By Gu Xian
I still remember how excited I was at the first sight of invitation letter of ILSA which lied on the table of the director of law school. Although I had no idea about Jessup International Law Moot Court, I could not wait to try. At that moment, I was an undergraduate student and only postgraduates were qualified to participate.
Two years later, I was admitted to Renmin University School of law as a postgraduate student majoring international law and my tutor was Professor Wenqi Zhu who founded and organized the Chinese National Round of Jessup moot court. On considering my candidature of Jessup, Professor Zhu wondered whether I could manage the time because I had much burdensome work of translating a book. And I told professor Zhu that Jessup is an irresistible chance for me and I don’t want to let it go again.
Professor Zhu gave me a shoot finally and the four months of preparation and debating session was an experience of pains and happiness. It was the first time I did such a great amount of legal research, the first time I wrote a English memo and the first time I stood before the moot court of International Court of Justice. Most important, it was the first time I felt myself like a lawyer. I had Pingpong training when I was a little girl and the confrontment between judges and attorneys is quite similar. The oral debate session was really a feast of challenging questions and witted answers.
What I learned from Jessup which has great impact on my way of thinking was not during the competition but after it. Each member of my team devoted all our time and endeavored to make the job perfect. However, we did not succeed to stand before the court in Washington. On the farewell dinner, a judge came to me who I am not able to recall his name but I never forget his words. He told me that life is full of fun, so is Jessup.
Yes. We all should enjoy the fun of Jessup. Not the title of best oralist or the result of the competition should make us happy or not, but the Jessup moot court itself, the brain storming disscussion with team members, the sleepless nights for research and writing, the time you feel the connection between you and judges should.
Just Have Fun!
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