For more than 16 years, Parahyangan International Law Society has always upheld the pursuit of legal knowledge in the field of international law. Our mission as an organisation centres not only on educating and training future international lawyers, but is also grounded on the common experience law students around the world share in the spirit of friendly competition with the goal of working for justice and peace when we become legal practitioners.
As the 2022 mooting season has begun, we stand with others in condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Understanding the already-challenging conditions and pressure teams face in international competitions, we recognise the plight our fellow international law mooters in Ukraine face amidst Russia’s invasion and extend our sincerest sympathies.
It is precisely these trying times that emphasise even greater the urgency of respecting and abiding by international law. Russia’s invasion into Ukraine highlights even further the importance for law students like us to learn and understand international law. While we share the international community’s distress for the people in Ukraine, we acknowledge that our fellow Russian mooters cannot be held accountable for the decisions of their political leaders. As participants of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot and the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition among others, we support the Vis Foundation’s and the International Law Students Association’s decision to let Russian teams participate in the competition despite their government’s actions.
The pursuit of peaceful dispute resolutions is the essence of international law, and thereby the core of international law moots. We hope that by focusing on a common education on legal knowledge and peaceful advocacy, we all can continue to uphold and apply these values long after the days in which we learn them.
Bandung, 4 March 2022