LAWASIA 2011: TURNING UP THE HEAT

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

All the best in Singapore for IMLAM 2011!

Last Training Session for IMLAM 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.