Source: abs-cbnnews.com
UP law students show they're at par with world's best
WASHINGTON D.C. - Aspiring lawyers from the University of the Philippines appeared on track on vindicating their dismal showing at the last Bar exams, today becoming the only team from Asia and the Third World to enter the “Round of 8” in the largest moot court contest here.
Some 137 teams from 80 countries – from an original field of over 600 law schools – made it to the 2012 Jessup International Law Moot Court competition that culminates with the Jessup Cup World Championship on Saturday.
“We continue to be undefeated and today we won the run-off and the ‘octo-finals’ against Greece which means we’ve qualified for the quarterfinals. We’re now in the top 8 of the world,” lawyer Harry Roque Jr., the UP team coach, told ABS-CBN News.
UP will be competing against teams from Oxford, Columbia, Hastings, Oakland and Ottawa universities as well as law schools from Russia and Melbourne, Australia.
More significantly, one of the case studies tackled by the moot court was culled from the Vinuya “comfort women” case (petition seeking compensation from Japan for abuses committed during World War II) that’s reportedly one of the bases for the impeachment of Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.
“The problem is based on a case that was one of the reasons why the Chief Justice was impeached, ang kaso ng mga comfort women at kung tama ba ma-invoke ang state immunity ‘pag nagkaron ng paglabag sa tinatawag na ‘jus cogens’,” Roque revealed.
He does not believe this gave UP an edge, asserting that if they enjoyed any advantage it was in the Filipino law students’ passion for what Roque calls an injustice.
“Whoever wrote the case study based this on a case in the Philippine Supreme Court that still has not been resolved with finality,” he explained.
Roque said he doubts this was a coincidence because the Vinuya case has earned international notoriety for its various twists and turns – especially after Supreme Court Justice Mariano del Castillo was accused of plagiarism in the Vinuya “ponencia”.
The High Tribunal tried to sanction the UP College of Law after it called for Del Castillo’s resignation.
“The Vinuya case has garnered international attention because of the findings of plagiarism and the punishment imposed on the UP law faculty where there was an international appeal for the Philippine legal community,” Roque said.
“Human right defenders should not be victim themselves of human rights violations,” he added.
The UP law students’ impressive run in the moot court competition – said to be the biggest ever held – “is not only a vindication, it’s a better measurement of the quality of legal education we have in UP.”
For the first time in memory, none of the most recent Bar topnotchers were from UP.
UP beat Ateneo, San Beda, Silliman and the University of the Cordilleras to earn the right to compete in the Jessup international moot court contest.
The six-person UP team bested Boston College last Tuesday, Japan and Kenya last Wednesday and Greece and Argentina yesterday.
“We’re here competing with the best in the world,” Roque said.
Some 137 teams from 80 countries – from an original field of over 600 law schools – made it to the 2012 Jessup International Law Moot Court competition that culminates with the Jessup Cup World Championship on Saturday.
“We continue to be undefeated and today we won the run-off and the ‘octo-finals’ against Greece which means we’ve qualified for the quarterfinals. We’re now in the top 8 of the world,” lawyer Harry Roque Jr., the UP team coach, told ABS-CBN News.
UP will be competing against teams from Oxford, Columbia, Hastings, Oakland and Ottawa universities as well as law schools from Russia and Melbourne, Australia.
More significantly, one of the case studies tackled by the moot court was culled from the Vinuya “comfort women” case (petition seeking compensation from Japan for abuses committed during World War II) that’s reportedly one of the bases for the impeachment of Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.
“The problem is based on a case that was one of the reasons why the Chief Justice was impeached, ang kaso ng mga comfort women at kung tama ba ma-invoke ang state immunity ‘pag nagkaron ng paglabag sa tinatawag na ‘jus cogens’,” Roque revealed.
He does not believe this gave UP an edge, asserting that if they enjoyed any advantage it was in the Filipino law students’ passion for what Roque calls an injustice.
“Whoever wrote the case study based this on a case in the Philippine Supreme Court that still has not been resolved with finality,” he explained.
Roque said he doubts this was a coincidence because the Vinuya case has earned international notoriety for its various twists and turns – especially after Supreme Court Justice Mariano del Castillo was accused of plagiarism in the Vinuya “ponencia”.
The High Tribunal tried to sanction the UP College of Law after it called for Del Castillo’s resignation.
“The Vinuya case has garnered international attention because of the findings of plagiarism and the punishment imposed on the UP law faculty where there was an international appeal for the Philippine legal community,” Roque said.
“Human right defenders should not be victim themselves of human rights violations,” he added.
The UP law students’ impressive run in the moot court competition – said to be the biggest ever held – “is not only a vindication, it’s a better measurement of the quality of legal education we have in UP.”
For the first time in memory, none of the most recent Bar topnotchers were from UP.
UP beat Ateneo, San Beda, Silliman and the University of the Cordilleras to earn the right to compete in the Jessup international moot court contest.
The six-person UP team bested Boston College last Tuesday, Japan and Kenya last Wednesday and Greece and Argentina yesterday.
“We’re here competing with the best in the world,” Roque said.
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