UAE University law team will compete in US

Dubai: UAE University Shari'ah and Law Team will compete in an international moot court competition in the United States next month after they were granted a $20,000 sponsorship by DLA Piper, a global legal services organisation.

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, now in its 49th year, is the world's largest, with participants from over 500 law schools in more than 80 countries.

The competition is a simulation of a dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice.

The international rounds take place from April 6-12, 2008, at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, D.C.

DLA Piper, an organisation with over 3,700 members who are lawyers from 25 countries, agreed to the sponsorship. This was announced at a press conference held yesterday.

The Dean of the College of Sharia and Law at the UAE University, Prof Jassem Al Shamsi, approached DLA Piper to seek the sponsorship. "We are looking forward to a strong performance," Prof Al Shamsi said.

DLA Piper's sponsorship includes airfares, accommodation and expenses.

"We would like our projects not only to inspire our own people but to inspire the people in the country where we live and work, in this case the UAE," said Wafa Tarnowska, Corporate Social Responsibility Coordinator at DLA Piper.