The International Maritime Law Arbitration Moot (IMLAM) 2023, hosted by the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law (IISTL), concluded with a brilliant finale held at Trinity House, London.
Among the surroundings of the magnificent and historical building, two mooting teams from the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney had a final show-down before an elite panel of judges; Mr Justice Andrew Baker (Admiralty Judge, High Court), Simon Rainey KC (Quadrant Chambers) and Mr Paul Dean (Global Head of Shipping, HFW). After an hour of top-tier mooting, the University of Queensland (Lauren Gunther and William Garske) emerged as winners.
The competition had many positives; the mooting team from the University of Tehran was awarded the ‘Spirit of the Moot’ Award. Similarly, Natasha Nicholson from Northumbria University's team was awarded ‘Best Speaker’ from a team participating for the first time in the competition, and the University of Hong Kong team were awarded the ‘Best Memoranda’ award.
All at Swansea offer their congratulations the brilliant mooting teams that made it to the quarter finals after tense initial rounds: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Singapore Management University, University of Indonesia, The University of Hong Kong, West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences and Swansea University.
At the concluding ceremony, on behalf of the Organising Committee, it was announced by Mr David Goodwin that next year’s competition would be held again in Swansea. The fact that a university has never had the honour of hosting the event in two consecutive years is a great illustration of the leading role that Swansea plays in legal maritime education, and is a tribute to Matthew Parry for running this year’s event with great professionalism and humour.
Speaking after the event, Professor Soyer, Director of the IISTL, commented:
“On behalf of the IISTL, we would like to thank to all our judges from legal practice, academia and the P&I world, who freely gave up their time to contribute to the development of the next generation of maritime lawyers!
“And of course, once again we would like to pay our respects to all of our supporters: HFW (for the generous sponsorship), HST Marine, International Group of P&I Clubs, WISTA UK, and our information partner i-law.
The event was a great occasion that brought teams from 9 different countries to Swansea, and provided a fantastic environment for developing advocacy skills of those who participated and a networking opportunity with maritime practitioners. We shall be delighted to see everyone back in Swansea next July, and look forward to representing the UK in the international arena!”