From 31st May to 7th June 2024, the International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition (ICCMCC, English Edition) Global Round was held at the campus of Leiden University in The Hague, the Netherlands. As the only representative team from Macau, the team organized by the Law Faculty travelled to The Hague, the Netherlands, to participate in the competition. The competition was co-organized by the International Bar Association, the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden Law School, and several other prominent international institutions. This is the second year that the competition has been held offline since the pandemic. The M.U.S.T. Team participated in the preliminary rounds of the competition and watched the final round at the International Criminal Court, where they had a fruitful exchange of ideas with outstanding teams from all over the world.
The number of teams participating in the English Global Competition was the largest ever in the history of the competition, including 93 teams from 47 countries and regions around the world. These also include teams from Peking University's School of Transnational Law, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Fudan University and City University of Hong Kong.
Starting from September 2023, when the case of the competition was released, the M.U.S.T. team has been preparing for the competition. During this period, the team overcame a lot of difficulties by arranging their time wisely, studying the topic of the competition, researching relevant information on international criminal law, writing and polishing three 10,000-word English memorials, and organizing mock court debates on a regular basis, and finally completing the various tasks of the competition successfully. During the competition in The Hague, despite the fatigue of long-distance travelling and jet lag, the team members spent every night reviewing and summarizing the day’s performance and quickly adjusting the strategy and content of the next day’s arguments. After six courtroom debates, all three team oralists gained a wealth of practical experience and strengthened their confidence in further studying international law and participating in international legal practice.
In addition to the intense competition, the team members also participated in a series of academic exchange activities arranged by the organizers, learning about the cutting-edge issues of international criminal law and the relevant practices of the International Criminal Court (ICC). After the competition, they also visited the Peace Palace, the seat of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and the seat of the International Criminal Court. The team also took a detour to visit the Palais des Nations, the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, and the headquarters of the World Trade Organization, the International Red Cross Museum and other famous international organizations. This not only broadened the students’ knowledge of international law and their global perspective, but also helped them turn their passion for international law research and practice into concrete career planning.
The three team members who travelled to The Hague to participate in the Global Competition were undergraduates He Junlin, Lin Yingzhuo and Xi Yuntao. The other four team members who could not make it to The Hague were Zhou Yuting, Xiao Minghan, Ding Zhuofan, and Lin Zhiqing. Assistant Professor Wang Jia of the Law Faculty was the coach. Chen Shutong, an outstanding former graduate of the Law Faculty, who currently studies at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, provided valuable advice to the team.
