We are a team!

- A story for the 10th Anniversary of IHL Moot Court Competition
 

China Youth University of Political Studies team participated in the IHL Moot Court competition for the first time. The last to sign up, they didn’t register until late September, two months after the moot problem was announced. The team had two months less for preparation than their opponents.  For them, it was a surprise to win any prize such as the First Honorable Submission for Prosecution.

Though they didn’t enter the final eight, Liu Fangbing and Shen Xiaoru looked happy nonetheless, because they said they had built a great team thanks to the competition.
 

Friends in need 

Fangbing and Xiaoru were fully aware that they would be competing with excellent mooters from 31 universities around the country. Knowing that they would support each other, they tried to pick up their energy and fight, despite depression, frustration and self-doubt throughout preparation.

Fangbing is a talkative girl with a round face, smiling eyes and a pair of round glasses. “If someone ever asks me about the most painful period during two months of preparation, it must be ‘writing memorial’. Mooters have to be adept at analyzing facts, applying legal knowledge, searching for information and English reading and writing. We can’t do it all by ourselves.”

Memorial writing was boring and monotonous. Every day was spent in the dorm, the library and the classroom on endless reading of piles of IHL books, dazzling databases and countless International Criminal Court precedents.

“If we were not mentally strong, we couldn’t have stuck it out. But when we were fully devoted, we could get over our fear by the strength from our passion, expectation and commitment for the Moot Court. There was also a sense of responsibility and belonging as a team,” said Fangbing with pride.

She still remembered clearly how excited they were when the first draft of memorial was completed on Oct. 16th; how Xiaoru restructured the first count at the freezing night of Oct. 20th; how their coach prof. Chen Xiaohua worked with them until midnight on Oct. 30th, the deadline of submitting memorial; and how senior students’ encouragement boosted their confidence and morale. She said: “Sometimes I felt that, with so much encouragement and warmth, no matter how hard the competition was, we should carry on.”

After submitting the memorial in a flurry, the two ladies were suddenly filled with energy. They thought the following oral argument training would be easy and interesting, though it turned out to be much more intense. The documents which they were familiar with could sometimes become totally new to them. As Xiaoru recalled, “At that time, every day we would recite oral argument material in front of the mirror in dorm. We read it until we fell asleep and woke up reflecting all the case facts and articles in dream.  ”

During preparation, it was their team that provided the strongest support. Research assistants satisfied all their demands. Whenever there is an issue, they would search for relevant information for inspiration. After each rehearsal, other teammates would mimic the way Xiaoru leaned forward, or how Fangbing shivered due to nervousness. They realized their shortcomings in laughter, but more often than not, what they received from the team was encouragement.

The night before the competition, Xiaoru and Fangbing went to bed early to ensure they were clear-minded the next day. They didn’t know until afterwards that their assistants actually stayed up all night to help them with research. The next morning, assistants also helped them with make-up so that they could look better.

“All these touching moments made us feel warm. We are a team. We don’t just compete for the two of us. We are fighting for our team”, said Xiaoru with immense gratitude in her eyes.

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The most valuable reward

For Fangbing and Xiaoru, the IHL Moot Court Competition was a valuable experience with laughter, tears, persistence and choices. They had also made considerable progress. Their English speaking and writing had greatly improved, more familiar with oral argument skills, more relaxed and skillful when answering judge’s questions, and more natural and graceful.

The competition had also aroused their interest in IHL. It was said that one day when they saw news of the conflict in Mosul, Iraq on the TV, one senior shouted: “This can be the moot problem for next year’s competition!”

Speaking of the biggest gain during this competition, the two girls both said: “We have gained a warm team and the happiness of growing together!”