 9 a.m. Miss Ummi Hani will kick off the session a lecture on the applicable law. We will then look at the moot problem and do some brain storming. The team will have to complete the memorials by 19 November 2010 for submission. Good luck. Current 'Bilis' squad members Atiqah, Ojan, Alia and Hadi, please be there. Joining you will be some 'newbies' Khairul Aisamuddin bin Abdul Rahman, Mohd Ashraf bin Azni, Mohd Afif bin Daud and Nur Elissa Baharudin.

Any students from Parts 1 to 3 of BLS who are still interested in joining the moot team, please show up prepared with a five minutes submission based on the Inter-Part Moot 2010 problem question, so that you can audition for a place in the final line-up.

Auditions for the Jessup 2012 Team

2010-10-19T22:41:00.002+08:00

Those interested in representing UiTM as mooters, please show up on Friday, 22 October 2010, 3-5 pm at the Cempaka One Moot Court for an audition

Please prepare a submission based on this year's inter-part moot problem that is no longer than 10 minutes and get ready for lots of Q and A. You will be appearing before a panel of selectors consisting mainly of moot club advisers.

For those selected, your first moot will be the International Humanitarian Law moots which will take place sometime in early December.

Those currently in Parts 1-3 are strongly encouraged to audition as those selected will be part of UiTM's team for Jessup 2012.

UiTM vs Queensland University of Technology Annual Moot

2010-10-19T21:58:00.007+08:00

On 28 September 2010, the Maritime Moot team from QUT mooted against the Maritime Moot team from UiTM. No memorial were involved, but the teams agreed that the Maritime Moot 2010 (Sydney) problem would form the basis of the moot.

In the first tie, UiTM's team consisting of Miss Arina Lum and co-counsel, Mr Zarif Shafiq as claimants took on the respondents of QUT who were represented by Mr Isaac Buckley and co-counsel, Miss Jamie Nuich. Renowned barrister and coach of the QUT team, Mr Mark Thomas, sat as the sole arbitrator for this round.

For the second tie, QUT started as claimants instead and were represented by Miss Emma Buckley and Mr Tim Alexander. Responding to the allegations, were UiTM's team consisting of team captain, Miss Shairil Farhana and co-counsel, Mr Khairil Khalid. For this round, yours truly sat as the sole arbitrator.

Under the rules agreed between the team before hand, the home team would only be able to claim the challenge trophy if it won both ties outright. In the event of a draw, with each team taking a tie each, the away team would have the right to take home the challenge trophy.

At the end of both ties, after deliberations between the arbitrators, by a very narrow margin (i.e. splitting hairs here), both ties were awarded to QUT. Therefore, QUT won the right to take home the challenge trophy. However, winning is probably a double edged sword for QUT as that means less luggage space for shopping! Well done chaps!

There was a tie for the best mooter award. Both Miss Shairil Farhana and Mr Tim Alexander were equally amazing! However, in the spirit of giving the advantage to the away team in the event of a tie, Tim took home the trophy. Congratulations!

As the moot was a huge success both academically and socially for both universities, I hope that next year, a team from UiTM will be visiting QUT to try and win back the challenge trophies. Congratulations and well done to both teams. You displayed great mooting skills and I am heartened that the legal profession will not be short of hot shot young lawyers joining its ranks in the not too distant future.

My thanks to all who helped in the organising of the moots, especially the moot club and its enthusiastic 'moot clubbers' under the leadership of its president, Miss Elli Suraya.

If there was one disappointment, it was the campus monkeys not keeping to schedule and failing to appear at the rubbish dump behind the Cempaka One building. Sorry Jamie! Good news though, the very next day, I did see them at the dumpster behind PTAR II (the university's second library building). Better luck next time Jamie.

Recruitment for the Junior Moot Squad

2010-09-17T21:16:00.001+08:00

As soon as the semester resumes, the moot team will looking to add to the current junior team. Your first moot will be the Maritime Moot 2011. We are looking for mooters currently in Parts 1, 2 and 3 of BLS so that you will still be young enough to be around for Jessup 2012. Best Mooter in the general rounds and winner of the Special Mention award at the Inter-Part Moots 2010, you have automatic entry into the junior squad. All other participants in the Inter-Parts, please get prepared for an audition based on the Inter-Part moot question. Prepare a submission on just one ground that is no longer than 10 minutes and get prepared for loads of Q and A. The date, time and venue will be announced soon. I look forward to seeing all of you at the auditions. :-)

Invitation to Participate in Maritime Moots 2011, Singapore

2010-09-17T20:49:00.004+08:00

The following is an invitation to take part in the Maritime Moots 2011 which will be held in Singapore, hosted jointly by NUS and Murdoch University, to which I have of course replied that UiTM will be sending a team. Here is the invitation:

September 2010

School of Law

South Street, Murdoch

Western Australia 6150

Telephone: +61 8 9360 6050

Facsimilie: +61 8 9310 6671

http://wwwlaw.murdoch.edu.au/

THE TWELVTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW ARBITRATION

MOOT COMPETITION, 1 - 5 July 2011, SINGAPORE

The Murdoch University School of Law is pleased to invite your law school to compete in the

12th International Maritime Law Arbitration Moot Competition. The Competition will be

hosted by our colleagues at the Faculty of Law at the National University of Singapore

(NUS), Asia’s Global Law School. Singapore is an amazing and vibrant city, of great

significance for regional and global trade with the port in Singapore being the busiest in the

world .The student teams are bound to have an incredible experience in this city.

In 2010 the competition was organised by the Murdoch University School of Law and hosted

by the University of Technology, Sydney. Our largest field ever, 19 teams from 7 nations

competed in the event. The competitors were:

University of Technology, Sydney

Queensland University of Technology

University of Queensland

University of Malaya

University of Hong Kong

The University of Notre Dame Australia

University of Melbourne

National University of Singapore

Gujarat National Law University

University of Western Sydney

City University of Hong Kong

Universitas Gadjah Mada

Universitas Indonesia

Murdoch University

National Law University Jodhpur

MARA University of Technology (UiTM)

University of Sydney

University of Southampton

Universitas Padjadjaran

In 2010, the grand final of the competition was won by the National University Singapore.

The key elements of the competition are:

• The problem will be released in early December 2010

• The teams prepare a 25 page memoranda in support of both the claimant and

the respondent, due in April. These memoranda are judged by an international

panel who determine the best written memoranda prizes.

• The teams attend the oral competition at the host university. Each team argues

four times in the general rounds, twice for the claimant and twice for the

respondent. Distinguished members of the legal profession, judiciary and

shipping industry participate as arbitrators.

Awards are presented in the following categories:

• Best written memoranda, and runners up

• Highest Ranked team in the General Rounds

• Best speaker in the General Rounds

• Encouragement Award( team and/or individual) and the Sarah Derrington Award

• Best speaker in the Finals and the Ron Salter Award

• Runner Up - Best speaker in the Finals

• Runner up Team - Orals

• Winning Team – Orals

• Spirit of the Moot award

• Achievement awards (individual and/or team)

The moot is a competition open to any law students (either undergraduate or postgraduate)

who have not been admitted to practice. The moot problem will involve a dispute relating to

commercial maritime law and the controversy will be determined before an arbitral tribunal

pursuant to the L.M.A.A. terms (2006) or other recognised terms. Students need not have

previously studied maritime law and in fact several past winning teams had no prior

knowledge of maritime law before undertaking the moot.

An enjoyable social program accompanies the competition to enable students to meet with

senior members of the profession and the maritime industry and to forge contacts with

students from other law schools. We pride ourselves on running a friendly but intellectually

rigorous competition which gives a real insight into this fascinating area of law.

Details of the competition, together with the registration form for 2011, can be found at:

http://www.law.murdoch.edu.au/maritimemoot/index.html The website also contains the

problem from previous years and the winning memoranda.

Enquiries about registration should be forwarded to the moot’s co-ordinator, Miriam Everall:

m.everall@murdoch.edu.au .

I hope your Law School will consider participating in this competition. I look forward to

welcoming your team to Singapore in 2011!

Yours sincerely

Dr Kate Lewins

Moot Director

K.Lewins@murdoch.edu.au

Inter-Part Moots: Dean's Challenge Trophy 2010

2010-09-04T22:54:00.003+08:00

Thanks to Ellie Suraya (Moots Club President) for the list of the winners. Congratulations to every participant and the prize winners. You are all winners for boldly going where no ordinary student has dared to.

For the record, this is the roll of honours:

Champions (from Part III BLS)
1. Nur Amalina Ghazali
2. Mohd. Zulfikri Bin Ibrahim

Runner Up (from Part III BLS)
1. Nur Atiqah Razif
2. Atiqah Anas

Note: Only one mark separated the Champion and runner-up teams! Well done to both teams. A truly fantastic moot in the finals although you were thoroughly grilled by a very proactive bench.

Best Mooter General Rounds
Darren N Punnai

Best Mooter - Finals

Mohd. Zulfikri Bin Ibrahim

Special Mention Award (for most promising young mooter)
Nur Atiqah Razif

Spirit Of Interpart Award
1. Kedah Team 1 (Ellena's team) (for being crazy enough to take part even though you only had a week's preparation and were prepared to travel all the way down to Shah Alam)
2. Asasi Team 1 (Lyyana's team) (for daring to take the challenge even though you have not even made it into the BLS programme yet)

Moot Club Inter-Part Moots 2010 Workshop at Kedah

2010-09-04T10:25:00.002+08:00

Once again, thanks to Shairil Farhana Ruslan for writing the following report on the workshop at Kedah:

MOOT WORKSHOP, KEDAH

After the roaring success of the moot workshop in Kuantan, the whole team was pretty hyped-up to go to Kedah and (hopefully) create a similar historical event. As the Sungai Petani campus is located about 300kms from Shah Alam, we had to leave a day earlier as the trip would take approximately 5 to 6 hours. However we forget to take into account that, as it was the fasting season so certain special circumstances would arise. The compulsory stop to break fast plus a few extremely long breaks to “recuperate” turned the 6 hours journey into 8 hours. Needless to say, by the time we saw the signboard for Sungai Petani, nobody wanted to see the sight of a bus ever again.

