UP Sweeps Law Tilt in HK Back to Roque & Butuyan Law
Photos 2005 Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot
The UP College of Law bagged the top prizes in the 2005 Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot Competition held in
Hong Kong on March 11-12.
In the unprecedented sweep, UP’s two teams, one representing the respondent, and the other, the applicant, ended up
competing against each other after winning all their rounds against 11 other universities from Asia. A UP student also bagged
the award as best debater.
The team of Celia Torres-Villanueva and William Varias won first prize and an all-expense paid trip to Geneva, where they will
visit the headquarters of the International Red Cross. Villanueva is a UP professor with a PhD in Molecular Biology. She is the
daughter of former Executive Secretary Ruben Torres. She and Varias are fourth year law students in the evening class.
Mark Pepito Rabe and Marlon Marquez, representing the respondent team, won second place and an all expense paid trip to
an Asian destination. Rabe, 24, was adjudged best debater. He is also the youngest member of the team and a third year law
student. Marquez is graduating this year.
Professor Harry Roque, Director of the UP Institute of International Legal Studies, coached the teams.
Aside from UP, Ateneo de Manila also competed, along with the National University of Singapore, University of HK, City
University of HK, Renmin University of China, Fudan University and National Taiwan University, among other universities in East
and Southeast Asia.
UP Law Dean Raul Pangalangan said it was “a victory well-deserved by the students and their coach.” He added that the
competition reflects the superior quality of legal education in the Philippines and is “a good way to spread the gospel of
international humanitarian law in Asia.”
The winning team is thankful to the assistance and subsidy provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
in the Philippines as well as the UP College of Law.
No less than Hong Kong’s best legal luminaries judged the final rounds: Patrick Chan, permanent judge of the Court of Final
Appeal; Thomas Gall, High Court Judge; and Anthony Francis Neoh, senior counsel.
This International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Moot is designed to raise people’s awareness of international humanitarian issues.
Each participating university had two teams competing separately in moots carried out simultaneously as the applicant and the
respondent in a fictitious court case which was based on real-life facts involving child soldiers. The students were assessed upon
their advocacy skills and basic knowledge of IHL.
The IHL moot was co-organized by International Committee of the Red Cross and HK Red Cross in collaboration with the
University of HK and the City University of HK. #