Research key to UP Law win at Jessup Cup
“RESEARCH and quick thinking.” Team captain Ignacio Villareal said these were the winning weapons the University of the Philippines College of Law team wielded for the 2024 Philip C. Jessup Moot Court Competition.
The UP Law Jessup Team was composed of Villareal, Mary Regine Dadole, Pauline de Leon, Pauline Samantha Sagayo and Chinzen Viernes with Prof. Marianne Vitug as coach and Prof. Rommel Casis as faculty advisor.
They won over 641 other teams from more than 100 jurisdictions in the competition held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Washington, D.C., from March 30 to April 6. Villareal was also named Best Oralist.
Placing only third in the Philippine national competitions, Villareal, in an interview with One News PH, said they were given “The Case Concerning The Sterren Forty” months ahead of the international competition. It was their thorough research and polished presentation along the way from the quarterfinals to the finals stage that won the judges’ nod for them.
The case was a simulated fictional dispute between two countries before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the judicial organ of the United Nations. It tackled pressing issues of political expression, statelessness and nationality rights. UP Law stood on the respondent’s side, opposite Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (UTDT) of Argentina as applicants.
The second part, Viernes said, was the recognition of a nationality conferred by a state based on investment with no residency required or no existence of familial ties and how other states would recognize such nationality.
The last issue was on the powers of the UN Security Council to impose legal obligations binding on the state.
Villareal said the first part of the proceedings was written, where the teams argued for both sides, requiring research and writing skills, followed by an oral presentation in front of the judges in the national rounds. A few teams from the Philippines qualified for the international rounds.
Were they seen as the team to beat, or were they underdogs?
“The UP College of Law has a certain reputation in the moot court competition domain, but then in the national rounds, we didn’t win a championship; we only placed third, so we had something to prove at the international level that UP College of Law can dominate at moot court competitions,” Viernes said.
Three world-renowned judges adjudicated them: International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea judge María Teresa Infante Caffi; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Singapore Sundaresh Menon; and Equity Law Firm partner and Vice Chairman of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Ganna Yudkivska.
The Philip C. Jessup Moot Court Competition is the oldest, largest and most esteemed moot competition worldwide, attracting participation from law schools across the globe.
UP Law first won in 1995, when the late Commission on Human Rights chairman Chito Gascon was a team member. The other Philippine victory was that of the Ateneo de Manila University team in 2004.
Another key, Viernes said, was “loving the process,” as research and competitions take a lot of time and energy. Villareal added that one must enjoy, as there are questions that may not have answers at the start but will be unveiled during research and oral presentations.
While Villareal plans to join international law and litigation upon graduation and passing the bar, Viernes said she wants to join the government, Congress, or the judiciary to see what is in the system and determine what her role could be.
The team was met by supporters and family at the airport when they arrived on April 8, a day after the competition. A dinner party will be held for them on April 19, so they can thank everyone who supported them throughout their journey to the Jessup Cup, winning for UP College of Law and the whole nation.