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A Dhaka University Moot Court Society (DUMCS) team comprising Oishe Rahman, Rafid Azad Saumik, Fiaz Rabbani, and Tanha Tanzia emerged as champions in the Asia Cup 2023, held at the United Nations University, Japan recently. Earlier, the team had qualified as one of the sixteen teams for the oral rounds of the competition through memorial qualification. A moot court is a stimulating legal exercise where participants from different law schools put their learning into practice.
This moot court competition featured teams from various Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Japan, Vietnam, Pakistan, Iran, Mongolia, Nepal, and Thailand. The DUMCS team successfully faced off against Cambodia in the final round, Indonesia in the semi-finals, and Thailand and Vietnam during the group stage. Additionally, DUMCS received accolades, winning the Best Applicant Memorial Award and the third Best Respondent Memorial Award. Rafid Azad Saumik was recognised with the third Best Applicant Oralist award. He said, "The most interesting part about the competition was making friends from participating countries. The rounds were challenging, and we had to bring our best to every round. It was a great learning opportunity for us." With this victory, Dhaka University has established the supremacy of Bangladesh in the Asian legal field. The win in Japan will be hailed as a milestone event as it is the first time for not only a Bangladeshi team
but for any South Asian team to achieve a championship in this prestigious competition.
The DUMCS team received valuable advice from Ahsanul Karim, senior advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, and Dihider Masum Kabir, advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, as well as support from IFIC Bank and Bank Asia Limited as patrons that facilitated the team's participation in the international round of the competition. The team received continuous support and guidance from the President of DUMCS, Prof Shima Zaman, dean, Faculty of Law, University of Dhaka as well as the Chief Moderator of DUMCS, Prof Mohammad Nazmuzzaman Bhuian who was also the coach of the team. Constant guidance and direction from these experts helped them carve out the victory. Regarding the competition, Oishe Rahman said, "In addition to the competition itself, we were fortunate enough to attend a session on International Law by Judge Yuji Iwaswa of the International Court of Justice."
This triumph not only underscores the exceptional legal acumen of the DUMCS team but also highlights the institution's commitment to nurturing outstanding legal minds. This achievement will be inspirational for all law students in Bangladesh as they will look forward to continuing
its tradition of excellence and contributing to the legal discourse on a global stage.