UQ sails to victory in international maritime law competition

The University of Queensland has claimed its second international mooting title for this year after winning the 19^th International Maritime Law Arbitration Moot Competition (IMLAM).

The UQ team defeated the University of Hong Kong in the grand final last week at the Federal Court of Australia in Brisbane.

The championship title follows UQ’s recent win at the 2018 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in Washington, DC and is the fifth time UQ has won the IMLAM competition.

The winning team – UQLS President Sangeetha Badya, Laura Heit, Joshua McKersey and Priam Rangiah – was coached by recent graduate Dominic Fawcett and mentored by Professor Nick Gaskell.

TC Beirne School of Law Head of School Professor Patrick Parkinson said the team’s hard work and months of preparation had been rewarded.

“I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Sangeetha, Laura, Joshua and Priam, and thank Dominic and Professor Gaskell for their support and guidance to the team,” Professor Parkinson said.

“Mooting requires students to hone their research, advocacy and presentation skills, and our students have proven twice this year that they are the best in the world when it comes to demonstrating these highly sought-after legal skills.

“As hosts of this year’s IMLAM competition, it was a wonderful opportunity to showcase UQ to visitors from 28 universities and 13 countries.”

The team was also recognised through multiple awards including:

• Best Claimant Memorandum
• Best speaker in the General Rounds - Ms Sangeetha Badya 
• Best speaker in the Final Rounds - Ms Laura Heit

IMLAM requires law students to develop a case based on a complex realistic scenario involving a commercial shipping dispute, and present it before a tribunal compromising of experienced maritime arbitrators, members of the maritime industry, and commercial and maritime lawyers.

The competition enables students to forge contact with students from other law schools and meet with senior members of the profession and maritime industry.

Many of the students competing in IMLAM go on to secure employment at maritime law firms or as associates for judges specialising in admiralty and shipping matters.

Media: Caroline Enright, + 61 3365 2596, media@law.uq.edu.au.