Victoria University to Represent NZ at International Moot

2 December 2014

Victoria University to Represent New Zealand at International Moot

Two Victoria University law students will represent New Zealand at the 13th Red Cross Asia-Pacific International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Moot competition in Hong Kong next year after winning the New Zealand competition.

They are Abhiteja Kandarpa and Conor Donohue. Mr Kandarpa was also awarded the prize for best speaker.

The other members of the Victoria University team are coaches, associate professor Alberto Costi and senior lecturer Joanna Mossop. The University of Auckland team, Allanah Colley, Jack Davies and coach Treasa Dunworth, were runners up.

The New Zealand team’s participation in the IHL Moot Court competition to be held in Hong Kong in March 2015 is being funded by New Zealand Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The prestigious annual moot is designed to extend knowledge of IHL, the body of law that regulates armed conflict, within a new generation of talented legal students.

Teams from each of New Zealand’s six law schools were asked to make their case before the mock court on a variety of issues arising from modern day warfare. These included the protection of cultural property during war and the use of private military and security contractors.

Abhiteja Kandarpa and Conor Donohue were commended by the judges for their clear and well organised arguments.

The judges were former New Zealand Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer, Switzerland’s Ambassador to New Zealand David Vogelsanger and Colonel Justin Emerson, Director of Defence Legal Service. They all have extensive experience in IHL and all spoke passionately about its importance in their closing remarks from the bench.

New Zealand Red Cross IHL and policy manager Marnie Lloydd says IHL aims to limit suffering during armed conflict.

“A key principle of humanitarian law is that the same rules apply to all parties to a conflict. All parties, whether state armed forces or an organised armed group, must respect and protect people who do not participate in the fighting, namely civilians, and those who are no longer fighting, such as wounded or captured soldiers or fighters,” she says.

“For international humanitarian law to be effective in times of conflict, it must be understood in peacetime,” Ms Lloydd says.

“This moot promotes better awareness of IHL among tertiary students and gives students the opportunity to engage with legal professionals working in this field both domestically and internationally, such as the Red Cross Movement and New Zealand Defence Force,” she says.

ENDS

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