A team from National Chiao Tung University won the Best Memoranda Award at the International Alternative Dispute Resolution Mooting Competition July 28 to Aug. 2 at City University of Hong Kong.
NCTU graduate law students Chang Sheng-chun, Chien Woan-hsiuan, Lin Yi-hsun and Lu Fu-yi beat 25 teams from Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, the U.K. and Vietnam. Team leader Lu also won a best mediator award.
"I can’t tell you how excited we were when we received the award,” Lu said.
Mooting competitions involve simulated court proceedings, usually encompassing the drafting of briefs and participation in oral argument. The Hong Kong moot comprised both mediation and arbitration, allowing one student in each moot—not including their home university—an opportunity to act as arbitrator and mediator. The contest provides a unique opportunity for students to engage in dispute resolution.
This year’s competition revolved around the switch to plain tobacco packaging. Students had to analyze who should be responsible for losses resulting from legal restraint in a commercial contract, intellectual property rights involved in the labeling rights of an investor, and legislation of the nation involved.
“International current affairs also came into play,” Chang said. “It was a tremendous challenge.”
This was the first time Taiwan competed at the moot, and what makes the students’ achievement even more impressive is that the competition was conducted entirely in English. According to Lu, the award recognized the team’s writing and research ability.
The Hong Kong moot is a joint initiative between CityU, New York-based Columbia University, and Regional Center for Asia and Pacific of the U.N. Commission on International Trade Law. (SSC-SDH)
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