Our accommodation in Sungai Petani was a place called Northern Lodge, located just behind Park Avenue. Other than the memorable first night of trauma for Elli and Cik Pah as they were attacked by a colony of ants, the place is relatively acceptable. Initially we wanted to label it as an average but the fact that its only 5 minutes walk away from Nasi Kandar Pelita gives it a slightly higher rating.

The next morning the moot lemmings woke up bright and early and headed straight for Merbok campus that is located about 15 minutes drive from the hotel. For those of us who did their foundation in Kedah, we were bombarded by memories of studying here the moment the smell of rubber trees permeated the bus. Plus the sight of paddy fields all bright yellow and heavy with grain does strike a chord of melancholy in all of us. Memorable, but I digress. The campus itself had gone through a substantial upgrade since the last time I was here. It now boasts a new mosque, a new academic block plus a well-needed hostel. Kudos to Prof Dr Zaliha Binti Haji Hussin for her ever vigilant effort to upgrade the standard of this campus.

On to the event of the day!

The number of attendees for the moot workshop seemed smaller as compared to the one in Kuantan however it may have been because the venue was bigger. We had to conduct the workshop in the mosque as apparently all the other halls were already booked for other programmes. This made the presentation rather difficult as the sound was bouncing out of the mosque (the mosque had no walls). There was even a moment where we thought we had completely lost the audience’s focus. However the team gritted their teeth and put in an extra effort to be as interactive and approachable as possible and fortunately we managed to pull the audience’s attention again.

The mooting demonstration was held in another venue, Dewan Sarjana as we decided that it was not feasible for it to be held in the mosque. Again, the question and format of LawAsia was used. This time around the mooting demonstration was done by :

1) Claimant : Arina Lum and Izzat Asyraf

2) Respondent : Danial Nizam and Azad Akbar

3) Arbitrators : Afif Ahmayuddin and Shairil Farhana

Eventhough this particular workshop was a bit challenging for us due to the logistical issues, however all our efforts paid off when we found out that Sungai Petani campus would be sending 3 teams for the inter-part mooting competition. Again, congratulations are due to the moot team for pulling this off.

All of us can’t wait to see all the participants battling it out this coming weekend, hopefully we will get to see appearances of future moot gods or goddesses that will continue the great standards achieved by the Jessup 2010 team.

Moot Club Inter-Part Moots 2010 Workshop at Kuantan

2010-09-04T10:20:00.002+08:00

Thanks to Shairil Farhana Ruslan, team captain of the senior moot squad, for writing the following report:

MOOT WORKSHOP, UiTM KUANTAN

In lieu with the upcoming Inter-part Mooting Competition which will be held soon, the president of the Mooting Club, Madame Elli had a dream that this competition would not only comprise of participants from the Bachelor of legal Studies (BLS. Hons) programme in Shah Alam but also the Asasi students studying in the branch campuses. To those of you who have had the privilege of knowing Elli will be aware of one of her unique attributes that is once she wraps her mind around an idea, she will never it go. Period.

Thus, because of this idea, on the morning of the 14^th August 2010, about 20 committee members and mooters got on board a bus and headed to UiTM Kuantan for the first ever Moot Workshop for Asasi-ans. Prior to this, the club only conducted moot workshops for the participants in the main campus but as we hope to induct more fresh blood into the mooting family, so we decided to expand and hold mini workshops for the asasi students studying in Kuantan and Kedah.

Honestly speaking, we was not expecting much of a response as most of us could still distinctly remember how uninterested we were with mooting when we were doing our foundation in law. Or maybe that was because we were uninformed, hmm. Anyhow, so imagine our surprise at the overwhelming response we received during the workshop in Kuantan. There was of course the initial awkward beginning but once the workshop got in full swing, the interaction between the speakers and the audience was awesome. The mooters put up a great presentation; in fact they even managed to make the boring part of preparing bundles of authorities sound interesting, that’s a feat in itself!

We also conducted a moot demonstration, using the LawAsia mooting competition question and format. I would think that this was the main attraction of the day as from this the participants finally got a clear idea as to what is mooting. The mooting demonstration was done by :

1) Claimant : Khairil Khalid and Izzat Asyraf

2) Respondent : Danial Nizam and Siti Khadijah

3) Arbitrators : Afif Ahmayuddin and Shairil Farhana

All in all, the workshop lasted for about 4 hours, and in those 4 hours we managed to persuade 2 teams to enter the Inter-part competition. Congratulations people! Not bad for a first time event.

Next up, UiTM Sungai Petani!

We hope to be able to create another miraculous event next weekend in Kedah. Hopefully we can fulfill Elli’s dream of getting 20 teams to participate in the inter-part mooting competition.

Inter-Part Moots: Dean Challenge Trophy 2010 - Clarifications No.1

2010-08-13T09:19:00.004+08:00

These are clarifications to questions posed by Zuraini Ali Musa. The questions are in the black font, whilst the clarifications are in purple.

1. What is the terms, conditions, and exclusions of the restaurant's wi-fi?

The following are Mamak Shy's Bistro terms and conditions for use of the wi-fi services:

1. THE OBLIGATIONS OF MAMAK SHY'S BISTRO

1.1 We will use our reasonable endeavours to make the Service available 24 hours a day, however we will not be liable if for any reason the Service is not available at any time or for any period. Access to the Service may be suspended at any time. If you require any assistance in relation to the Service, you should contact Hotspots 24hr guest support.

1.2 In order to gain access to the Service, you may be required to provide us with certain personal information. We will use such personal information in accordance with relevant data protection legislation. You warrant and undertake to us that all of the personal information you provide is complete and accurate. We will not disclose any personal information which is provided by you to any third party without your permission, other than (i) to any sub-contractors or agents engaged by us to provide any support or administration, facilities management or similar services (subject to such sub-contractors and/or agents undertaking to keep such personal data confidential), (ii) to any company or organisation to which we transfer our responsibilities to provide the services and products to you or (iii) where required by law or made in connection with legal or regulatory proceedings.

2. YOUR OBLIGATIONS

2.1 You will pay the fees due in connection with the Service in accordance with the fee schedule published by us from time to time. We reserve the right to increase or decrease fees for the Service at any time and from time to time.

2.2 You will keep confidential any access codes or passwords provided to you in order to access the Service, and will not disclose them to any other person for any reason. You will be responsible for any loss that arises from you losing, misusing or otherwise disclosing any such access codes or passwords. If you lose any such access codes or passwords, you should contact the Bistro's wi fi technical support immediately.

2.3 The Service is intended to allow you to access the internet in order to use, amongst other things, the worldwide web, e-mail, messaging services and chatrooms. You undertake to us that your behaviour while using the Service will be lawful, honest and proper. Without prejudice to any other provision of this agreement, we may terminate your use of the Service at any time without notice if we become aware of any behaviour that has a negative impact on our equipment or network or the use by other customers of our equipment or network or the internet in general, or which damages, or has the potential to damage, our reputation or standing.

2.4 Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph 2.3 above, you may not:

2.4.1 use the Service for any illegal purpose;
2.4.2 access or attempt to access the Service via more than one device;
2.4.3 access or attempt to access the Service provided to any other customer;
2.4.4 use the Service in such a manner as to host a web or other server, send or facilitate the sending of bulk e-mail or collect third party personal data without appropriate consent;
2.4.5 exceed the download limitations relevant to the particular period of use by you; or
2.4.6 resell, or attempt to resell, the Service to any third party.

3. BREACH OF THE AGREEMENT

We shall investigate any suspected breach of the agreement by you, and reserve the right to take such action as we, in our sole discretion deem appropriate, including suspension or withdrawal of the Service with immediate effect and without notice to you.

4. DISCLAIMER

4.1 You acknowledge that your use of the Service is at your own risk. The Service is provided on an "as-available" basis, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, we hereby exclude all and any warranties or conditions of any kind, whether express or implied, in respect of the Service and any content or data obtained or downloaded from it. Without prejudice to the foregoing generality:
4.1.1 we do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free at all times or will meet your requirements; and
4.1.2 we are not responsible for the security, integrity, accuracy or completeness of any information that you transmit or receive while using the Service.
4.2 The disclaimer under this paragraph 4 is without prejudice to your statutory and other rights as a consumer.

5. LIABILITY

5.1 Nothing in this agreement shall exclude or limit your or our liability for death or personal injury.
5.2 Subject to paragraph 5.1, we shall not be liable to you in contract, tort or otherwise arising in connection with this agreement for any economic losses (including, without limitation, loss of revenues, profits, contracts, business or anticipated savings), any loss of goodwill or reputation, any special, indirect or consequential losses or any destruction or loss of data.
5.3 Our liability to you shall be restricted to the amount of fees you have paid to us in connection with the services. If no fees have been paid then our liability is effectively limited to zero Ringgit.
5.4 If any part of the Service is not available to you through no fault on our part or where the failure, suspension or withdrawal of the Service is beyond our reasonable control, we shall not be obliged to pay any compensation to you. If the Service is not available to you due to any failure on our part, we may, at our sole discretion, re-imburse you in respect of an appropriate proportion of the fees you have paid which relate to that period of unavailability of the Service, if you have paid for such services.
5.5 You will indemnify us against all and any losses or claims arising from any breach of the agreement by you, and against any claims or legal proceedings arising from your use of the Service which are brought or threatened against us by another person.

