The USC Law Moot Court Team (from left) Edward Dominic Emilio, Chrisha Romano-Weigel, Rhomeljustein Redoble.

The University of San Carlos College of Law team composed of Rhomeljustein Redoble, Chrisha Romano-Weigel, and Edward Dominic Emilio reached the semi-finals and finished in the top four of the 2021 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition Global Rounds. Redoble was also named among the top 34 individual oralists in the preliminary rounds. The USC team was coached by Atty. Daryl Bretch M. Largo, assisted by Atty. Rashid V. Pandi.

Effusive in her praise for the Law team, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs Atty. Joan S. Largo commended their hard work, brilliance, endurance, and perseverance. “Seeing our own law students from this humble place in Cebu stand toe-to-toe with their peers from all over the world—Justein (Redoble) with his gold hair, Shang (Romano-Weigel) in her flawless Cebuano accent, and Edward (Emilio) looking all brilliant in his true promdi vibe—Jessup 2021 became all about letting people occupy the spaces they define,” she said.

“For USC Law,” she added, “this 2021 Jessup represents many things. When the competition was opened—for the first time in its long and storied history—to all law schools all over the world, and schools were not anymore limited by the restraining constraints of a national qualifying round, we have seen the democratizing and liberating power of the Internet.”

The team after their late lunch following a gruelling round against the University of Cambridge in the quarterfinals of the Jessup Global Rounds.

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Considered as the olympics of mooting, the Jessup competition is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious mooting competition in the world. This year’s edition featured 570 law schools from almost 100 different countries and jurisdictions and was conducted in a completely virtual format accounting for the competing teams’ different time zones. According to the competition website, the Jessup 2021 Problem included the obligations and responses of States concerning the global pandemic, as well as questions regarding the jurisdiction of the Court, political asylum of an alleged rogue scientist, and responsibility of a State for a suspicious aircraft explosion.

The USC Law team eventually bowed out to the National University of Singapore. The other semi-final round was between the National Law University of Orissa (India) and the University of Sydney. The Australian team bested NUS in the final round and was named World Champion.

Tags: Law