International law competition bodes well for future
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A team from Pelita Harapan University, representing the imaginary Republic of Appolonia, took its turn on Saturday before the International Moot Court, organized at the Santika Hotel in Jakarta, accusing the Kingdom of Ragland of scuttling the Mairi Maru, an Appolonian-flagged vessel that sank in Ragland's waters.
To challenge the motion, the University of Indonesia's team, representing the kingdom, said the republic violated international law by transporting nuclear substances without notifying the kingdom.
"Your excellency, Appolonia violated international law by transporting MOX (mixed oxide fuel) through Ragland's waters without permission," said Leonardo Bernadd, the first speaker for the UI team.
He said: "This act is prohibited under the London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution, 1972, and the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, 1989."
Bernadd and his four teammates led UI to victory at the 4th Indonesian National Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, held from Friday to Sunday. The event was organized by the Indonesian Society for International Law.
The UI team has won the national event four times in a row and has represented Indonesia in the international round since 2000.
The international round is the next phase the champion, where more than 90 countries compete in Washington, DC. Indonesia placed 10th in the last international round.
In addition to awarding the UI team the championship, the judges, prominent international law experts and practitioners, granted the Best Memorial Pleading to Padjajaran University, the Best Oralist to Tiza Mafira of the UI team and the Spirit of Jessup for improved performance to Pelita Harapan University.
Adhika, the spokesperson for the organizer, said the competition was aimed at building awareness among Indonesian people of the importance of international law.
"We want this competition used as a forum for practicing international law, which many Indonesian law students have never experienced," Adhika, a law student at the University of Indonesia, said.
Ten law schools, mainly from Java, sent teams to the competition.
A law student from Padjajaran University in Bandung, West Java, Iqbal Siri, said the competition was considered an important event for law students, especially for those who were focused on international law.
One of the judges, Robert Baiton, said the competition made him optimistic Indonesia would produce top international law experts in the future.
"The potential shown by the participants here is impressive. There will be super-qualified international law experts coming from this country," he said.
Baiton, a legal expert from Australia, also said Indonesians in the future would be able to defend their country's interests in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Indonesia lost the Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Malaysia in 2002 when the ICJ ruled that Malaysia was entitled to the islands. The result of that case caused concern that the country's international law experts might not have the capacity to defend Indonesia in international courts.
"Last time, in the case of Sipadan and Ligitan, the Indonesian government hired many foreigners to assist them in facing the court. In the future, Indonesians will be able to do it by themselves," Baiton said.(006)