6. GENERAL

6.1 We reserve the right to amend this agreement at any time.
6.2 You acknowledge and agree that all intellectual property rights (including, but not limited to copyrights (including rights in software), trade marks, database rights, patents and inventions) in and relating to the Service are owned by us and our licensors or contractors. Nothing in this agreement operates to transfer any such intellectual property rights to you.
6.3 We reserve the right to assign or sub-contract any of our rights and obligations under this agreement without notice to you.
6.4 If any provision of this agreement is found to be unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the other provisions will nevertheless remain in full force and effect.
6.5 This agreement is governed by the laws of Malaysia and the parties hereto submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Malaysian courts, and if there were to be an appeal, to the jurisdiction of the Moot Court of Appeal UiTM.
BY CLICKING ON THE LOGIN BUTTON ABOVE YOU WILL BE DEEMED TO HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD, ACCEPTED AND AGREED TO BEING BOUND BY THE FOREGOING TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE.

2. Can we raise new ground of appeals?

No. The appellant has filed an appeal on the grounds given in the notice of appeal. You are to adhere strictly to those grounds of appeal.

3. Brief background of Mr. Toopie Aduslalu.

Mr Toopie Aduslalu's background has been provided by Haryanti Mansuri J in her judgment.

4. when do we have to exchange the bundle of authorities?

There will be no exchange of the bundle of authorities. Just prepare one for the bench, one for your opponent and a suitable number for your own personal reference. On the day of the moot, just hand a copy to the bench and hand over another copy to your opponent. You may retrieve the copies after the moot.

5. Is the doctrine of stare decisis applicable in this case?

As the case was litigated in a High Court in Malaysia and will go before an appellate court in that same jurisdiction, all the relevant laws of Malaysia are applicable, including the principle of 'stare decisis'.

6. Is Aini Lambat a part time employee or full time employee?

Aini Lambat is a full time employee of Mamak Shy's Bistro. She has been working there since last year. Previously, she was employed by Diva Unlimited Sdn Bhd, a company specialising in modelling shoes.

7. How old is Mr. Toopie Aduslalu?

Mr Toopie Aduslalu is past the age of majority. His exact age is not relevant to the legal issues at hand.

Law Asia Moots 2010: Day 3 - Final Rounds

2010-08-09T09:56:00.004+08:00

Congratulations to Zarif, Arina and Hadi who qualified for the final round. Although you did not win the competition, I am very proud of you. Who would have thought that it would be the 'bilis' in the moot team that would go so far.

Congratulations also to the other UiTM teams that did not make it past the preliminary rounds. You live to do battle another day. It will be a different story at Jessup. The important thing here is that you've managed to squeeze in more mooting experience and as a result you will be a better person. Remember the prophetic words of Raphael Tay, it is not the winning that counts, it is whether you fulfill your potential. All of you are in the process of doing that and I look forward to seeing you celebrating in victory in a moot competition not too far in the future.

For the record, the winning team was Taylor's University College. Congratulations, you are worthy champions and will make Malaysia proud at the international competition. Nabila Kamarudin, you are an amazing mooter and really unlucky not to win the best mooter prize when you finished runner-up. ATC was the first runner-up and will also be joining Taylor's at the international competition. In third place was KDU, followed by IIUM and UiTM respectively.

The best mooter prize was won by Nora Huseinovic. Congratulations! You are the most systematic mooter that I have seen in the last five years and the clarity of your arguments deservedly won the hearts and minds of many judges. Special mention must also be made of the following UiTM mooters who finished in the top ten of the mooters rankings:

Azad bin Akbar Khan - 3rd place.

Shairil Farhana Ruslan - 6th place. Really fantastic performance considering the fact that you only had a few days to train and had to fly back from South Korea just the day before the competition.

Mohd Zarif Shafiq - 7th place. An amazing performance, as you are only in your first year (having just started part 2 of BLS). I have heard through the grapevine that you now have a fan club as you have been described as having that 'WOW' factor.

Law Asia Moots 2010: Day 2 - Preliminary Rounds

2010-08-08T12:49:00.004+08:00

UiTM sent four teams for the competition. The composition of the teams were as follows:

Team 1 (M2070)
Muhammad Danial Bin Mohamad Nizam – Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 3
Azad Bin Akbar Khan – Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 3
Alia Sumayyah Bt Amran – Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 2

Team 2 (M2090)
Muhammad Khairil Bin Khalid – Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) 2
Izzat Asyraf Bin Zamri – Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) 3
Siti Khadijah Bt Hassan Hasri – Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) 2

Team 3 (M3040)
Mohd Zharif Shafiq Bin Badrul Hisam – Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 1
Arina Bt Mohd Fairin Lum – Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 2
Muhammad Nurhadi Bin Zainol – Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 2

Team 4 (M3010)
Auzan Syaidi Bin Abdul Lateh – Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 2
Shairil Farhana Bt Ruslan – Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 3

(Note: Hilwa Nazifa Bt Bustam – Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 3 did not moot for this Law Asia competition as she withdrew from the Team M3010 just a couple of weeks before the competition).

By the end of the day, after all the scores were added up, Team 3 consisting of Zarif, Arina and Hadi qualified for the finals. The other teams that qualified for the final were Taylor's, KDU, UIA and ATC.

There are just too many rounds / ties to write about, and there will not be enough space here. Anyway, here are some of the 'juicy' details:

One team was actually sent into the wrong room and mooted against a team that they were not scheduled to meet. Luckily, no harm was done and all the other team coaches agreed to just proceed despite this irregularity. This is definitely in the spirit of the Law Asia competition. Unlike the Jessup national rounds, there was no petty squabbling over rules and lodging a complaint at every perceived minor infringement of the rules. Bravo to all the team coaches for being civilized and the mooters for exercising restraint.

Law Asia Moots 2010: Day 1 - Registration and Checking In

2010-08-07T22:05:00.003+08:00

The team booked a bus from 'unit kenderaan' to travel to the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA). Just as the bus was about to get on the Federal Highway, the clutch froze up and the smell of something burning permeated the bus. The driver stopped and called for a replacement bus. Ironically, the clutch was replaced just recently and unfortunately had to break down. The replacement bus arrived after a long wait. It was a small rickety mini bus and the whole team hopped on board.

Just as the mini bus reached the Batu Tiga toll along the Federal Highway, the driver received instructions to stop the bus. Apparently, the bus was old and probably could not take the stresses of being driven into Kuala Lumpur. A third bus was sent to pick up the team. This time, a UiTM stage bus was sent to rescue us. But his time, we had already missed the registration session. Miss Ummi and Puan Mazlina who wisely took the option of driving there in the comfort, luckily managed to get the organisers to waive registration for the team. By the time we reached KLRCA, it was 5.30 pm. It had taken us three hours to get from Shah Alam to Jalan Conlay.

After a brief word with Raphael Tay, the charismatic organising chairman of the Law Asia Moot, the team made its way to its base of operations, Citrus Hotel, situated along Jalan Raja Laut. The rooms in the hotel are 'cosy', i.e. you can substitute that with the word 'small' here. The service at the Squirrel Cafe was really slow and the food, over-priced for a hotel of this stature. Just a short note to myself, 'do not have dinner at that place again'.

The rooms were allocated as follows:
513 - Miss Shairil Farhana and Miss Arina Lum.
512 - Pn Mazlina Mahali and Miss Ummi Hani.
511 - En Muhammad Danial and En Azad Akbar Khan.
510 - Miss Siti Khodijah Hassan and Miss Alia Amran.
405 - En Muhammad Nurhadi and En Auzan Syaidi
315 - Your's truly and En Mohd Zarif Badrul
309 - En Izzat Asyraf and En Muhammad Khairil Khalid

Dean's Challenge Trophy 2010: Inter-Part Moot Question

2010-08-03T17:35:00.001+08:00

DEAN’S CHALLENGE TROPHY 2010

MOOT QUESTION

The following is a copy of Haryanti Mansuri J’s judgment in the case of Toopie Aduslalu v Mamak Shy’s Bistro Sdn Bhd (Civil Suit No: 210-2009) (Transcript 23 July 2010)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF MALAYA, SHAH ALAM

CIVIL SUIT NO: 210-2009

BETWEEN

TOOPIE ADUSLALU … PLAINTIFF

AND

MAMAK SHY’S BISTRO SDN BHD … DEFENDANT

JUDGMENT

HARYANTI MANSURI J

The Facts

[1] Mr Toopie Aduslalu, a citizen of the Federated Republic of Cheapmonk, was on holiday in Malaysia early last year. He had just attended a conference in Kuala Lumpur and presented his paper on ‘The True Nature of Gravity: A Study of Falling Acorns and Why Einstein General Theory of Relativity is Wrong’ at the International Theoretical Physics Conference 2009. Whilst visiting Shah Alam, he stopped at Mamak Shy’s Bistro for lunch.

[2] Mamak Shy’s Bistro is owned by Mamak Shy’s Bistro Sdn Bhd. The majority shareholder of this enterprise is Miss Shyla Funhaha Rusa. She is known to her customers as being very introverted and frequently too embarrassed to do anything in public. Her famous quip is: ‘I let my food do the talking’. Mamak Shy’s signature dish is venison curry, made from a recipe that Miss Shyla learnt from her father but she has had to water down his recipe for commercial purposes as the original was just too darn hot for most Malaysians.

