The 2026 ICC Chinese Moot Court Competition was held at Central South University on April 11–12. The School of Law team from Southeast University (SEU) competed through both the memorial and oral pleading rounds, emerging among 130 domestic and international teams to claim the Third Prize. This achievement demonstrates the professional competence and English proficiency of SEU law students, and reflects significant progress in the School's efforts to cultivate internationally oriented legal talent.
About the Competition
The International Criminal Court Chinese Moot Court Competition ("ICC Chinese Moot") is organized by the International Law Promotion Center with the support of the International Criminal Court. The competition simulates ICC trial proceedings through fictional cases. Since its inaugural edition in 2013, it has grown into one of the largest moot court competitions on the Chinese mainland.
Team Composition
This year's team continued the cross-training model shared with the English moot program. The team was coached by Ms. He Yingxin and Mr. Zhang Yue of SEU School of Law. Team captain Dai Yuan (Class of 2023, LLB) represented the Defense, Huang Nufei (Class of 2023, LLB) represented the Government, and Chen Tianyu (Class of 2022, LLB) represented the Prosecution in oral pleadings. Ren Ruiqi (Class of 2023, LLB) and Jiang Yunhan (Class of 2022, LLB) served as researchers. The team received strong institutional support from the School, assistance from alumni who participated in previous Jessup and ICC competitions, and remote coaching from alumnus Wu Jie.
Preparation Process
The team was formally established in September 2025, embarking on a six-month preparation journey. During the initial phase, members systematically studied the competition rules, conducted in-depth analysis of the case background, and engaged extensively with relevant legal literature. To enhance memorial quality, the team adopted a collaborative division-of-labor approach, with members taking responsibility for legal research and drafting for the Prosecution, Defense, and Government respectively. After intensive drafting and meticulous formatting work, the team submitted three memorials totaling over 30,000 Chinese characters to the organizing committee by the deadline in March 2026, successfully advancing to the oral pleading rounds.
Oral Pleading Performance
Following their advancement, team members refined their arguments with painstaking care, repeatedly scrutinizing each legal point to ensure rigorous logic and well-grounded reasoning. In the oral pleading rounds, the three advocates performed under pressure, responding flexibly to judges' questions and engaging in vigorous exchanges with opposing teams — giving full expression to the team's research findings and command of substantive law. Across three rounds of competition, SEU School of Law ultimately distinguished itself among sixty competing teams to claim the Third Prize.
Closing Remarks
SEU School of Law remains committed to its mission of "building a first-class law discipline and cultivating first-class legal talent," with the training of internationally oriented legal professionals as a sustained priority. Under the strong leadership and support of the School's administration, a robust system for managing and incentivizing student competition participation has been established, effectively inspiring students' enthusiasm and unlocking their professional potential, yielding outstanding results in major international competitions. This achievement stands as a testament to our students' solid professional foundations, broad international vision, and excellent advocacy skills, and affirms the School's remarkable progress in developing legal talent for the global stage.