UP Law Prevailed as Champions at 40th Jean-Pictet Competition

The University of the Philippines College of Law prevailed as Champions in the recently concluded 40th Jean-Pictet Competition, held last February 25 to March 4, 2023 in Durrës, Albania. This win secures-back to-back championships for UP Law, who also won the 39th edition, which was held in Bali, Indonesia in 2022. Prior to this, the UP Law Team had prevailed thrice as Finalists and thrice as Semi-Finalists. The team showcased exceptional skills and knowledge, securing their spot as one of only three teams in the 40-year history of the competition to accomplish this feat.

The Jean-Pictet Competition is a training event in international humanitarian law, where teams compete in the context of simulations and roleplaying built around armed conflict. Teams play the role of actors of armed conflicts, ranging from military, humanitarian, political, officers, and lawyers. Competitors are also able to explore fields in international relations, international criminal law and refugee law.

The 2022 team was composed of Paolo Jose, Caleb Catalan and Lance Villarosa. The team won among 21 teams, besting the Universitas Gadjah Mada (Indonesia) in the finals. Because of their win, UP then ranked 12th among 223 competing schools globally, jumping 16 places since it qualified as World Finalists in 2021.

This 2023 team is composed of team captain Micah “Bob” Ecarma, Luis Alfonso Manlangit, and Mika Andrea Ramirez. Manlangit was recognized as a nominee of the Gilbert Apollis Prize for Best Speaker. The team won among 44 teams, besting the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (Switzerland), University of Basel (Switzerland), United States Air Force Academy (United States), and University of Essex (United Kingdom) in the semi-finals; and the University of Tel-Aviv (Israel) in the finals.