[3] I would like to thank both the Plaintiff and the Defendant for contributing to the cost of a ‘bungkus’ of Mamak Shy’s famous ‘nasi briyani’ with venison curry and pickled vegetables. It is important for a judge to put the dispute in context by getting the experiencing the actual taste and smell where the incident complained of took place.

[4] When Mr Toopie Aduslalu had lunch at Mamak Shy’s Bistro, he ordered its signature dish and a cup of coffee. It was prepared by the head chef, Mr Lazat Babab, who brought the plate personally to Mr Toopie Aduslalu. As he was tucking into the juicy and tasty morsels on his plate, he noticed a sign just behind the cashier’s counter which stated: ‘Free wi-fi at Mamak Shy’s Bistro. Subject to the restaurant’s usual terms, conditions and exclusions’. When Mr Toopie Aduslalu asked the cashier, Mr Mazin Laidan, about the service, he was told: ‘Just read the instructions and then log in. The ID is Arif Qafir, and the password is Ojanda666. You can find the terms and conditions on our website after you log in’.

[5] As Mr Toopie Aduslalu launched his Safari browser, he was directed straight to the log in page at . He typed in the ID and password that he was given, but was not given direct access to the Internet. Instead he was first directed to a page titled ‘Friends of Mamak Shy’. Here, there were instructions to first time users to register their names, identity card number or passport number, mobile number and home address. When Mr Toopie Aduslalu asked a waitress, Aini Lambat, as why Mamak Shy’s Bistro needed so many personal details, she answered that it was ‘company policy, so please do not complain. I am just the messenger, not the problem’. Mr Toopie Aduslalu then angrily replied ‘not only are you late with the coffee I ordered, you are rude as well. So where is my coffee?’

[6] Ten minutes later, Miss Aini Lambat served the coffee, and a complimentary cup of ‘Teh Alia’, Mamak Shy’s signature ‘spicy ginger tea’. Mr Toopie scowled at her and said: ‘You cannot even get my order right. I ordered coffee and you also have to bring along a cup of smelly tea’. Miss Aini Lambat lost her temper and emptied both cups onto his laptop. Mr Toopie Aduslalu then left the bistro in a huff and threw an RM100 note on the table.

[6] Later that night, Mr Toopie Aduslalu carefully dried the laptop with a hair-dryer at Hotel Immu. When was working on his laptop, he discovered that it kept shutting down and rebooting itself. He could not get access to important data stored inside which was needed to present a second paper to fellow physicists at the conference. He called the hotel’s concierge for help and was directed to a company, Decoder Sdn Bhd, that provided 24 hours services for those with laptops in distress. Miss Codee, a technician from the company dropped by the hotel to examine the laptop. After running diagnostics, with the ‘Para Amore’ programme, Miss Codee concluded: ‘Your laptop is sticky. There is a lot of dried up liquid all over the place. I have tried to remove all the relevant parts and clean it. I cannot guarantee that it is going to work properly again. By the way, you probably also picked up a Myhali-hali Trojan when you logged into the bistro’s wi-fi system. Your system is now compromised’. When the laptop was switched on, it would not reboot.

[7] Miss Codee then charged Mr Toopie Aduslalu RM5,000 for her services. He fainted when he saw the bill and knocked his head as he fell to the ground. The doctor on duty at Hotel Immu, Dr Honey Berry, treated Mr Toopie Aduslalu for concussion and stitched a gash on the back of his head. The medical bill was RM1,500.

[8] In order to get a copy of the data stored on the laptop, Mr Toopie Aduslalu had to use a special courier to send the laptop to its manufacturer so that the information stored on the hard disk could be read and copied after a forensic process was carried out on the data storage system. I understand that the bill was in US dollars but I believe that the equivalent cost here is RM7,000.

Mr Toopie Aduslalu’s claim for breach of contract

[9] Customers expect to be treated properly when they visit a bistro or restaurant, just like a visit to the hotel when one is on holiday. Miss Aini Lambat’s behaviour as an employee of the Mamak Shy’s Bistro was unforgivable. A person in the service industry is not allowed to insult a customer by telling him not to complaint. This country is a democracy, everybody has the right to make their displeasure known, especially when Mamak Shy’s Bistro is charging an exorbitant sum of RM50 for its famous ‘nasi briyani’ with venison curry and pickled vegetables. The higher the price payable for a meal, the greater is the expectation of the customer. Mr Toopie is entitled to a quantum of damages which reflects the failure of Mamak Shy’s Bistro to discharge its contractual duty of providing a pleasurable dining experience to its customer. This is the core contractual obligation of a restaurateur to its customers. The quantum of damages for this is to be assessed by the Senior Registrar, Mr Hadee Yahkop after this trial.

[10] A diner who uses the wi-fi services at a restaurant or bistro is also entitled to expect that the service is safe for use. Although this is not the primary business of the bistro or restaurant, it is under a contractual duty to provide a service that is free from viruses and trojans. A customer is attracted to a restaurant because of such services and had a contractual right to expect that the service is safe for use. For this breach, I am allowing Decoder Sdn Bhd’s bill for RM5,000 and any other losses that flow from the damage caused by the Myhali-hali Trojan to the laptop, such as the cost of purchasing an equivalent new laptop at RM7,000 as well as the technical forensics bill for that same amount.

Mr Toopie Aduslalu’s claim for trespass to goods

[11] No person is allowed to violate goods that belong to another. When Miss Aini Lambat lost her temper and emptied both cups onto the laptop, this was a legal wrong commit towards goods belonging to Mr Toopie Aduslalu. There is no legal justification for this act, not even if a customer was rude to a waitress. Miss Aini Lambat should not act like a prima donna and learn to act more courteously towards people who are in fact ensuring that she still has a job at the restaurant. Even though she did not physically touch the laptop, the drinks that she poured were an extension of her arms that unlawfully trespassed on the laptop.

[12] I have awarded the cost of the laptop, the technical forensic’s bill and Decoder Sdn Bhd’s bill under the above head of contractual damages, so I will not allow the plaintiff to profit twice over from this. Even if the Mr Toopie Aduslalu’s contractual claim against Mamak Shy’s Bistro is in the unlikely event defeated, both those items of damages can also be claim as damages for this tort. However, I will award the medical bill of RM1,500 under this claim as this was a foreseeable loss that was inflicted on Mr Toopie Aduslalu. There is a clear chain of causation here. If the drinks were not poured over the laptop, then he would have had to engage Miss Codee’s services. Then if Miss Codee did not have a bill to show him, he would not have fainted and gashed his head, thus leading to the medical treatment.

Conclusion

[13] The Defendant is liable for all of the Plaintiff’s losses and injuries either in contract or in tort. I hereby dismiss the Defendant’s defence and award cost to the Plaintiff. If the Defendant is not satisfied with my decision, I suggest that it appeals directly to the geniuses who sit on the Moot Court of Appeal UiTM.

[14] For the record, the court also likes to takes judicial notice of the fact that Given Chee Shoes worn by Miss Aini Lambat are very nice and should nominated for an award.

Advocates appearing in court:
For the Plaintiff … Miss Khaleeda Kholid (Khaleeda, Shake, Lind and Partners)
For the Defendant … Mr Rus Alan (Van Neeson, Syabas and Associates)

______________________________________________________________________________

On 30 July 2010, Mamak Shy’s Bistro Sdn Bhd filed an appeal with the Moot Court of Appeal UiTM. The Moot Court of Appeal UiTM has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the High Court of Malaya under the Moot Court of Judicature Act 1964.

IN THE MOOT COURT OF APPEAL UITM

CIVIL APPEAL NO: 30-07-2010-10

BETWEEN

MAMAK SHY’S BISTRO SDN BHD … APPELLANT

AND

TOOPIE ADUSLALU … RESPONDENT

The following were the Appellant’s grounds of appeal:

1. There is no contractual duty on a bistro or restaurant to be courteous to its client. A dining contract is not like a holiday contract. The purpose of the dining contract is to get food. We have provided food which the customer has paid for.

2. A customer who uses wi-fi services at a bistro or restaurant should use his own anti-virus programmes for protection. There is no contractual duty to beef up the wi-fi system for a customer who has an anti-virus system that cannot even give proper protection against the common Myhali-hali Trojan.

3. There was no trespass to Mr Toopie Aduslalu’s goods. Miss Aini Lambat did not even touch the laptop. Drinks that were poured cannot be said to be an extension of her arms. Even if it were, she was entitled to protect her honour after being insulted by a nasty customer. Her actions were completely justifiable.

4. Even if there was trespass to goods, the medical bill could not be claimed as damages because it was too remote.

Further Instructions to the Participants:

1. Please send you written request for clarifications to:

Conventional mail:

Assoc Prof Dr. Irwin U.J. Ooi
Malaysia Institute of Transport (MITRANS),
Level 1, Old Engineering Building,
MARA University of Technology (UiTM),
40450 Shah Alam.

E-mail:

dr_irwinooi_uitm@yahoo.co.uk

2. Clarifications will be published within three days after the receipt for a request for clarifications on the UiTM Moot Club Blog and/or Facebook.

3. The last date for clarifications is Friday, 13 August 2010.

4. Memorials must be submitted by Friday, 20 August 2010.

Maritime Moots 2010, Sydney - Postscript

2010-08-03T17:24:00.002+08:00

When yours truly was keeping in touch with the moot team in Sydney via Skype, those 'naughty' kids were hiding something. It was only when they returned and we met at the moot court that they unveiled the big surprise. The moot team won the 'Individual Achievement Award', sponsored by Roger Derrington. This is the first award / prize won by UiTM in an international moot competition. Congratulations to the team, I am very proud of you. Another big thank you to the competition organisers and sponsor of the prize for recognising the team's hard work and good performance at the competition. I hope that the Faculty of Law, UiTM, will frame that copy of the certificate and proudly exhibit it at the faculty's lounge in Cempaka One.

