The 9th Red Cross International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Moot (2011)

(Hong Kong．5 March 2011) The final round competition and prize presentation ceremony of the 9th Red Cross International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Moot was successfully held today at the High Court building in Hong Kong. After the two-day mooting competition, Victoria University of Wellington received the award of winning team.

Details of the list of award recipients are as follows:

Winning Team:  Victoria University of Wellington (Wellington, New Zealand)

Runner-up Team:  Hidayatullah National Law University (Raipur, India)

Best Mooter: Mr. Rizki WIRASTOMO, Gadjah Mada University (Yogyakarta, Indonesia)

Best Memorial: Gadjah Mada University (Yogyakarta, Indonesia)

Delivering an address at the Prize Presentation Ceremony, the Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li emphasized the importance of a proper sense of justice, commenting that however extreme the circumstance in which it arises, it is worth the effort.  The Chief Justice remarked that the theme of this Moot problem is justice itself, and specifically, the concept of a fair trial and what it entails.  "However serious the charge, however atrocious the activity, a fair trial is an absolute necessity for those who are accused."  He added that the following characteristics of a fair trial are always present:  

(1) There can be no finding of guilt unless there is compelling evidence.
(2) Findings made in and the result of any trial, hearing or inquiry must be based on law and reason, and this must be properly articulated in a way that the losing party or the guilty party can fully comprehend. 
(3) All interested parties, and particularly the accused party, must be given an opportunity to be properly heard.

The Hon Sir T L Yang, GBM, JP, Former Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, HKSAR cum Chairman of the Hong Kong Red Cross, and the judges of the Competition, including The Hon Mr. Justice Patrick Chan, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, HKSAR, as well as law professionals in Hong Kong also attended the ceremony.

List of the 20 participating delegations (in alphabetical order)
• Australian National University (Canberra, Australia)
• China University of Political Science and Law (Beijing)
• Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok)
• Ewha Womans University (Seoul)
• Gadjah Mada University (Yogyakarta, Indonesia) 
• Hidayatullah National Law University (Raipur, India)
• Jilin University (Changchun, Jilin)
• Kyoto University (Kyoto, Japan)
• Open University of Sri Lanka (Nugegoda, Sri Lanka)
• Royal University of Law and Economics (Phnom Penh, Cambodia)
• Silliman University (Dumaguete City, Philippine)
• Singapore Management University - National University of Singapore (Joint Team) (Singapore)
• Soochow University (Taipei)
• Sungkyunkwan University (Seoul)
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
• The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
• University of Dhaka (Dhaka, Bangladesh)  
• University of International Relations (Beijing)
• Universiti Utara Malaysia (Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia)
• Victoria University of Wellington (Wellington, New Zealand)

About IHL Moot Competition
The IHL Moot Competition is co-organized by the Hong Kong Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross in collaboration with the Faculty of Law of The University of Hong Kong, the School of Law of City University of Hong Kong and the Faculty of Law of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. It is the first and unique IHL moot competition in the Asia-Pacific region aims to raise awareness of international humanitarian issues among law students through examination and debate of wider social issues rather than black letter law. Each participating university was assigned at random to the role of the prosecutor or the defendant for a fictitious court case which was based on real-life facts. Participating law students debated whether certain acts violated the Law of War and whether the commander of the concerned armed forces should have criminal responsibility for the violating acts. 

International Humanitarian Law
The Hong Kong Red Cross is a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement that endeavours to prevent human suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles.  The Geneva Conventions are the bedrock of IHL and the cornerstone of the Movement.  IHL is the body of rules which, in wartime, protects people who are not or are no longer participating in the armed conflict.  The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and its three Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005 are the principal instruments of humanitarian law and are endorsed by nearly every nation in the world.

Group photo of the 20 participating delegations and the judges in front of the High Court Building.

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Ms Celia Lai, Assistant Corporate Communications Manager  2507-7176