The ICCMCC Organizing Office is looking forward to (virtually) meeting this year’s teams! Send us a testimonial about your team’s experience in the 2020 ICCMCC and let us get to know you!
Comenius University, Slovakia: Our team has been trying to keep its ICCMCC spirit through regular online trainings by preparing oral submissions for the respective roles, even after the unfortunate cancellation of the oral rounds in the Hague. The motivation received throughout the competition from the organisers and the supporters has inspired us to work as one and to show perseverance despite the difficulties experienced among the whole international community.
As the iconic figure of international criminal justice Ben Ferencz says: “We should remember, it takes courage not to be discouraged.”
American University of Afghanistan, Afghanistan: Hello all, from Afghanistan! Despite the intense work, the past few months have been a very productive and enriching experience for the entire AUAF team. Notwithstanding the challenging circumstances and the struggles we went through during the journey, we all extremely enjoyed the process even the exhaustive research phase. Alongside this, we especially feel privileged and fortunate to have had a wonderful instructor along with an amazing coach who went beyond their job requirements and went the extra mile to tutor us in a super patient manner. They were with us through all the ups and downs of the journey and dealt with us at our worst. For that, we especially feel grateful. It is also noteworthy to mention how devastated we felt when we got to know about the cancellation of the competition after all those endless endeavors, sleepless nights, reading thousands of pages of researches, and above all the daydream of visiting the Netherlands along with the excitement of pleading in the ICC. Despite all, it was yet a great experience and we all gained knowledge and exposure to the practical aspects of the ICC. We all worked together and had a ton of fun and were especially proud of being a part of this privileged contest which makes the ICCMCC an unforgettable journey along with its innumerable memories engraved in our minds.
It was an honor to be a part of the ICCMCC journey and we will miss it. For us, it was not just about the competition or the pleading, but a major learning experience as well. For that, we all cordially thank the ICC Moot Court Competition 2020.
Lots of love from Afghanistan.
University of Dhaka, Bangladesh: In 2020, University of Dhaka was about to set foot in ICCMCC for the second time. The team consisted of four LLB students, personally enthusiastic about ICL: successfully qualified the preliminary rounds. Unfortunately, the competition got called off due to COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile Bangladesh has faced a super cyclone, norwesters and a severe Coronavirus outbreak throughout the country. The members ended up in different cities, completely isolated from one another.
“We loved our journey with ICCMCC although it did not end as expected. We are looking forward to meeting you all next year. Until then, stay safe!”
PS: Here is a sneak peek of the members exploring their skills, reading all the unfinished books and spending quality time with loved ones.
Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France: We found the perfect recipe for the 2020 ICCMCC Team!
For the dough:
5 fabulous persons
2 dedicated coaches
2 cups of organisation and commitment
1 large table and 5 comfortable chairs
4 cups of laughter, love and music
Mix until fluffy.
For the filling:
Many decades of jurisprudence and doctrine
A dash of sleep
Add coffee, generously
Add argument, take it off, add it again, change the structure, go back to original
A reasonable amount of trouble with the printer
2 tablespoons of “Where is the file?”“Why isn’t it working?”
/!\ keep an eye on the number of words
Bake for 5 months.
For the topping:
Did we say coffee?
1 birthday celebration (Champagne!)
Take a final walk together after submitting the memorials and just before the lockdown!
Allameh Tabataba’i University, Iran: Last summer, three of us started the team with two excellent coaches. But soon other girls became members and our five-member-girly team was completed. The process of problem-solving question was the glue that stuck us all together. Respecting to each other’s talents, going vegan, reading books, having a 12-hour exam at six a.m., sleeping in turn for writing judgement for PSQ was part of experiences that made our team unique. Writing memorandums was simultaneous with pandemic in Iran. Some days we got low energy but online meetings were fuel for keep going strongly. We grew older in ICCMCC 2020.
Ufuk University, Turkey: ‘Preparation for the ICC Moot Court Competition was full of twists and turns. Along the way, we learned to feel the joy of being overburdened with work yet still pulling through. Also, we’ve experienced the bliss point between sacrificing and achieving. Although we will not be gathering face to face with brilliant people around the world at Hague, we are still feeling the spirit of the ICCMCC. Hoping for a brighter future and looking forward to having this experience virtually in the upcoming years, wishing you all the best!’
