A team representing Dhaka University (DU) created history in India after bagging the runner-up title at the 8th Justice P.N. Bhagwati International Moot Court Competition on Human Rights, organised by Bharati Vidyapeeth, New Law College at Pune, India from March 24-25, 2018. The team consisted of Rifat Zabeen Khan, Mollik Md. Wasi Uddin Tami and Ali Mashraf from the Department of Law, DU.

Justice P.N. Bhagwati International Moot Court Competition has a great reputation at international echelon and is one of the most revered global moot court competitions on human rights. The team DU qualified to the semifinals as the first ranked and only international team ahead of 29 other teams from various countries, including the UK, Singapore, Kenya, Tanzania, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, Nepal, India and Bangladesh. Afterwards, they defeated JSS Law College, Mysore to move on to the finals.

They ultimately became the runner-up after a nail-biting final against Symbiosis Law School, Pune. Justice A.S. Oka of Bombay High Court, Justice J. R. Midha and Justice Deepa Sharma of Delhi High Court, Justice V.S. Siradhana of Rajasthan High Court, Justice Ajay Mohan Goel of Himachal Pradesh High Court and Justice C.T. Ravi Kumar of Kerala High Court were adjudicators of the final round.

Rifat won the Best Speaker (Foreign) award while Mashraf won the Best Male Speaker (Foreign) award. The team also achieved the 2nd Best Memorial (Foreign) award. This is a significant accomplishment for Dhaka University and Bangladesh in the international level.

The writer is a mooter, Dhaka University Moot Court Society (DUMCS).