Maritime Moots 2010, Sydney - Days 2 and 3

2010-07-13T14:29:00.003+08:00

My apologies for the late post, but yours truly has been busy.

On the morning of Day 2, UiTM's claimants consisting of Arina Lum and Zharif Shafiq defeated the respondent team from Universiti Pendjajaran Indonesia. Congratulations for having three straight wins.

On the morning of Day 3, UiTM's claimants, who were represented by Arina Lum and Danial Nizam unfortunately lost to Hong Kong University. Among the arbitrators on the tribunal was David Martin Clark, a renowned arbitrator who also has a very popular website. That means that UiTM completed the preliminary group stage with three wins and one loss.

Later that afternoon, when the quarterfinal places were announced, the team discovered that their efforts were not enough to make it to the knock out stages. In the past, UiTM has comfortably made it to the last eight, for e.g. in 2007 (4th place) and in 2008 (6th place). A ban due to HINI in effect grounded the team just before commencement of the oral rounds although the memorials had been prepared and submitted. This team later went on to register a historic first win for UiTM in the Jessup national rounds of 2010, so I cannot help but wonder what if they had taken part in 2009's Maritime Moots.

Anyway, congratulations to the moot squad under the leadership of Miss Shairil Farhana @ 'Mama Shai'. I am proud of your achievements as you have gained valuable experience from this moot. Better luck in the next moot.

Maritime Moots 2010, Sydney, Australia - Day 1

2010-07-03T16:37:00.004+08:00

UiTM's Maritime Moot Team got off to a flying start when they defeated a team from the University of Melbourne (which are ranked in the top 100 universities in the world according to the THES university rankings. UiTM currently does not have a THES ranking yet due to a technicality ... but that's another story for another day). UiTM mooted as the respondents and were represented by lead counsel Shairil Farhana (team captain and also known to her team-mates as 'Mama Shai', no prizes for guessing why!) and co-counsel Khairil Khalid (a tiger masquerading as a chipmunk).

This very same team then met the University of Southampton's claimants and also emerged victorious in a second match later in the afternoon. Southampton is home to such famous Maritime Law academics as Prof John F Wilson (author of the favourite student text 'Carriage of Goods by Sea), Prof Emeritus Robert Grimes (who was the external examiner for my Ph.D viva), Prof Charles Debattista (author of Bills of Lading in Export Trade) and Prof Nick Gaskell (renowned expert on salvage law). This is a huge scalp for the UiTM team as Southampton's team are comprised of postgraduates, i.e. LL.M candidates whilst UiTM's team are made up of second year degree students from the Bachelor of Legal Studies (Honours) programme.

Congratulations to the team. Hope you do even better tomorrow, and do not forget to make lots of new friends and come back to Malaysia with loads of happy memories. I shall be looking forward to keeping in touch with you via 'Skype'. Thank God for the wonders of modern technology.

Student Volunteers needed for LawAsia Moot 2010

2010-06-25T05:42:00.001+08:00

Dear Programme Directors / Heads of Law Schools,

Greetings from the LAWASIA International Moot Competition Committee. My name is Neptune Loh Xae Hoyy and I am delighted to inform you that the 5th LAWASIA International Moot Competition is again inviting law students to be a part of our LAWASIA International Moot Competition. This years' competition will be held on the 7th to 8th of August 2010.

We are again extending our invitation to law students from different universities to form part of the LAWASIA International Moot Competition Sub Student Volunteers Committee after the success of the 4th LAWASIA International Moot Competition. From our last Moot competition, we have gathered about 40 student volunteers from various law schools and has generated very positive feedbacks from both the students and also counsels, senior members of the bar and judges.

One of the main differences of the LAWASIA International Moot Competition is that it does not only involve the students who will be the mooters in the competition but also to involve student volunteers. It was also the vision of the LAWASIA International Moot Competition Committee to give Student Volunteers the opportunity to assist in the general administration of the National and International competitions.

For a competition to be successful, it is essential that each moot court is equipped with several officials namely, bailiffs who serve as court officers, timekeepers to keep the official time, court ushers, judges' assistants, team ambassadors, photographers and bloggers. Everyone's role in the competition is paramount in ensuring that the competition runs smoothly. I quote:

"The role of timekeeper in your average moot might seem, at a glance, to be a small, boring one; but i can safely say that my experience as a timekeeper in the LAWASIA international moots was an eye-opening experience. For one, I had to stay wide awake for the entire duration of 2 hours- give or take; and two, I had to keep the time to its precise minutes and seconds. Arduous, you may think, but what I witnessed from behind the desk across from the participants' was nothing short of extraordinary." Shariza Abdul, Year 2 LLB Law Student, 3rd LAWASIA International Moot Competition

"LawAsia was fun. Especially with the conference, u get to hear influential ppl talk about important issues and stuff. The moots were awesome in the sense that we could experience first-hand the nastiness of the judges and made us realise just how tenacious u must be to make it." Ikram, Year 2 LLB Law Student, 4th LAWASIA International Moot Competition

Student Volunteers have the unique opportunity to observe court advocacy, spirited legal argument and succinct legal points being put forward on complex legal issues. It is also an opportunity to network with other law students from various law schools and from different social and cultural backgrounds. Often this includes the chance to meet sitting judges, senior members of the bar, members of the Attorney General’s Chambers, academics and General Counsels of large corporations. Student volunteers are presented with certificates at the end of the competition. Based on past events, a few students have also received personalised commendation letters from the Chairman of the LAWASIA International Moot Competition praising their hardwork and dedication which will eventually look well on their CVs.

The closing date of the application will be on the 5th of July 2010. We had about 130 applicants last year and was only able to take in 42 of them so the selection will be on a first come, first served basis. For those interested, please do send in their details as follows:-

Name:
University/University College and Year:
Contact Number:
Email Address:
House Address:

Please note that Student Volunteers will have to bear their own cost of travel. However, meals and light refreshments during the course of the moot competition will be provided.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me at neptune.loh@tktlawyers.com

P/S: I won't be able to accept any phone calls until the 8th of July as I am currently based in the UK and will not be back in Malaysia till then. However, you can still contact my colleague, Ms Chye Yoke Wah at +603-215567050.

Thank you.

Regards,
Neptune Loh,
Tay Kuan Teck & Son
Advocates and Solicitors
B-7-9 Megan Avenue II
12 Jln Yap Kwan Seng
50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
E-mail : neptune.loh@tktlawyers.com
Tel : 603-2166 7050
Fax : 603-2166 7052

Joining UiTM's Law Asia 2010 Moot Squad

2010-05-13T11:49:00.001+08:00

The Law Asia Moot question for 2010 is out. BLS students in Part 1 and Part 2 (for the January 2010 - April 2010 semester) who are interested in representing the university at this competition please get in touch with me as soon as possible at dr_irwinooi_uitm@yahoo.co.uk

Last year UiTM sent four teams and three teams made the final round. You have the chance to help us repeat that feat again this year.

Recruitment of new mooters!

2010-05-04T16:51:00.001+08:00

We are recruiting Part 1 and Part 2 BLS(Hons) students (from the January - April 2010 semester) for UiTM's Moot Team. If you are interested, please leave your e-mail address here or e-mail me at dr_irwinooi_uitm@yahoo.co.uk so that I can contact you for the Law Asia audition, as Law Asia will be your first competitive moot probably around August 2010. Please do not be shy. Step forward and be counted. This will be the icing on the cake for your legal studies at UiTM. Ultimately, this team will be preparing for Jessup 2012. There are lots of perks in addition to the usual 'aktiviti makan'. For example, the team that is preparing for Jessup 2011, will be travelling down to Sydney for the Maritime Moots 2010 later this July. In the past, teams have travelled to Washington, New York, Melbourne, Perth and India for moots. The training will also stand you in good stead for BLS mooting in part 4. If you can moot competitively, part 4 moots should be a breeze for you. Join us and have a head start in your career. Some of your seniors have secured places in big law firms such as Skrine, Shooklin, Shearn and Lee Hishamuddin as a result of their good mooting record.

Jessup Moot - White and Case International Rounds - Day 4

2010-03-26T21:04:00.002+08:00

There were two ties today. The first was against the University of Namibia. They came thought national qualifying round which consisted of 7 teams. They mooted as applicants, therefore Hazralika Hamzah and Faez Razak mooted as the respondents. The judging panel was very active as most of the panel could be classified as 'interventionist judges'.

The second tie of the day was against Heidberg University of Germany. The mooters speak impeccable English and they only time that their speech gave away any hint of their German origin was when they pronounced their names. For this tie, UiTM mooted as Applicants with Hazralika Hamzah and Afif Ahmayuddin. Once again, the judging panel was very active and the mooters did not have the chance to follow their scripts.

The top 24 teams were announced at a ceremony at the Lux Club (i.e. it is a bar) at half past ten at night. Unfortunately, UiTM did not make the top 24. This has been a great experience and we have learnt a lot. We hope to do a lot better next year.

Jessup Moot - White and Case International Rounds - Day 3

2010-03-24T19:49:00.003+08:00

The tie against UAE commenced at 11 a.m. Hazralika Hamzah and Afif Ahmayuddin mooted as applicants. The UAE's line up is very cosmopolitan and they were coached by an American who has taught at Universiti Malaya in the past. Both Ika and Afif mooted very well and we are confident of a positive result.

After the tie, we had lunch with Ika's adopted mum (she's American by the way) at a nearby restaurant. The food is very good and I could not resist having the 14 oz NY strip steak.

