UH Law School's Environmental Law Moot Court Team is No.1 in Nation

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Carol Mon Lee, (808) 956-8636
Associate Dean
Desiree Mokuohai, (808) 956-5516
Public Relations
Posted: Nov 18, 2002

The University of Hawaiʻi‘s William S. Richardson School of Law‘s International Environmental Law Moot Court team recently placed first in the nation and second in the world at the International Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Stetson University in Florida.

The law student team members — Kim David Chanbonpin, Josh Medeiros, and team captain Kanoe Kane — successfully competed against a field of over 42 law schools from the United States, India, Canada, and New Zealand to advance to the final round. The team narrowly missed taking first place, which went to a team from Queensland, Australia, and finished as the first runner-up "Finalist" amongst the international field.

The competition gave students the opportunity to explore issues of international environmental law in a mock dispute before the International Court of Justice. The teams gave oral arguments on a dispute between two fictional countries over transboundary shipment of nuclear materials.

This was only the third time the School of Law has sent a team to the International Environmental Law Moot Court competition. Last year, the team placed among the top four teams in the competition. Dedicated to participating in the competition this year, the team raised most of the funds themselves to pay for their travel to Florida, with funding also provided by the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation.

"We‘re very happy that we made the extra effort to raise funds and compete in this competition, especially because we did so well," said Kim David Chanbonpin, a third year law student. Kanoe Kane, a returning team member and third year student said, "It took a lot of hard work from all of us, and those that helped us, but we‘re elated with the results."

"The team‘s outstanding performance is a proud achievement and a tribute to the students, the Environmental Law Program, and the entire law school community," said team advisor Doug Codiga, an adjunct professor at the School of Law who teaches International Environmental Law and Wildlife & Natural Resources.

The William S. Richardson School of Law first opened its doors in 1973, and has since become the premier law school of the Pacific. The school‘s Environmental Law Program is consistently ranked among the finest in the nation. It has a strong relationship with the Hawaiʻi legal community and has also forged new and expanded relationships within the Asia-Pacific region.