UP Law wins Stetson Moot Court Competition

JUST a week following the University of the Philippines College of Law triumph in the 2024 Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition in Washington, D.C., the UP Law Stetson Team was crowned World Champion at the 28th Stetson Annual International Environmental Moot Court Competition held in Gulfport, Florida, USA from April 10 to 13, 2024.

Renowned for its focus on tackling crucial global environmental issues, the Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition stands as the premier international platform for environmental law moot court advocacy.

UP Law outshone 19 law schools representing their respective regions, emerging triumphant from a compelling face-off against the Singapore Management University.

(From left) Prof. Rommel Casis, Noel Francis Galinato, Miriam Celine Miciano, Alia Dominique Yao and Prof. Marianne Crielle Vitug. PHOTO COURTESY OF UP LAW DEBATE AND MOOT COURT UNION

The UP Law Stetson team championed the protection of a critically endangered Mountain Gorillas species threatened by oil extraction activities, staunchly advocating for the necessity of thorough environmental impact assessments.

The team comprises law students Noel Francis Galinato, Miriam Celine Miciano and Alia Dominique Yao, with Prof. Marianne Crielle Vitug as coach and Prof. Rommel Casis as faculty advisor.

Miciano was awarded the Overall Best Oralist for the Preliminary Rounds. Yao secured the 3rd Best Oralist for the Preliminary Rounds and the Best Oralist of the Championship Round.

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Through Josh Jimenez of the UP Law Debate and Moot Court Union, the members and Prof. Vitug shared their thoughts about their win to The Manila Times.

«It was really a pleasant surprise. We were up against brilliant teams all throughout the competition, so we could only hope that our preparation would show in our presentations. While we really wanted to win, we tried to keep our focus on what was in front of us. We took it one round at a time and treated each round as an opportunity to learn from our opponents and strengthen our arguments,» Miciano said.

«We spent lots of hours researching, paneling and practicing our speeches both individually and as a team. The