Story and Photo by
U.S. Army SFC Matthew Chlosta
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan law students didn't let the Feb. 26 attack by insurgents on their hotel keep them from competing in the first international academic competition Mar. 8 at Kabul University.
Three teams from Kabul, Al-Biruni and Nangarhar law and Shari’ a law faculties competed on Mar. 6-7 during two preliminary rounds. Al-Biruni University and Kabul University teams moved forward to compete in the regional finals and the Al-Biruni team won the right to go to Washington D.C. Mar. 21-27 as the Afghan national champion to represent their country for the international rounds of the 2010 Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition. Once there, the Afghan team will have a chance to reach the final day championship round.
“I want to show them that girls can be professors (of Shari’ a law),” Kabul University team competitor, Yalda Afif and one of two females on the team, said, as she waited for the judges to decide the winner.
Afif was later awarded first place for top oralist with the highest cumulative score for all preliminary and final rounds.
The two finalist teams competed in a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations. The case addressed the right to self determination and the lawfulness of measures taken to protect the economic resources of a state.
Teams prepared oral and written pleadings arguing both the applicant and respondent positions of the case over the past five months. During the finals the two teams submitted their written pleadings and gave oral arguments to the five judge panel, which was made up of lawyers from various entities in Afghanistan. The panel had four U.S. and one Afghan judge.
"We are proud to be part of the competition," said Parwiz Asmati from the victorious Al-Biruni University team. "I was nervous. I was relaxed after [the] first few minutes."
"[It] motivates [me] when -- U.S. is very supportive of this in the middle of war," Asmati said. "In the future I want to study masters, PhD in law. I will hopefully be back in this country. I would love to be a prosecutor."
Esmati won the award for second place oralist. The Al-Biruni written memorials arguing for both applicant and respondent positions earned a first place award.
“I was there in the Safi [Hotel] last week,” Afif said. “I was sleeping when the explosion happened. I was so scared.”
Eighteen male team-mates were housed next door to the Safi, at the Park Residence Hotel. A suicide bomber made his way inside the courtyard of the hotel, then exploded his vest near many of the students' rooms.
Students hid under their beds until they escaped with a few minor cuts from glass. In the chaos that followed, many of the teams' personal belongings, including laptops with their notes and research, were stolen from the Park Residence hotel. Last week, USAID donated laptops to the teams to recover and continue their work.
Luckily the teams escaped unharmed due to the heroic actions of the Afghan National Police, who even rescued one male student from his room in the Landmark Hotel.
“Congratulations for your perseverance,” the U.S. Embassy in Kabul’s Coordinating Director for Development and Economic Affairs Tony Wayne said before announcing the winning team. “All of you have won just by competing.”
Editors Note: Now in its 51st year, the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world's largest moot court competition.
The Afghan national round of the Jessup competition was not only Afghanistan's first moot court competition; it was also the first ever academic competition among the Afghan universities.
In a significant departure from previous years, the project coordinators determined that it was important to include both Law faculty and Sharia faculty students. No Afghan Jessup team has ever included Sharia students. This year each team was made up of 4 students from Law and 4 from Sharia for each university's Jessup program. Nangarhar University also participated in the preliminary rounds.
The Jessup moot court competition was funded by a grant from the U.S. State Department INL program to the University of Washington Asian Law Center. If funding continues, the University of Washington plans to expand the competition to include law and Shari'a law faculties from Balkh, Herat, and possibly Khost provinces. This years' team preparation was assisted by three U.S. attorney-coaches; the goal is to turn team selection, program administration and student preparation over to the law faculties as soon as possible.
Photos: Afghan Students Overcome Attacks to Compete in Competition