The journey back to the embassy residences was a little bit adventurous. We had to take the metro (subway) and spent a long time looking for it ... in the freezing cold. Faez does not have any toes left as he has lost all of it through frostbite ;-)

Dinner was an interesting affair as the MSD director, Dr Posiah cooked fantastic 'sambal udang' with the biggest fresh prawns this side of the Atlantic. It was a great match with the fried rice which Pn Yati (who lives a few doors away) sent to the house in the morning.

We have two ties tomorrow, the first against Namibia in the morning, and against Germany in the late evening.

Jessup Moot - White and Case International Rounds - Day 2

2010-03-23T22:29:00.003+08:00

At 2 pm, the UiTM team faced UCL. They are champions of UK, beating Oxford in the UK national finals. The first applicant from UCL was from Brazil whilst the second applicant was from Canada. Both Hazralika Hamzah and Faez Razak mooted for UiTM in the role of respondents. Hilwa Bustam was the bench counsel.

From the very start, it was apparent that the mooters were not going to be allowed to stick to their script. One of the judges was an 'interventionist' judge and took all the mooters away from their rehearsed scripts. At one stage, Miss Ummi wrote on her note pad that the woman judge here was a 'Mrs Irwin', i.e. judge as 'cruel' as yours truly when it comes to questioning. I have to politely disagree with Miss Ummi on this because the judge concerned made me look like a nice guy as she was 'brutal' in her questioning. It was a great experience for the mooters. I suppose in Malaysia, what she was doing could be described as doing a 'Sri Ram'. Mooters who have appeared before the great Malaysian Court of Appeal judge Gopal Sri Ram will know what I mean. It was a good moot as all the mooters could handle the probing questions put forward by the bench. Hazralika in particular, was very impressive as she has learnt some of the best mooting techniques from Azinuddin and implemented it in the moot against UCL. Just like Zin, she is so much better 'scriptless'.

As soon as the moot was done at around half past four, we rushed back to the MSD residences as the evening rush hour starts at around five. Next up for us tomorrow is a university from the UAE.

Jessup Moot - White and Case International Rounds - Day 1

2010-03-23T00:55:00.002+08:00

The team arrived at Washington DC for registration at 10 am. There were lots of merchandise for sale at the registration table and it was difficult trying to restrain the 'Malaysian shopper' in all of us. Team members purchased T-Shirts and mugs. All of this happened relatively quickly, so there was time to spare before the full briefing at 2 pm. The team took a walk down the road to the park close to the White House. As usual, most of us acted like 'tourist' and clicked happily away. In particular, Pn Mazlina was giving her new Sony 'Cybershot' 14 mega-pixel a through workout. Just when I thought it was safe, we stumbled across stalls selling souvenirs and the 'shopoholic' in all of us made an appearance again. By the way, the 'Subway' here is sells 'halal' food, so there was no problem getting lunch.

At the 2 pm briefing, in addition to reminding the teams about the rules, the organisers also took the opportunity to introduce the teams. As they flags of individual nations were placed in the front, the respective teams collected their 'goodie' bags from sponsors of the international rounds. I suppose you will see team members proudly carrying 'White and Case' knapsacks and water bottles around the faculty when we get back.

The exchange of memorial took place at 6 pm. Our first opponents on Day 2 will be UCL, champions of the UK. They have made the finals for the last two years. I am confident that our team is as good as them, if not better, so it will be a good fight.

More from tomorrow after the match! Keep checking in to read this blog.

More Jessup 2010 (Malaysian National Rounds) News

2010-03-06T22:44:00.007+08:00

Congratulations to the UiTM Jessup Moot Team. Not only are you champions of Malaysia, you have done it in style. You have made all of us proud by winning not only the 'Best Memorial' prize but also 'Best Oralist' prize (Hazralika Hamzah). This is a clean sweep of all the prizes on offer. I am so proud of all of you. I would also like to add that the all top three oralists were also from UiTM. First runner-up: Azinuddin Karim; Second runner-up: Afif Ahmayuddin. Special mention must also be made of our Respondent team who were undefeated through out the tournament. Faez Razak and Hazralika Hamzah ... you guys are the 'bomb'.

During the preparation for the competition, the leadership provided by team captain, Azinuddin Karim not only kept the team together, but also inspired the others to fulfill their potential. He is the heart and soul of the team.

In the excitement of victory, let us also not forget Miss Ummi Hani who provided the team with expert advice on international law. Those of us who have the pleasure of working with her know that we are probably seeing a future professor emeritus of international law in the making here. Ummi, you are a genuine international law expert. You truly have no equal in UiTM as you can now legitimately law claim to being an intellectual giant. That probably explains why you are such a geek who lives and breathes public international law. :-)

Pn Mazlina Mahali is now officially a master logistician. Without you, the team would not be able to function properly, i.e. no place to stay, no food to eat, no snacks to nibble on. Thank you for taking on the burden of preparing all the paperwork. You efforts are greatly appreciated.

This year's victory did not happen overnight. Mooting is like a ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carrier). Whatever measures we have put into effect in the last five years are now finally paying off. It is indeed true that 'Rome was not built in a day'. Many thanks to the knowledge learnt from previous UiTM Jessup teams, in particular I have to single out Tuan Hurman for providing inspirational advice. The foundation of the 2010 victory is primarily built on UiTM's Moot Club. Prior to the setting up of the club, mooting activities were in disarray in the faculty. There were too many people who wanted the glory but did not want to put in the effort. Thanks to the club's founder, Pn Sharifah Saeedah (soon to be 'Dr Sherry'), mooting is now a structured activity in the faculty, with the current advisers Miss Ummi Hani and Pn Mazlina Mahali giving dedicated service to the club. The club greatly appreciates Assoc Prof Dr Musrifah who was very supportive in the setting up of the club, and also Rijalul Fauzi (Founding President) and Adzim Amir Hamzah (Founding Vice-President) who steadied the ship in the early days of the club.

As the 2010 victory has not been widely reported in the mainstream media, for the record, this is the victorious team:

Azinuddin Karim

Afif Ahmayuddin

Hazralika Hamzah

Faez Razak

Hilwa Bustam

WE WON JESSUP 2010!!!

2010-03-03T16:55:00.003+08:00

After a ridiculously long wait. The impossible finally happened.

More pictures here.

Jessup 2010's Compromis is out.

2009-10-02T02:38:00.001+08:00

Aspatria and Rydal... In the tradition of keeping the parties to always have names beginning with A and R, as in Appellant and Respondent.

Read it and weep.

Download it here.

Dean's Cup Challenge: INTER PART 2009

2009-09-07T16:21:00.002+08:00

Thanks to all who have done so much to make this happen.

See you next year.

Full report will be posted sometime this week.

Images by: Farhan Ariff

The Dean's Cup Challenge Inter-Part Moot Competition 2009

2009-08-19T16:48:00.006+08:00

The UiTM Moot Club's annual inter-part competition is back.

When: 5 - 6 September 2009

What time: 9AM onwards

Where: CempakaONE.. yes, the spanking new Moot Court.

As you are well aware, moots are rather complicated. you will need to get your hands on the moot problem, go through the grounds of appeal, research the law, write the submissions, prepare a bundle, submit both on the 1st of september, and come to the oral rounds where you submit your points with minimal hand gestures and bullshitting, support your arguments with reference to your bundle of authorities, observe court decorum and remember that there's no POI or drama-like objections.

Go bug the moot bench for more info in case you've finally decided to test ur skills handling judicial pressure and compiling research that will be envied by future conveyancing lawyers. Hehe..

p/s: You don't have to bring food. It's Ramadhan.

Download the Moot Problem here.

RSVP here.

LAWASIA Moot Competition 2009

2009-08-17T10:12:00.002+08:00

The competition was held on 8 and 9 August 2009 at the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA). UiTM registered a record number of teams, i.e. 4 teams with 3 mooters each (12 mooters in total). The moot question concerned a dispute that involved a sunken wreck and a salvage agreement between the salvors and the government of Rolga.

At the first stage of the competition, there were 5 groups. Unfortunately, due to the luck of the draw, two of our junior moot squads were drawn to meet one another during this group stage. Anyway, by the end of day one, UiTM had three teams (plus one from ATC and another from UKM) that made it through to the final.

The next day, sadly, after all the final group stage matches had taken place, teams from UiTM finished third, fourth and fifth. Victory would have been sweeter but what the teams had achieved is remarkable considering that the anchor mooters (those who mooted the most) were first time mooters. I cannot help but to imagine what if I had planned our strategy differently and let the seniors anchor from the start. Anyway, the main purpose of entering the competition was for the junior mooters to gain experience. Thanks to the Bar Council and organisers (Mr. Raphael Tay) for accommodating so many teams from one university.

Congratulations to all the teams from UiTM. Also, congratulations to ATC (Champions) and UKM (Runner-up). Good luck in Vietnam for the international rounds.

Mr Raphael Tay, if you are reading this, any news on whether the third place team be going to Vietnam as well?

Moot Workshop

2009-08-11T07:49:00.003+08:00

MOOT WORKSHOP
Inter Part Moot 2009

The UiTM Mooting Club is looking for aspiring young mooters to be groomed and moulded to represent UiTM in future moot competitions.

For that reason, we will be organizing the Dean's Cup Inter Part Moot Court Competition and are calling upon interested and committed individuals to participate in the Moot Workshop and subsequently the competition.

For Part Four students, get that confused look off your face and come join us and prepare for that mysterious thing you know as mooting.

Date: 15th August 2009
Time: 9.00 AM onwards.
Venue: That brand new Auditorium.