Indus College of Law, Pakistan: “Hope is an orientation of spirit, an orientation of the heart. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out”. Back in November, which is the last month of autumn, but the beginning of a new adventure and which is the time to take risks and to do unexpected.
Presenting you the personae of female plurality team with one boy participant from the esteemed institution which holds the record of being the top youngest law college that walked-over many victorious conquests. Alongside, these girls are all set to follow the footsteps of the Chief Prosecutor of ICC “Fatou Bensouda” and the first woman President “Judge Silvia Fernandez” of ICC. This team had never been into one team before but this time they all vowed to show the true spirit of teamwork with all the dedication and harmony among each other.
This team was lucky enough to have a strong foundation by having an amazing instructor/coach who was always there through all odds and have been persistent enough to bear our lazybones and procrastination habitude at times. This journey was a wondrous journey of learning and understanding the daunting grey areas of ICL, such as “genocide through cyberspace”, “incitement”, “effects jurisdiction” filled with daydreams of travelling abroad, sleepless nights, heavy bags under eyes, skipped classes, minimal social life, never-ending research, making caffeine the best companion and WHATNOT!
THANK YOU ICCMCC’20, YOU WILL BE MISSED until next time!
University of Cologne, Germany: The ICCMCC team would like to share their testimonial via a video. Check out the video below for a glimpse into the preparations they put into the memorials. Thank you for sharing this with us!
UNICURITIBA, Brazil: Life during quarantine has been tricky. Everyone in our team is currently self-isolating. We keep in touch mostly through text messages. When we first learned that the competition would not proceed as scheduled, we all felt heartbroken and unmotivated. The months leading up to the competition were a very busy period of intense work and dedication. Now, we are faced with more time to relax, to settle, and to pick up new hobbies. In a way, our team needed this. Perhaps not in the current circumstances, but we certainly needed a time to just breathe.
Lloyd Law College, India: This picture shows strenuous days or should we say wintry nights? Although, it does reflect our team solidarity beyond everything. We’ve worked together especially during the days when the world was fighting with COVID-19 and we kept on working on our memorials in the midst of it all. It was tough but maintaining social distancing was needed. For this moot, we’ve sacrificed all our holidays, including Diwali, New Year, Holi, etc., and worked tirelessly in the college like any other ordinary day. Indeed, ICC will always remain an unforgettable journey that was full of ups and downs and we’re grateful for it.
Wuhan University, China: The team gathered together and had their own WeChat group on November 17th, 2019. It was such a nice day that they need to remember forever. After that, they worked together for two months to resolve the issues concerning the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, genocide, and public and direct incitement to genocide, which were difficult but unforgettable. Although they are now blocked by the outbreak of the COVID-19, they will never stop the love for international criminal law and will continue to pursue their dreams.
Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Bulgaria: The past couple of months have been an extraordinary experience for the whole team. None of us had previously experienced matters of the international criminal law. Therefore, it was a significant but fascinating challenge to self-learn all the basics of the discipline and to combine them with the prior knowledge regarding the Bulgarian criminal system. We found people who perceive the law as a power to change communities, to help individuals restore their fundamental rights, to make the world a brighter place. We are sincerely grateful for the chance to meet each other and to share the ICCMCC challenge during sleepless nights and a great deal of criminal law memes, which only a small amount of people would appreciate accordingly.
University of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh: Team UAP was optimistic about going to Netherlands after having cleared the preliminary round in Bangladesh. Sacrificing the performance of our exams and participation in the UMSAILS Spring School, we worked day and night and finally submitted our memorials. However we are extremely unlucky that the competition was called off due to the pandemic. This was our only opportunity to participate as we are all post graduate students studying in the LLM program with a scholarship provided by UMSAILS. Two of our members are new parents blessed with a little girl (the invisible fifth member). The gossips, canteen foods, sleepless night in UMSAILS Spring School, the misunderstandings and bunking our classes will all be dearly missed. A bundle of good memories and an intense knowledge of International Criminal law is what we will cherish.
Beijing Normal University, China: The members of BNU team were relatively restrained when they first met, and as time went on, the members became more and more aware of each other. In the process of preparing for the competition, the coaches showed great patience and care for the new members. From legal retrieval to memorandum writing, their joint efforts with the new members were the most impressive. On the last night of submitting the memorandum, every member was repeatedly proofreading the content. We cooperated with each other, and finally worked together to present a relatively satisfactory answer. During the novel coronavirus pneumonia, our members still prepared for the ICCMCC. Although the international round has been canceled, it is still an unforgettable and meaningful memory as we gained not only the professional knowledge of international criminal law but the sincere teammate friendship.
