The 2021 International Criminal Court Moot Competition is finally over. I was lucky enough to be selected to be a part of a team representing my university. This moot is one of the largest in the world, with over 95 teams making it to the international rounds this year.
I believe the case problem came out in late October or early November, and from there, a lot of time, energy, and effort was put into this event. I wrote and pleaded as the prosecution for our team.
Although we were eliminated after the preliminary rounds (in the international round), the experience was very enriching. I thought I had a firm grip of international criminal law prior, but this competition challenges you to apply the knowledge in novel ways. Also, this was my first moot; previously, I have never argued or debated in a formal setting. I applied for the competition to get the experience of being a trial lawyer. I have not gone into any detail yet on my circumstances, but the path I have gone on in law will leave me on the academic side of things vice a practicing lawyer. Though, I must say, this experience has left me wanting more and to find ways to practice law. It was thoroughly fun, and I found out a lot about myself and what I can do.
However, there were some drawbacks. It is very time-consuming. There is a reason that it is worth 15-credits while an ordinary university course is worth 5. You really need to have free time to participate fully, which means not taking other classes or, in my case, even working part-time. I was taking thesis seminars and also had to write my master’s thesis alongside the competition. I ended up dropping the language classes I had planned.
Another negative was participating during a pandemic. There was no trip to The Hague, which means no networking and experiencing the ICC in person. Hopefully, one day I get the opportunity to go there.
What’s up next?
As my previous post alluded to, I now have some free time to devote to writing here. So stay tuned.
Links:
Wiki Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Criminal_Court_Moot
