AB International Studies Students enrolled in IS 26 International Law with the Members of the International
Court of Justice Atty Dennis B Flores, Atty Bianca I Bince, and Ms Franchette Simene

Last 29 May 2024, 50 AB International Studies (ABIS) enrolled in the course IS 26 - International Law organized a Moot Court Competition at XU Little Theater. Patterned after Philip C Jessup International Law’s Moot Court Competition, the participants took part in simulated negotiations between conflicting states before a fictional United Nations International Court of Justice. The competition served as a culminating assessment of the subject.

The competition aimed to provide students a semi-authentic learning experience enabling them to mobilize all their learning in the course. This year’s AB International Studies’ Jessup Problem articulated around issues on the right to political expression, statelessness, right to a nationality and the United Nations’s Security Council’s authority in the Pacific settlement of international disputes.

Focused on resolving issues in the “Case Concerning the Sterren Forty”, each of the two fictional states was represented by five Oralists. Tasked to present each state’s stand on the four issues submitted to the International Court of Justice, the Oralists had to defend their nation’s interests by delivering persuasive and argumentative discourses.

Ms Ednell Alaba and Mr Ceasar Ian Quiñones defending their arguments,
and were both awarded Best Oralists during the competition

In the Opening and Closing Statements of the Applicant, the Republic of Antrano, submitted, “This is not merely a bilateral dispute between Antrano and Remisia but rather a matter that strikes the very core of human rights and international law…As the legal maxim states, “salus populi est suprema lex”--the welfare of the people is the supreme law. Inaction, in this case would establish a perilous example. A world where peaceful protest leads to statelessness in a world where human rights lose their significance and meaning.”

Which, the Respondent, the Kingdom of Remisia, also rebutted in their Opening and Closing Statements, “Your Excellencies, I reiterate that the states maintain the principle of par in parem non habet imperium and the principle of non-interference in the conduct of their (States) of their international relations…Any threat to the integrity of the monarchy especially unto its nationals–the very fabric of its being, is a direct threat to the very existence of the Kingdom.”

The Kingdom of Remisia won the award for the Best Memorial, while the Republic of Antrano was declared the overall winner of the competition, leading 3-1 on all four issues.

The duration of the presentation of arguments lasted for one hour and twenty minutes, with a 25-minute question and answer portion, five minutes of deliberation of the panel, and announcement of winners.

Marked by months of preparations, the students went through the rigid process of crafting, revising, and editing memorials or written pleadings, and preparing for the oral presentation of their arguments. The fruitful results of the preparations were products of both IS 26 XA and XB’s efforts and initiatives, and also an opportunity for everyone enrolled in the said course to work collaboratively towards arriving at a group output. The preparations were spearheaded by ABIS 3rd Year Students Mr Ceasar Ian Quiñones of IS 26 section XA and Ms Ednell Alaba of IS 26 section XB, both emerged as Best Oralists of their respective groups.

The International Court of Justice was represented by IS 26 International Law Instructor and an AB International Studies alumnus Atty Dennis B Flores, XU Law School alumna Atty Bianca I Bince, and Ms Franchette Simene, currently a law student in the same university.

More about the Jessup: https://www.ilsa.org/about-jessup/