A moot court team from the Department of Law at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) secured the “Best International Team Award” at the 12th Justice P N Bhagwati International Moot Court Competition on Human Rights, 2024.
The competition, held at the Bharati Vidyapeeth New Law College in Pune, India during March 21-23, 2024, witnessed the participation of 50 teams from various South Asian countries.
The IUB team was the only overseas team in the competition to have made it to the advanced rounds. Representing IUB were two outstanding students from the LL.B. (Honors) program: Asfi Fatima, a second-year participant in her first ever international moot court competitions, and Zakaria Islam, a seasoned third-year contender who previously participated in the Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Court Competition. They were coached by Maimuna Syed Ahmed, Lecturer at the Department of Law, IUB, who herself was an ex-mooter during her university life.
The team’s strategic approach paid off as they navigated through complex legal arguments, focusing on key areas of human rights law. Despite the odds, the IUB team excelled, advancing to the quarter-final round and earning the distinction of the “Best International Team”.
The Inauguration Ceremony and Preliminary Rounds were held on March 21, followed by Quarter-Final and Semi-Final Rounds the next day, and the Final Rounds and Valedictory Ceremony on March 23.
This year, the “moot problem” dealt with concerns over the right to information; freedom of expression as against right to privacy and data protection; legality of cyber espionage; waiver of diplomatic protection; and concerns surrounding the legality of arrest, detention and treatment of foreign nationals.