Dhaka University Moot Court Society (DUMCS), the pioneer mooting platform of the country started its journey in 2007. Bearing the long legacy of success all around the world, in last few months, DUMCS have successfully sent four international teams to represent Bangladesh in the global platforms.
One of the teams of DUMCS comprised of K M Ashbarul Bari, Atikul Haque, Nusrat Jahan, Romana Afroze and Sayed M Shafayet bears a legacy of success in their own journey of Mooting.Their journey from the bottom to the top, is quite intriguing and full of inspirations.
First, the nationals. Based on the quality of research, they were the only team selected from Bangladesh in the South Asia Round of the Oxford-Price Media Law Moot Court Competition, and eventually qualified for the global round, which was hosted by the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford. The New Delhi round of the Competition was the second phase, which actually picked the toppers of the whole South Asian region. The Mooters described this phase as a bit tough, challenging the nerves by dissecting the sensitive right to freedom of expression; in the end, Dhaka University was on their way to England, ‘Eastern Oxford’ was meeting ‘The Oxford’.
In the grand stage, Dhaka University again shined in glory by beating the University of Sao Paolo (Brazil) and the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and qualified to the Octo-Finals, the ‘Top 16’ among the forty participating teams around the world. Although they lost to the National Law University of India (NLU Bhopal) for the narrowest margin of 2 marks, their performance was widely acclaimed, and the Bangladeshi community of the UK including the Bangladesh Law Association in the UK honored the team by arranging formal receptions.
However, their story might sound so sweet, but the journey was not. The major problem regarding the mooting explorations in Bangladesh is the lack of funding and logistic support. Law students and Mooters have not been successful to tap into the CSR and other sponsorship sources to fund the teams, which hold them back from representing Bangladesh in some of the major mooting competitions around the world. Keeping in mind the limited opportunities and resources available in a public university, they strive to figure out solutions for all the problems with passion, hard work and sincere supports from the faculty members, specially Professor Dr. Nazmuzzaman, the moderator of DUMCS.
Nevertheless, with this pretty little steps, the dream to represent Bangladesh in international courts as lawyers and judges – the long journey has begun, and the light at the end of the tunnel is blazing red.
