The Gazette 1990

GAZETTE

A PRIL 1990

S A D S I takes on the wor ld A SADSI team has just returned from Washington DC where it took part in the World Semi-Finals of the Philip C. Jessup Moot Court Competition. This is the largest moot competition in the world and attracted 39 teams from the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe (East and West).

very special thanks go to Liz Heffernan of the Law Reform Commission and Eanna Mulloy, B.L. for their invaluable assistance and unfailing enthusiasm in coaching the team. It is undoubtedly due to their persistence and constant encouragement that the team managed to advance as far as we did and we are most grateful to both of them. We would also like to express our gratitude to our respective employ- ers who were all most generous in their personal encouragement as well as their practical assistance. Finally, we would like to pay tribute to our sponsors without whose contributions our trip to Washington D.C. would not have been possible: The Incorporated Law Society of Ireland; Liam Lysaght & Co., Solicitors; McCann FitzGerald, Solicitors; A&L Good- body, Solicitors; Gerard O'Keeffe & Co., Solicitors; Eugene F. Collins & Son, Solicitors; William Fry & Sons, Solicitors; British Midland Airways; Eugene Magee Travel; Eagle Star/ Shield Life; The General Council of the Bar of Ireland; First National Building Society; Bank of Ireland- Stoneybatter; Bord Telecom Eireann; Telecom Eireann Information Systems;. Black Tie; Round Hall Press; Diarmuid O'Donovan, S.C.; T. V. Davy, S.C.; T. K. Liston, S.C.; Eoghan Fitzsimons, S.C.; Feichin McDonagh, B.L.; Peter Charleton, B.L.; Maurice Gaffney, S.C.; Ultan Stephenson, Solicitor; Paul Kearney, Solicitor; Kevin Hoy, Solicitor; Dr. Carmel Heaney. We would also like to thank the following persons for their most gracious support in the run-up to the contest. Thank you to one and all: Mr. Charles J. Haughey, T.D., President of the European Council; Eamonn G. Hall; Professor Richard Woulfe; Ernest J. Margetson; Ms. Sandra Fisher; Rayprint; SADSI; Radio 2000/98FM; Mr. David Ensor (Eugene F. Collins & Son); Ms. Siobhan Williams; Ms Adrienne Lougheed (Liam Lysaght & Co.) Ms. Ruth Hutchinson-Blake; Ms. Aiffric Egan and Ms. Carmel Kearney. T. P. Kennedy.

The SADSI team represented Ireland and the national squad was composed as follows: Rosemary O'Farrell and T. P. Kennedy both of McCann FitzGerald; Monika Leech of Liam Lysaght & Co.; Dermot Cahill of Gerard O'Keeffe and Co.; and Joseph Kelly of A&L Goodbody. The format of the competition was that teams were asked to consider a fictional situation in which waste was dumped in An- tarctica. An international dispute developed between the country responsible and another state which sought to enforce internat- ional law prohibiting such dumping. Each team which qualified for the semi-finals was required to submit detailed written pleadings for both the applicant and respondent states. The teams were then required to travel to Washington D.C. to present their best arguments, twice on behalf of the applicant state and twice on behalf of the respondent state before a "court" of three judges. The judges were lawyers or academics with a background in international law and we soon discovered that there was one sadistic pleasure that they found irresistible — the use of their extensive legal knowledge in frequent questions. We soon came to relish this battle of wits and even from time to time gained the upper hand. On arrival, we found that we had been drawn against Australia, Greece, Japan and one of the American teams. The Australian team (from the University of New South Wales) were devastating and gained the advantage over our duo of Rosemary and Joe, with Monika acting as Counsel. However, we were somewhat more fortunate to win more de- cisive victories against Greece (the University of Thrace) and Japan (Rikkyo University). Unfortunately, in our last round we lost to the U.S. team (University of IOWA) on a split decision by the judges.

We were very pleased to have ended up in the middle of the points classification table, most especially when we were placed above our near neighbours from the United Kingdom. Is this a good omen for June? The contest was won by an American team from the Georgia School of Law who beat the team from the University of Toronto in the final. The rest of the week was given over to receptions and parties, seeing the sights and attending sessions of the Conference of the American Society of International Law and the Congress of Internat- ional Law Journals. One highlight was a seminar given by the U.S. State Department on the Legal aspects of the recently declared "War on Drugs". The chairman of the Drugs Enforcement Agency spoke as did one of the legal advisors to George Bush. Of equal interest was a reception given by Covington and Burling, one of the largest U.S. law firms. The size of their offices made a large impression, comparable to Liberty Hall. Of more importance to some of our team were the parties and more informal events. The Irish contin- gent maintained the national reputation for sociability and tall tales. In the course of the week, some of the team members attained a startling proficiency in Papuan and Greek drinking songs, an accomplishment they were anxious to display to their sleeping colleagues at an early hour of the morning. We departed Washington with pleasant memories of internat- ional gatherings and an increased confidence in our ability as Irish Lawyers to compete with the best of our counterparts from other jurisdictions. In conclusion we would like to thank the many people who enabled us to enter the competition and to compete effectively. Our

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