Hong Kong, 16 March 2017: Boase Cohen & Collins Senior Partner Colin Cohen became a judge for a day when he took part in the 15th Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot in Hong Kong.
The annual competition pits teams of law students from universities across Asia-Pacific in a series of mock trials relating to armed conflicts and humanitarian challenges.
Mr Cohen joined leading figures from the legal profession in assessing the students’ oral performances as they presented cases for the prosecution and defence on charges arising from a fictional civil war.
“As usual, the standard of mooting was high and some of the presentations were extremely impressive,” said Mr Cohen, who was judging for the fifth time. “The Red Cross IHL Moot continues to be a hugely worthwhile exercise that raises awareness of international humanitarian law issues among students and gives them valuable experience in a courtroom scenario.”
The four-day event took place at the University of Hong Kong in Pokfulam and the High Court in Admiralty and included a keynote seminar at the Hong Kong Red Cross Headquarters in West Kowloon.
The line-up featured champion teams from regional or local competitions held in Australia, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, as well as teams by invitation.
Bond University from Australia’s Gold Coast, represented by Lara Sveinsson and Martin Campbell, emerged as champions with University of Hong Kong duo Lun Ko and Adrian Mak finishing runners-up. Ting-Yu Wu from the National Taiwan University was named Best Mooter.