On behalf of my fellow judges, I congratulate all teams and mooters for your contribution to the success of the 19th Red Cross IHL Moot Court Competition (China round), and thank you all for your efforts and dedication to promoting teaching and learning international humanitarian law across China.
Many of you, excited at the moment, perhaps need time to further reflect on this experience, thus allow me to share my takeaways. Mencius, an ancient Chinese philosopher, once said, the law, by itself, would not walk, that teaching applies equally to international humanitarian law, which lives in its operation.
The simulated case for this year’s competition exemplifies the current status of IHL, its merits and strength, as well as its deficits and difficulties in addressing challenges of this changing era. Thanks to your joint endeavor, some of those gaps were filled through innovative interpretation, robust legal reasoning, and skillful advocacy. With your help, in this instance, international humanitarian law did walk its way.
What you said certainly matters, but I am especially drawn to how you defended or prosecuted your case, how your performance drew me in, and how you made me feel. In that sense you are not vessels that transmit information but active creators in our own and others’ view towards IHL.
I hope you will continue pursuing this high mission, and be ready and willing to be a defender of IHL, as we all faithfully believe that only by upholding international humanitarian law, can peace win and last.