Singapore Management University, Singapore: Hello all from sunny Singapore! We hope everyone is healthy and safe! It’s unfortunate that we will not be able to meet this year – we were looking forward to meeting new personalities and making friends from all over the world.
The past few months have been an enriching experience for us. We’ve bonded over a love of poppadum, coffee, matcha latte and geeky tech, becoming fast friends. At the end of the day, we’re grateful for the learning opportunity and look forward to a get-together after the pandemic to celebrate our efforts! ?
National University of Management, Cambodia: As classmates, we’ve known each other before the competition; yet working as a team helps bond our friendship even tighter. Having struggled tons of matters, commitment is our core value, and as a team, we never leave anyone behind. During the preparation for the competition, we shared lots of things together even as complicated as the case law we found or as simple as the movie we watched. Currently, we are not allowed to meet physically, however; we still keep checking on each other virtually because we have so many things to share. The memories of getting through ICCMCC 2020 make us not only friends but also considered as relatives.
University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Who could say that constant and inexaustible research can be joyful and quite fun? Writing a memo is full of stress, nervousness and tension, but in those circumstances our team really bonded and we got to know each other much better. Even though the competition is cancelled, we still have a reward. Thanks to this competition we have learned that a real success will be achieved only if the whole team works as one. Thank you ICC MCC!
PS: and nothing of that would be possible without liters of coffee…
For an extra peak into the team’s cooperation, watch their video here.
University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg: This year’s ICC Moot Court competition was particularly challenging. It gave us the chance to grow not only as students but also as persons. We became members of a multicultural ‘family’, which celebrated the submission of the memorials with a remote ‘quiz-night’ and continues to keep in contact for presentation skill training and to support each other during the quarantine. If we can describe in one word this experience, it should be ‘cooperation’: we cooperated, as we hope humanity will cooperate to fight the challenges posed by this crisis! Once member of a team, always member of a team!
The University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa: We are proud to have been part of the ICCMCC 2020. Although the workload was daunting, our combined effort and appreciation for one another’s working styles created a bond amongst the three of us that made it thrilling to get up and work together. The day we sent through our Memorials, our university announced its closure, and we haven’t been back since. We still keep in touch over online morning yoga sessions together and frequent calls. While we were disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to experience oral rounds at The Hague, we appreciate having learnt so much about legal thinking and writing, as well as about life from this experience.
Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba Brazil: As non-native speakers, sometimes it is challenging to get back on track and effectively practice English. So, to start off, we decided to do an exercise. In this exercise, we were sorted out in duos and had 5 min to hear/share a personal story of a challenge faced in life. Then, another 5 min would be given to you/your partner for telling the story of the other in the first person to the rest of the group. It was an interesting and immersive experience, in which we had to be fully present in order to do justice with the other’s story when telling it to the rest of the group. As a result, we spent hours talking about personal stories, challenges and getting to know each other. This exercise laid the foundations to our next months of studying, training and eventually adapting to a “new normal”. Unexpected situations can be disappointing, but we did not cease to feel proud of being able to participate and to be a part of this experience.
Leiden University, the Netherlands: In September, we were just a handful of individuals who all happened to study at Leiden University. Little did we know that six months later, we’d transform in a real team. One that worked hard, showed dedication and became united by passion. Our experience has been a roller-coaster of emotions but along the ride, we had a lot of fun. Room 2.72 became our property and Albert Heijn our best friend. As the picture shows even Covid-19 couldn’t stop us from practicing. In the end, we’re only separated in distance but never in heart!
Christ University, Bangalore India: Presented with the opportunity to participate in such a competition, our team realized that this deserved nothing but each of us putting our best foot forward, which translated into qualifying for the International Rounds. Assisted by a wonderful support system, we constantly pushed and challenged each other, which broadened our understanding of the subject and the problem. Tagging each other in documents, exchanging emails throughout the night and video calls debating whose internet was faulty were how we spent the weeks leading to memo submission. Combined with college assignments, fear of the virus and our self-doubts, it was midnight coffee, brownie runs and homemade comfort food that proved to be our secret weapons and pushed us across the finish line.
