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27 May 2022

King's celebrate record successes at 2022 moot competitions

Throughout the 2022 Moot Competition season, students from The Dickson Poon School of Law have continued their excellent record of accomplishment in international competitions, in the UK and abroad.

The King's Day of Crisis Moot team gathered together holding a trophy

Teams from King’s have achieved outstanding performances in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition (reaching the Advanced Rounds, and celebrating a record seventh successive year for King's at the moot’s International Rounds), the 19th Annual Oxford International Intellectual Property Law Moot (placing second at the Grand Final), the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot (reaching the European Semi-Finals for the first time), and the Day of Crisis Moot (achieving the prize for Best Written Submissions).

Philip C. Jessup International Law Mooting Competition

This April, King's all-female team reached the Advanced Rounds as they represented the UK at the 2022 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot, with two team members, Daisy Peterson and Isabelle Standen, both ranking in the Top 200 Oralists in the Preliminary Rounds, and the Top 100 Oralists in the Advanced Rounds.

The 2022 Jessup team gathered together at the International Rounds
The 2022 Jessup team at the International Rounds

The Jessup Moot is the world’s largest moot competition, involving over 700 law schools from over 100 countries and jurisdictions. The King's team consisted of Daisy (Law LLB, 2nd year), Isabelle (Politics, Philosophy & Law LLB, 3rd year), Preya Sutreja (Law LLB, 2nd year) and Alexis Chen (Law LLB, 3rd year). The team spent over half a year preparing intensively for the competition with their coaches, King’s alumni Andrew Brown (Law LLB, 2019) and Caleb Kirton (Law LLB, 2017), as well as receiving support from Philippa Webb, Professor of Public International Law.

The entire Jessup experience has been incredible, but reaching the Advanced Rounds was really special. The feeling that came with representing the UK and our University in the global rounds of such a prestigious competition, especially as part of a team that shared such a unique bond, made the past six months completely worthwhile. If I could go back to the afternoon that we found out we were through, when the team came together to prepare for the next stage, I would in a heartbeat. Of course, with this comes the bittersweet knowledge that we didn’t make it further. As frustrating as the final result might be, I remain grateful for my time involved in the Jessup, and am so proud to have been a member of this team, among my amazing teammates.

Daisy Peterson, Law LLB, 2nd year

The Day of Crisis Moot Competition

Following King's strong record in the competition, this year’s team gave an outstanding performance and achieved the prize for Best Written Submissions. They positioned in third place in the ‘Best Team’ category.

This year’s competition was hosted by The Hague Academy of International Law, The Netherlands. The 24-hour competition involves students representing governments, international organisations, businesses and non-governmental organisations, as they respond to an imagined international crisis.

The team consisted of LLM students, Aparna Mehrotra, Eileen Lee, Flora Hausammann, Lescinska Madonna Fernandez and Niall Burnie. They were coached by Francisco Lobo and Clara María López, and received academic support from Dr Niccolò Ridi, Professor Philippa Webb and Dr Mihael Jeklic.

The Day of Crisis competition was a unique experience in learning and understanding the real-world application of international law, culminating in the surreal moment of being at the Peace Palace – a place that holds such exceptional significance for international law – for the final round. The competition was challenging in both its format as well as the standard of legal knowledge and application expected. The training sessions with our coaches in the lead up to the competition were immensely helpful in preparing us to plough through twenty-four hours of drafting and negotiating. The plenary session simulating a UN General Assembly roundtable was an especially incredible opportunity to present our ideas before leading jurists and diplomats.

King's 2022 Day of Crisis Moot team

The Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot

The King’s team enjoyed historic success at the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition, finishing as European Semi-Finalists - the first team from the university to do so. They were the highest ranked UK team in the competition and had the second highest score in Europe for Oral Advocacy.

The team comprised of Siddharth Soneja (Law LLB, 2nd year), Trisha Unnikrishnan (Law LLB, 2nd year) and Jules Pere (Philosophy, 4th year).

The competition focuses on duties of States in their activities in outer space, and engages the four space treaties and principles of international law.

As someone having always aspired to compete in mooting competitions before even entering law school, this was truly an inspiring journey, and one that will remain a bright highlight of my university life! The long long nights spent preparing our memorials and ensuring that every aspect of the written submissions were completed on time, while daunting at the time, are memories that I will treasure.

Siddharth Soneja, Law LLB, 2nd year

The Oxford International Intellectual Property Moot

Beating 28 other teams for a place in the final rounds of the Oxford International Intellectual Property Moot, the King’s team was awarded the Allen & Overy Runner-Up Award for Oral Proceedings. The students were narrowly defeated by a team from University of Technology Sydney. Aspiring barrister, team member Cason Yong, was also recognised by judges for his talent, positioning in 3rd place for Herbert Smith Freehills’ Best Individual Mooter Award.

The King's Oxford IP Law Moot 2022 coaches and team at Oxford University
The 2022 Oxford IP Moot team

The team of undergraduate students from King’s comprised of Juliette Sautelle (English Law and French Law LLB, 2nd year), Ishika Manglik (Law LLB, 4th year) and Cason Yong (Law LLB, 4th year), who were coached by Jocelyn Bosse and James Parish, both Lecturers in Intellectual Property and Information Law (Education).

To have reached the Grand Final of the moot was one of the best experiences I have had to date. The highlight for me was mooting in front of some of the leading figures of the IP field: Lord Justice Kitchin (Supreme Court), Lord Justice Birss (Court of Appeal), and Lord Justice Arnold (Court of Appeal). I am very grateful to not only have reached the final of the competition, but also to have shared the experience with such wonderful teammates and coaches. Cason, Ishika, Jocelyn and James – thank you!

Juliette Sautelle, 2nd year LLB student

In this story

Francisco Lobo

PhD Student

James Parish

Lecturer in Intellectual Property and Information Law

Clara  Lopez

Deputy Director of Centre for Climate Law & Governance