IUB awarded “Best International Team” at international moot court competition in India

A moot court team from the Department of Law at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) secured the "Best International Team Award" at the 12th Justice P N Bhagwati International Moot Court Competition on Human Rights, 2024. 50 teams from various South Asian countries participated in the competition held at the Bharati Vidyapeeth New Law College in Pune, India, from March 21 to 23.

IUB was the only international team in the competition to have made it into the advanced rounds. Representing IUB were two students from the LL.B. (Honours) programme – Asfi Fatima, a second-year participant in her first-ever international moot court competition, and Zakaria Islam, a third-year contender who previously participated in the Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Court Competition. They were coached by Maimuna Syed Ahmed, Lecturer at the Department of Law, IUB, who herself was a mooter at university.

The team's strategic approach paid off as they navigated through complex legal arguments, focusing on key areas of human rights law. Despite the odds, the IUB team excelled, advancing to the quarter-final rounds and earning the distinction of "Best International Team".

The inauguration ceremony and preliminary rounds were held on March 21, followed by quarter-final and semi-final rounds the next day, and the final rounds and valedictory ceremony on March 23.

This year, the Moot Problem dealt with concerns over the right to information; freedom of expression as against the right to privacy and data protection; legality of cyber espionage; waiver of diplomatic protection, and concerns surrounding the legality of arrest, detention, and treatment of foreign nationals.