THE FACULTY of Civil Law Debate and Moot Society was named first runner-up in the Divina Law Philippines Jessup Cup Competition last Feb. 23.
The team will compete in the international round of the competition set to take place from April 12 to April 18 at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Al Conrad Espaldon, coach and adviser of the team, said this would be the first time for the UST Civil Law team to represent the Philippines, in what he considered to be the “Olympics of moot court competitions.”
“The University was of great help to us especially our Dean, Atty. Nilo Divina. They provided us will all the things that we needed to succeed in this competition,” Espaldon told the Varsitarian.
The team is composed of oralists Ricka Abigael Dumelod, John Christopher Gattoc and Marc Gabriel Abella; researchers Cyra Lyn Lim, Haidee Amabel Uy, and Miguel Abad, who was named grand finalist and bagged awards for Overall Best Memorial and Best Memorial for the Applicant.
Dumelod was awarded 5th Best Oralist, while Gattoc won 10th Best Oralist.
Dumelod was thankful for the support given by the faculty, alumni and administration.
“It took years before any Thomasian team made it this far,” she added.
Gattoc said persistence was what helped the team during the training process.
“As law students, we often find ourselves in challenging situations, but we don’t give up,” he said.
Founded in 1960, the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world’s largest moot court competition, with participants from roughly 700 law schools in 100 countries and jurisdictions.
The competition is in the form of a simulation of fictional dispute between participating countries and schools, where each teams prepare oral and written pleadings arguing both the applicant and respondent positions of the case before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations.
