HKU ranks 9th and wins M. Cherif Bassiouni Award – Top Memorials from the National & Regional Rounds for Written Memorial in the Jessup Moot in Washington DC

From left: Mr Thomas Lam (Coach), Mr Matthew See, Ms Cherie Cheung, Mr Jonathan Ho, Mr Evan Robinson, Mr Fergus Tam (Coach)

Congratulations to HKU Jessup team for winning the M. Cherif Bassiouni Award – Top Memorials from the National & Regional Rounds for Written Memorial, in the Jessup Moot in Washington DC.

After prevailing as the Overall Champion in the regional rounds of the 2026 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, the HKU Jessup Team represented Hong Kong in the White & Case Jessup International Rounds held in Washington DC, USA from 28 March 2026 to 4 April 2026. 

Out of 700 teams who participated in National Rounds and Regional Rounds, 164 teams went on to participate in the White & Case Jessup International Rounds in one of the largest and most prestigious international mooting competitions in the world. 

This year, the Team captured the M. Cherif Bassiouni Award (known until 2025 as the Hardy C. Dillard Award) for ranking 9th worldwide out of more than 700 teams for its excellent combined scores of both the Applicant and Respondent memorials. This is the first time HKU has won the M. Cherif Bassiouni Award (or its predecessor) since 2006. 

The M. Cherif Bassiouni Award recognises excellence in Memorial writing. The Memorials of the Team with the highest total Memorial score in each National or Regional Round shall be entered to compete for the M. Cherif Bassiouni Award. Each Memorial eligible to compete for the M. Cherif Bassiouni Award is graded by five judges. 

This year’s Jessup moot problem concerned the issues of intervention of non-party states, indigenous rights, general principles of international law and immunities of state-owned enterprises. The 2026 HKU Team, consisting of Cherie Cheung (PCLL), Jonathan Ho (PCLL), Evan Robinson (PCLL), and Matthew See (LLB III), displayed excellence in both written and oral advocacy at all stages of the competition. 

The Team would like to express their sincerest gratitude to the coaches, Mr Fergus Tam and Mr Thomas Lam, for their valuable feedback and support in their final year of coaching HKU’s Jessup Team. The Team would also like to thank the guest judges, Ms Natalie So, Mr Ryan Cheung, Mr Raphael Leung, Mr Jason Louie, Ms Holly Leung, Mr Alex Chan, Mr Ambrose Yu, Ms Tiffany Ng, Ms Faith Lee, Ms Ally Chan, Mr Leo Pang, Mr Chung Hin Yue, and Ms Veronica Yu for their kind assistance, helpful advice and rigorous advocacy training before the Hong Kong regional round, as well as in preparation for the international rounds.