Oxford Jessup Moot Team progresses to the Semi-Final of the UK National Competition 2017
The UK national rounds of the 58th Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition were held between 24-26 February 2017, at Gray’s Inn, London. Teams from across the UK spent the weekend keenly contesting each other on points of law and fact in relation to pressing issues concerning international aquifers and their shared use; the repatriation of cultural property and damage to protected sites of cultural heritage; and compensation for the creation of cross-border influxes of refugees, as well as human rights violations in this regard.
The Oxford team for this year, coached by Sanya Samtani (MPhil Candidate, Magdalen), comprised of five undergraduates: Gilbert Lim (Christ Church), Niamh Kelly (Merton), Shalaka Phadnis (St Peters), Qinhao Zhu (Christ Church), and Nazeerah Akbar (Magdalen).
The Oxford team ranked third in the competition overall. Shalaka Phadnis secured the second-highest speaker scores in the entire competition, whilst Niamh Kelly ranked sixth overall and Gilbert Lim eighth. Furthermore, the team secured the highest scores for their applicant memorial, and the second highest score for both memorials cumulatively.
The Oxford team narrowly lost to University College London in the Semi-Finals (after having defeated UCL in the preliminary rounds).