Tartu University, Estonia: the team members did not know each other
prior to the day they officially met, and from the very first moment it was clear that each member would contribute due to his-her own personality. Chocolate, coffee and sense of humour were the essential ingredients for the meetings and a very nice memory comes from the day they met to organize the memorandums, ordered pizza and took a group picture locating the phone on the highest point of the room to catch the whole atmosphere. They have demonstrated themselves that with determination, perseverance and team-work unexpected results can be achieved!
Comenius University, Slovakia: Our team has been trying to keep its ICCMCC spirit through regular online trainings by preparing oral submissions for the respective roles, even after the unfortunate cancellation of the oral rounds in the Hague. The motivation received throughout the competition from the organisers and the supporters has inspired us to work as one and to show perseverance despite the difficulties experienced among the whole international community.
American University of Afghanistan, Afghanistan: Hello all, from Afghanistan! Despite the intense work, the past few months have been a very productive and enriching experience for the entire AUAF team. Notwithstanding the challenging circumstances and the struggles we went through during the journey, we all extremely enjoyed the process even the exhaustive research phase. Alongside this, we especially feel privileged and fortunate to have had a wonderful instructor along with an amazing coach who went beyond their job requirements and went the extra mile to tutor us in a super patient manner. They were with us through all the ups and downs of the journey and dealt with us at our worst. For that, we especially feel grateful. It is also noteworthy to mention how devastated we felt when we got to know about the cancellation of the competition after all those endless endeavors, sleepless nights, reading thousands of pages of researches, and above all the daydream of visiting the Netherlands along with the excitement of pleading in the ICC. Despite all, it was yet a great experience and we all gained knowledge and exposure to the practical aspects of the ICC. We all worked together and had a ton of fun and were especially proud of being a part of this privileged contest which makes the ICCMCC an unforgettable journey along with its innumerable memories engraved in our minds.
University of Dhaka, Bangladesh: In 2020, University of Dhaka was about to set foot in ICCMCC for the second time. The team consisted of four LLB students, personally enthusiastic about ICL: successfully qualified the preliminary rounds. Unfortunately, the competition got called off due to COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile Bangladesh has faced a super cyclone, norwesters and a severe Coronavirus outbreak throughout the country. The members ended up in different cities, completely isolated from one another.
Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France: We found the perfect recipe for the 2020 ICCMCC Team!
Allameh Tabataba’i University, Iran: Last summer, three of us started the team with two excellent coaches. But soon other girls became members and our five-member-girly team was completed. The process of problem-solving question was the glue that stuck us all together. Respecting to each other’s talents, going vegan, reading books, having a 12-hour exam at six a.m., sleeping in turn for writing judgement for PSQ was part of experiences that made our team unique. Writing memorandums was simultaneous with pandemic in Iran. Some days we got low energy but online meetings were fuel for keep going strongly. We grew older in ICCMCC 2020.
Ufuk University, Turkey: ‘Preparation for the ICC Moot Court Competition was full of twists and turns. Along the way, we learned to feel the joy of being overburdened with work yet still pulling through. Also, we’ve experienced the bliss point between sacrificing and achieving. Although we will not be gathering face to face with brilliant people around the world at Hague, we are still feeling the spirit of the ICCMCC. Hoping for a brighter future and looking forward to having this experience virtually in the upcoming years, wishing you all the best!’
Indus College of Law, Pakistan: “Hope is an orientation of spirit, an orientation of the heart. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out”. Back in November, which is the last month of autumn, but the beginning of a new adventure and which is the time to take risks and to do unexpected.
UNICURITIBA, Brazil: Life during quarantine has been tricky. Everyone in our team is currently self-isolating. We keep in touch mostly through text messages. When we first learned that the competition would not proceed as scheduled, we all felt heartbroken and unmotivated. The months leading up to the competition were a very busy period of intense work and dedication. Now, we are faced with more time to relax, to settle, and to pick up new hobbies. In a way, our team needed this. Perhaps not in the current circumstances, but we certainly needed a time to just breathe.
Lloyd Law College, India: This picture shows strenuous days or should we say wintry nights? Although, it does reflect our team solidarity beyond everything. We’ve worked together especially during the days when the world was fighting with COVID-19 and we kept on working on our memorials in the midst of it all. It was tough but maintaining social distancing was needed. For this moot, we’ve sacrificed all our holidays, including Diwali, New Year, Holi, etc., and worked tirelessly in the college like any other ordinary day. Indeed, ICC will always remain an unforgettable journey that was full of ups and downs and we’re grateful for it.
Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Bulgaria: The past couple of months have been an extraordinary experience for the whole team. None of us had previously experienced matters of the international criminal law. Therefore, it was a significant but fascinating challenge to self-learn all the basics of the discipline and to combine them with the prior knowledge regarding the Bulgarian criminal system. We found people who perceive the law as a power to change communities, to help individuals restore their fundamental rights, to make the world a brighter place. We are sincerely grateful for the chance to meet each other and to share the ICCMCC challenge during sleepless nights and a great deal of criminal law memes, which only a small amount of people would appreciate accordingly.
University of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh: Team UAP was optimistic about going to Netherlands after having cleared the preliminary round in Bangladesh. Sacrificing the performance of our exams and participation in the UMSAILS Spring School, we worked day and night and finally submitted our memorials. However we are extremely unlucky that the competition was called off due to the pandemic. This was our only opportunity to participate as we are all post graduate students studying in the LLM program with a scholarship provided by UMSAILS. Two of our members are new parents blessed with a little girl (the invisible fifth member). The gossips, canteen foods, sleepless night in UMSAILS Spring School, the misunderstandings and bunking our classes will all be dearly missed. A bundle of good memories and an intense knowledge of International Criminal law is what we will cherish.
Beijing Normal University, China: The members of BNU team were relatively restrained when they first met, and as time went on, the members became more and more aware of each other. In the process of preparing for the competition, the coaches showed great patience and care for the new members. From legal retrieval to memorandum writing, their joint efforts with the new members were the most impressive. On the last night of submitting the memorandum, every member was repeatedly proofreading the content. We cooperated with each other, and finally worked together to present a relatively satisfactory answer. During the novel coronavirus pneumonia, our members still prepared for the ICCMCC. Although the international round has been canceled, it is still an unforgettable and meaningful memory as we gained not only the professional knowledge of international criminal law but the sincere teammate friendship.
Singapore Management University, Singapore: Hello all from sunny Singapore! We hope everyone is healthy and safe! It’s unfortunate that we will not be able to meet this year – we were looking forward to meeting new personalities and making friends from all over the world.
National University of Management, Cambodia: As classmates, we’ve known each other before the competition; yet working as a team helps bond our friendship even tighter. Having struggled tons of matters, commitment is our core value, and as a team, we never leave anyone behind. During the preparation for the competition, we shared lots of things together even as complicated as the case law we found or as simple as the movie we watched. Currently, we are not allowed to meet physically, however; we still keep checking on each other virtually because we have so many things to share. The memories of getting through ICCMCC 2020 make us not only friends but also considered as relatives.
University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Who could say that constant and inexaustible research can be joyful and quite fun? Writing a memo is full of stress, nervousness and tension, but in those circumstances our team really bonded and we got to know each other much better. Even though the competition is cancelled, we still have a reward. Thanks to this competition we have learned that a real success will be achieved only if the whole team works as one. Thank you ICC MCC!
We are proud to have been part of the ICCMCC 2020. Although the workload was daunting, our combined effort and appreciation for one another’s working styles created a bond amongst the three of us that made it thrilling to get up and work together. The day we sent through our Memorials, our university announced its closure, and we haven’t been back since. We still keep in touch over online morning yoga sessions together and frequent calls. While we were disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to experience oral rounds at The Hague, we appreciate having learnt so much about legal thinking and writing, as well as about life from this experience.
Leiden University, the Netherlands: In September, we were just a handful of individuals who all happened to study at Leiden University. Little did we know that six months later, we’d transform in a real team. One that worked hard, showed dedication and became united by passion. Our experience has been a roller-coaster of emotions but along the ride, we had a lot of fun. Room 2.72 became our property and Albert Heijn our best friend. As the picture shows even Covid-19 couldn’t stop us from practicing. In the end, we’re only separated in distance but never in heart!
m the very first moment it was clear that each member would contribute due to his-her own personality. Chocolate, coffee and sense of humour were the essential ingredients for the meetings and a very nice memory comes from the day they met to organize the memorandums, ordered pizza and took a group picture locating the phone on the highest point of the room to catch the whole atmosphere. They have demonstrated themselves that with determination, perseverance and team-work unexpected results can be achieved!
