On 28-29 November, ICRC International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Japan 2020 was held on-line.
The University of Tokyo team won the best council (1st prize) at the IHL Moot Court Japan. Two of the team’s mooters, Chris Clayton and Mei Kanehara, won the two best mooter prize (same score) as well.
The team had three members: Timothy Massie, Mei Kanehara and Chris Clayton, and they all started learning the ABC of International Law in my class several months ago, lured into the world of IHL Moot competitions by their friends, who won the last year’s Moot.
Here, you can see their performance in their finals. Team 208, you are amazing, absorbing all the new knowledge and information and presenting them in a convincing, logical way. Most of all, their very amicable and supportive team spirit made the team a nothing but a joy to coach.
One of the mooter’s notebook full of logics and cases amazed me, as well as the cards that the team was producing quietly and politely in preparation for rebuttal in the Finals.
And the learning curve! I thoroughly enjoyed challenging their arguments in the coaching sessions. Your dedication will one day save real people who need protection.
Heartful congratulations!
Speakers who participated in the IHL Moot this year, supporters who made it happen, thank you very much, and congratulations! Members of the ICRC, organizers behind the scene and distinguished judges, thank you very much for organizing the event. My team testifies that this was the most exciting and great learning curve we’ve had, and we admired the professional, neat organization of the event.

(We were obviously wearing masks all the time, had partitions between speakers and had hand sanitizers and wipes to ensure safety for all.)