For further info, please bug Elli at 017 379 3816. Or in case you don't fancy girls, contact Arif at 014 825 5669.

Click here to RSVP the Facebook event.

LawAsia 2009

2009-08-08T22:21:00.002+08:00

The writer is currently not on site, but the story goes that UiTM's LawAsia moot team is undefeated. Three of the FOUR teams that we sent will be going to the second round, meeting ATC and UKM.

Once all hearsay is clarified and the bunch comes home to Shah Alam with the full report, this blog will surely be updated. Maybe even with a few pictures.

So gambatte to the teams of Ika-Faez-Afif, Azin-Khairil-Rue and Shaq-Shai-Esah. Please kick some more behinds tomorrow.

The day UiTM mooters scared the crap out of the n00bs

2009-07-11T21:08:00.003+08:00

We are not telling you what happened behind the Moot Court's closed doors. Suffice to say, some of the juniors may have sworn to always bow when they see us.

And Azinuddin was very 'helpful'. Goes to show that you can never separate the club from the dictator. Ever!

And this was presented during the club promo, earlier in the afternoon. Afif talked about something. We didn't quite get him. But the newbies may have understood something. We saw some clapping for an encore from Afif (maybe. Or maybe they were just cheering his style).

Lame video. I know. It was done in less than half an hour. We lost the more 'gempak' video that was shown during last year's inter-part.

Ad Hoc Committee Interview

2009-07-09T13:22:00.002+08:00

Ad Hoc (Volunteer) UiTM Mooting Club 09/10

The UiTM Mooting Club is calling for all law students who are interested in becoming one of the ad hoc committee members of the club.

An interview session will be held as follows:

Date: Monday, 13th July 2009
Time: 12.30 PM
Venue: C2 B02

Any enquiries, feel free to contact:
Elli, 017 379 3816

LAWASIA Memorials

2009-06-25T17:29:00.003+08:00

It seems that the absence of the team mascott has rendered this blog rather silent.

Be that as it may, the Moot Club is proud to announce that LAWASIA will be coming up in early August, and the team is working tirelessly to complete the memorials. Though the subject of marine salvage and treasure hunting seems a tad bit dark and unknown, rest assured that these psychos are up to it. Let's face it. When a client comes to with a bunch of issues you know peanuts about, you will just have to take the file, put on a face and say, "Sure.. I'll do it".

Same principle applies.

The Maritime mooters are sadly grounded from flying to Brisbane due to outbreak of the swine flu. It may sound proper to call it by its scientific name A(H1N1). But we do not care. There's always other competitions.

Which is why we are also happy to announce that UiTM will be sending FOUR teams to LAWASIA:

Team 1
Afif Bin Ahmayuddin - Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 2
Hazralika Binti Hamzah - Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 2
Faez Bin Abdul Razak - Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 2
Dr Irwin U.J Ooi (Coach)

Team 2
Hilwa Nazifa Binti Bustam - Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 2
Muhammad Danial Bin Mohamad Nizam - Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 2
Azad Bin Akhbar Khan - Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 2
Mazlina Binti Mahali (Coach)

Team 3
Mohd Shaqib Bin Shamser Mohd - Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 3
Shairil Farhana Binti Ruslan - Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 2
Siti Aisyah Binti Zainal Abidin - Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) Year 2
Ummi Hani Binti Maso'od (Coach)

Team 4
Mohd Azinuddin Bin Abdul Karim - LLB (Hons) 1
Muhammad Khairil Bin Khalid - Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) 2
Mohd Ruzaini Bin Zulkifli - Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) 3
Dr Irwin U.J Ooi (Coach)

Click here for the Facebook event.

In case you are coming to support, bring food.

LAWASIA Moot Team 2009 Auditions

2009-03-30T10:50:00.002+08:00

The auditions were held at the Moot Court on 20 March 2009, 9.30 p.m. A record number of students auditioned for the squad, i.e. 13 (a lucky number for some of you). Thank you to all you brave souls for having the guts to face a bench consisting of Mr Nazim G Shaari, Pn Mazlina Mahali, Cik Ummi Hani and yours truly. Seven mooters were chosen for the team (in order of merit):

1. Hilwa Nazifa (Part 2)
2. Shairil Farhana (Part 2)
3. Shaqib (Part 6)
4. Muhd Danial (Part 4)
5. Azad Akhbar (Part 3)
6. Aisyah (Part 4)
7. Muhd Khairil (Part 1)

The unlucky six who just missed the cut:

8. Mohd Akmal (Part 2)
8. Darren Nicholas (Part 3)
(Both Akmal and Darren are tied for eight place)
10. Aminu Razif (Part 1)
11. Muhd Rahimi (Part 1)
12. Syamimi (Part 2)
13. Farid Afwan (Part 1)

For those who have made it, congratulations and good luck. You are about to embark on wonderful journey of intellectual and personal discovery ... and occasionally gastronomic adventure.

For the who missed the cut, do not give up. Please attend our workshops and do take part in next semester's Inter-Part Moot Competition, The Dean's Challenge Trophy. I am in the midst of dreaming up a devious question for you to handle. Please try out for the next squad.

Irwan Shah Abdullah

LAWASIA Update for UiTM mooters

2009-03-17T01:51:00.004+08:00

I'm sorry if you were redirected here after googling LAWASIA. That is entirely Google's fault. But if you are a UiTM law student, then you've found what you're looking for.

The Workshop for LAWASIA kicked off around 9.30 with a 'Mooting 101' lecture by the Lifetime Dictator, Azinuddin Karim. Quite a bunch of people came, including a bunch of part-ones; which is a very good thing.

The not so good thing is that there are not as much female future mooters as I would've wished.

The Audition on the coming Friday is scheduled to 9.00 PM, as opposed to the time set out in the notice.

Therefore, we will see you at the Moot Court on Friday at approximately 9.00 PM.

Samples of last year's Jessup winning memorials can be obtained by clicking here and here.

p/s: Seriously, we need more female mooters.

LAWASIA Mooting Competition 2009

2009-03-11T01:17:00.002+08:00

AUDITION

Fellow Law Students,

The UiTM Mooting Club is looking for aspiring young mooters to represent UiTM in the LAWASIA Mooting Competition, scheduled on the 4th to the 5th of July this year.

For that reason, we are calling upon interested and committed individuals to participate as solicitors and subsequently audition as mooters for the said competition. Details of the audition are as follows:

Date: 20th OF MARCH 2009

Time: 3.30 PM

Venue: MOOT COURT UITM

Those who wish to audition is required to attend a Moot Workshop to be held on

Monday, 16th of March 2009 at the Moot Court at 9.00 PM.

RSVP at Facebook. Click here.

Maritime Audition Results

2009-03-07T06:18:00.002+08:00

Official ranking are as follows:

1. Faez

2. Shaqib

3. Azad

4. Darren

The auditionees submitted before Dr. Irwin, Miss Ummi and the original Maritime Mooters, Rijalul Fauzi and Adzim Amir.

Work on the memorials will start next week. You people are encouraged to lend a hand and become solicitors.

Maritime Moot Audition

2009-03-05T20:44:00.003+08:00

Date: 6th March 2009

Time: 9'ish (okay.. 9.30 approx)

Venue: Moot Court, Faculty of Law UiTM

If you belong to Part 4 and below, come and try your luck.

Car Sticker

2009-02-26T00:05:00.003+08:00

~~You are very well aware that UiTM law students like to drive to class. They have cars to the point that there isn't enough parking space.~~

~~In the light of them having cars, what better way to show their sense of belonging to UiTM, the law faculty and the Moot club than by parading the Moot Club car sticker.~~

:: IMAGE HAS BEEN REMOVED. IT WAS SAID TO BE UGLY. WILL DESIGN A BETTER ONE ::

Market Analysis Closed

2009-02-25T00:00:00.002+08:00

The survey conducted on facebook with regards to the programme 'So, You Wanna Be A Lawyer?' has officially come to an end. Results are as follows:

Interested: 43

Maybe Interested: 49

Unable to join: 40

Didn't bother to reply: 38

Invitation sent out: Lost count.

Therefore, since most of the Moot Bench was occupied with Jessup and will be occupied with Maritime, it is then suggested that the above event be conducted in conjunction with the Inter Part Moot Competition, otherwise known as the Dean's Challenge Trophy next semester. Maybe somewhere in August.

Just keep your eyes out for the poster.

Yes, it will be even prettier than the AGM's poster.

p/s: What do feel about a whole week of lawyering business? 'So, You Wanna Be A Lawyer' plus a moot workshop, and maybe even a weekend of fun and games (Guitar Hero and bowling tournament for instance) in an event called "Mootness"? Drop us a line.

Maritime Moot 2009 alert!

2009-02-24T01:02:00.003+08:00

Next monday we will kick off with a short course on carriage of goods by sea delivered by Dr. Irwin at the Moot Court around 9'ish'. It will be continued on Wednesday and be concluded on Friday. The short course will cover the basics of which will be dealt with in the moot problem. Inter alia, time charters, vessel seaworthiness etc.

Those of you who are interested to become a solicitor for Maritime are most welcome to join the class. Work on the memorials will begin the week after.

So the schedule for the carriage lecture specifically for the Maritime Moots are as follows:

Date: 2nd, 4th and 6th of March 2009.

Time: 9.30 onwards*

Venue: Moot Court*

*subject to change

There is also a vacancy in the Maritime Squad. Yes, only one. Therefore an audition will follow shortly after the last lecture on Friday. We are looking for female mooters. However, we do not mind if it's a male who makes it. It will be boring with only one girl in the team.

