Represented by Tendai Gezimati, Simeon Levine, Farrah Mikhail and Taylor McCoy, and coached by Macquarie Law School academic Dr Shireen Daft and alumnus Fareed Qureshi, Macquarie University competed against 12 teams before proceeding to the grand final where they advocated in front of High Court judge, The Honourable Robert Beech-Jones.
Professor Lise Barry, Dean of Macquarie Law School, expressed great pride in the team and coaches.
"It is extremely rare for a university to win back-to-back championships at this competition,” she said. “This is a testament to the team and their coaches, and to all the past Macquarie Law School Jessup team members and volunteer judges who come together every year to support our team and hone our skills.”
Macquarie Law School were undefeated throughout the competition, drawing unanimous benches in every single round as they progressed towards the Grand Final, where they defeated the University of Sydney. They appeared before a high calibre of judges drawn from the Attorney General's Department - Office for International Law (OIL), the Department of Defence, former Judicial Fellows of the International Court of Justice, and more. The teams presented cases discussing stripping nationality from citizens, the role of monarchy in society, compliance with UN Security Council Resolutions, and the role of the international community in addressing statelessness.
"Winning the Jessup competition and having the opportunity to advocate in the High Court of Australia is an experience I will never forget," says Simeone Levine, Macquarie Law School student. “This journey commenced almost six months ago, and to see the countless hours of work and late nights spent on campus culminate in a national championship is incredible."
The Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world’s largest moot court competition. A record-breaking 674 teams from more than 100 countries and jurisdictions will compete this year. The competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations (UN).
The Macquarie University team has spent months intensively researching, writing and orally preparing under the guidance of their coaches.
The competition provides an invaluable and formative opportunity, with past Macquarie team members securing prestigious scholarships for advanced study in international law and highly regarded graduate positions.
The team will compete in the international rounds in Washington DC this April.
L-R: Taylor McCoy, Farrah Mikhail, Simeon Levine, Tendai Gezimati
