COVID-19 and the 2019/20 International Moots Season

• Main Author: CHEN, Siyuan
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2020
• Subjects: Moot competitions; COVID-19; pandemics; Singapore; Asian Studies; Education; Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/3288; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/5246/viewcontent/COVID_19_and_the_2019_20_International_Moots_Season___The_Singapore_Law_Gazette.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This is the sixth annual review of Singapore’s performance in notable international moot competitions. This season will of course be known as a highly disrupted one, beginning with the Hong Kong unrest that barred some teams from participating in LAWASIA (for which Singapore has been to the last four championship) and COVID-19 that led to the outright cancellation of various Grand Slam moots including the Jessup, International Criminal Court, and Frankfurt (for which Singapore has regularly featured in the championship). Smaller niche moots, such as the International Maritime Law Arbitration and Private Law competitions, were also not spared and either cancelled entirely or only awarded memorial prizes. There were moot organisers, however, who were prepared to do the unprecedented and offer the mooters the alternative of competing online using video-conferencing technology.