Details are as follows:

Date: 6th March 2009

Time: tba

Venue: Moot Court

Any questions regarding the Maritime Moots, feel free to click the link on the right hand side. Any question about the squad, feel free to bug Dr. Irwin.

Oh, did I mention that IMLAM 2009 will be held at the University of Queensland; Brisbane?

Yes kiddies... We fly on the 1st of July. We fly back to Malaysia most probably on the 8th of July.

Go google Brisbane.

Jessup... dear Jessup

2009-02-22T04:15:00.002+08:00

We didn't make it into the final rounds.

We are saddened.

We shall go to Brisbane to mend our broken hearts.

4 Charter-Parties, one grounded ship, stupid Master, no dry-docking clause, and a screwed up arbitrator.

Sounds much more fun than Jessup.

Cheer Squad Trip

2009-02-17T01:15:00.002+08:00

The club is organizing a trip for you fellas who would like to watch the Jessup Moots in Universiti Malaya.

Be forewarned that we are not allowed to scout or sit in other teams' session. So you will only be allowed to sit in team UiTM's moot session. Which will be a problem since UM's moot courts are cute. So there wont be much seats.

So we are limiting the trip to only 20 participants. That plus the other people who are part of the cheer squad will keep the UM moot courts occupied.

The bus leaves at 8.30 AM on Friday, 20th February. Find the name list at the Cempaka buildings. If it's full.. then, get a ride in someone's car. We need all the support we can get. Thank you.

p/s: No pom-poms allowed.

eLawyer Law Conference 2009 - Blogging & Law

2009-02-14T01:34:00.001+08:00

For more info click here: http://www.elawyer.com.my/blog/elawyer-law-conference-2009/

AGM Results

2009-02-06T16:29:00.002+08:00

New Moot Bench Line Up:

President: Rue

Vice President: Afif

Secretary General: Aisyah

Treasurer: Elly

Thank you all who had made the time to come to the AGM. Thank you for your support. Do continue supporting the activities of the club in the months to come.

Maritime Moot 2009

2009-02-04T06:57:00.003+08:00

The moot problem has been out for quite some time. However due to some problems, the club decided not to pursue this year's competition.

But since the Dean has given her word to help out with the financial aspects of the moot, we may be able to send a team. This year's moot will be held in the TC Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland.

Interested to read the moot problem? Click here. 92 pages long.

Even we got scared.

Work on the memorials will start promptly after Jessup. Submission is by April.

Proposal 02: Annual Grand Dinner

2009-02-01T06:18:00.006+08:00

From the Moot Club discussion board on Facebook.

"I am talking about food, fun and fuzziness associated with prize giving and appreciation. Grand dinner la konsepnya....

It has been delayed for tooooo long. n rue and I have mooted (ironic giler) the idea of having it at the end of semester. maybe lepas exam. atau sebelum study week.

there are only two issues: money and venue.

financial wise, there are rumours of pending sponsorship which will be pushed for by the new moot bench.

what i want to really survey here is: WHERE DO WE EAT?

After extensive googling. I limit my proposed venues to only TWO.

the first being Soul-ed Out... located in Desa Sri hartamas. they cater for events and by the looks of it, they are a friendly and quirky bunch. just like we are. see more by clicking here:http://www.souledout.com.my/ (food looks excellent)

the second being the empress cafe, depan the laundry bar. kat the curve. very stylish cafe... nice food. and we can all come after watching a movie or sumthin.

that is my idea la basically, since the dinner (in my point of view) should be rather informal and never uptight with protocols. it sucks. period!

now with a new and fresh moot club in mind... what would be your honest opinion.

p/s: i would also propose that we call the dinner: 'The Moot Meat'. cute huh?

now... respond fellow moot-clubbers. please and thank you."

Respond by clicking here: Discussion Board | Dinner Survey

Proposal 01: "So, you wanna be a lawyer?"

2009-01-31T02:08:00.003+08:00

It is not a question. But a programme that may/will be proposed to be held on Friday the 13th (March) for all students of UiTM's Law Faculty.

It is basically a one day event filled with a conference, tea-time talk, and a proper sit-down dinner.

SYWBAL will address those questions you've had in mind since the very first day you decided to join the profession while watching Ally McBeal or Boston Legal.

It will open your eyes to the rigours of the lawyering business, and the fun underlying the tedious paperwork, litigation and court appearances.

It, by all means; would not be your typical induction Q&A session, with you posing questions such as: "Lawyer punya gaji berapa?"

Interested? Look out for the poster sometime next week (after the AGM). Partipication may be limited.

The Lachs Moot

2009-01-31T02:05:00.003+08:00

The-what-moot? Space?

Why hasn't UiTM participated in this one?

"The Lachs Moot began in 1992 and is organised annually by the International Institute of Space Law (I.I.S.L.). Each year, the winners of the Asia Pacific, European and North American Regional Rounds compete in the world finals, held in conjunction with the annual International Astronautical Congress and the Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space.
The Lachs Moot has the distinction of having its world final judged each year by three sitting members of the International Court of Justice.
To participate in the Lachs Moot, 2 to 3 committed law students interested in expanding their knowledge of international law and gain valuable international mooting experience are all that is needed. According to past participants, coaches and judges, the Lachs Moot is an enjoyable experience for all involved."

Never heard of it. You?

Something for the new Moot Bench to ponder upon post-AGM.

Posterized!

2009-01-28T23:40:00.001+08:00

Cute? Click for a bigger picture.

Moot Club UiTM

WE WON IT BACK!

Auditions for Jessup 2014 Squad

It's Back People!

DEAN'S CUP CHALLENGE 2011- THE MOOT PROBLEM

THE WORKSHOP

MOOT WORKSHOP 2011

OFFICIAL AUDITION RESULTS

The List

IHL MOOT PROBLEM 2011

UiTM Moot Club's Eidul Fitri Celebrations 2011

Up Next: The International Humanitarian Law Moots 2011, 12 and 13 November

Post LawAsia 2011, An Open Letter to Mr Raphael Tay

LAWASIA 2011: TURNING UP THE HEAT

IMLAM = Indeed Most Loved Avid memories

How we traversed and held our grounds.

Putting all the cards on the table.

A journey of a thousand miles, starts with a single step, or moot in a sense.

Moot = Food = Acquaintance = Good.

We dont sing in singapore. We moot

Good Luck Maritime Mooters

Last Training Session for IMLAM 2011

Time to Report for Law Asia Moot 2011 Training

Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition 2011

Postponement of 'Bilis' and 'Plankton' Squad Activities

Congratulations Mr Zarif Badrul

Plankton Squad Internal League Moot Ladder

'Plankton' Squad Training

New Members of the 'Bilis' Squad

Members of the 'Plankton' Squad

Audition for the 'Bilis' Squad in preparation for Jessup 2012

Calling all members of the 'Plankton' Moot Squad

Honourable Retirements in 2010

2010 - A Great Year for the UiTM Moot Club

IHL Moots 2010, 10 and 11 December @ UM

Preparation for International Humanitarian Law Moots 2010

Auditions for the Jessup 2012 Team

UiTM vs Queensland University of Technology Annual Moot

Recruitment for the Junior Moot Squad

Invitation to Participate in Maritime Moots 2011, Singapore

Inter-Part Moots: Dean's Challenge Trophy 2010

Champions (from Part III BLS)1. Nur Amalina Ghazali2. Mohd. Zulfikri Bin IbrahimRunner Up (from Part III BLS)1. Nur Atiqah Razif2. Atiqah Anas

Best Mooter General RoundsDarren N PunnaiBest Mooter - Finals

Moot Club Inter-Part Moots 2010 Workshop at Kedah

Moot Club Inter-Part Moots 2010 Workshop at Kuantan

Inter-Part Moots: Dean Challenge Trophy 2010 - Clarifications No.1

1. THE OBLIGATIONS OF MAMAK SHY'S BISTRO

2. YOUR OBLIGATIONS

3. BREACH OF THE AGREEMENT

4. DISCLAIMER

5. LIABILITY

6. GENERAL

Law Asia Moots 2010: Day 3 - Final Rounds

Law Asia Moots 2010: Day 2 - Preliminary Rounds

Law Asia Moots 2010: Day 1 - Registration and Checking In

Dean's Challenge Trophy 2010: Inter-Part Moot Question

Maritime Moots 2010, Sydney - Postscript

Maritime Moots 2010, Sydney - Days 2 and 3

Maritime Moots 2010, Sydney, Australia - Day 1

Student Volunteers needed for LawAsia Moot 2010

Joining UiTM's Law Asia 2010 Moot Squad

Recruitment of new mooters!

Jessup Moot - White and Case International Rounds - Day 4

Jessup Moot - White and Case International Rounds - Day 3

Jessup Moot - White and Case International Rounds - Day 2

Jessup Moot - White and Case International Rounds - Day 1

More Jessup 2010 (Malaysian National Rounds) News

WE WON JESSUP 2010!!!

Jessup 2010's Compromis is out.

Dean's Cup Challenge: INTER PART 2009

The Dean's Cup Challenge Inter-Part Moot Competition 2009

LAWASIA Moot Competition 2009

Moot Workshop

LawAsia 2009

The day UiTM mooters scared the crap out of the n00bs

Ad Hoc Committee Interview

LAWASIA Memorials

LAWASIA Moot Team 2009 Auditions

LAWASIA Update for UiTM mooters

LAWASIA Mooting Competition 2009

Champions (from Part III BLS)
1. Nur Amalina Ghazali
2. Mohd. Zulfikri Bin Ibrahim

Runner Up (from Part III BLS)
1. Nur Atiqah Razif
2. Atiqah Anas

Best Mooter General Rounds
Darren N Punnai

Best Mooter - Finals