China: Future lawyers contend for regional title at Hong Kong moot court
Beijing (ICRC) - Law students from 18 countries across the Asia-Pacific region are testing their knowledge of international humanitarian law (IHL) at the 16th Red Cross regional IHL Moot Court Competition in Hong Kong from March 7th to 10th. The event is co-organized by the Hong Kong Red Cross (HKRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in collaboration with The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong.
"This annual event, together with the national/local rounds held across the Asia-Pacific region, aims to raise awareness of IHL among university students and to stimulate research interest in IHL in academic circles." said ZHOU Wen, Head of Legal Department, ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia. "Over the past 16 years, the competition has become a flagship event in the dissemination of IHL in the Asia-Pacific region. We hope that the competition not only tests the skills of law students as future legal practitioners and decision makers, but also opens a door for them to the humanitarian world."
This year the problem is set in the context of climate change and involves new technology weapons, attack on fishing boats with displaced persons and the protection of medical transports at sea. Students will act as counsels of both the Prosecution and the Defence, and argue for a fictional case before the simulated International Criminal Court.
The competition will be featured with a Keynote Seminar on March 9th, where cutting-edge IHL issues will be introduced by Dr Amrith Rohan PERERA, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations and former member to the United Nations International Law Commission, and Judge LIU Daqun, Judge at the United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals and the former Vice President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
To foster discussions on practical humanitarian issues, an exploration activity will be held at the Humanitarian Education Centre in the Hong Kong Red Cross headquarters, where students will assume different roles in a simulated war zone, such as detainees, prison guards and refugees.
For further information, please contact:
Valery Mbaoh Nana, ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia, Beijing, tel: +86 186 0025 3392
Michael Zhang, ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia, Beijing, tel: +86 138 1003 5522
or visit our website: www.icrc.org
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