Dar Al-Hekma law students make history for the GCC Saudia recognizes their achievements on one of its flights

Dar Al-Hekma University have become the first university in the GCC to ever reach the top 64 teams in the 26thWillem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot 2018/19 in Vienna in April 2019. The Department of Law & Diplomacy’s Vis Moot team reached the Round of 64 beating 312 other universities from around the world including Harvard University, Yale University and University of Oxford. Student Ragad Al-faraidy also received an ‘Honorable Mention’ for her accomplishments as an individual oralist. 

Dar Al-Hekma University were the only team from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the GCC to achieve these firsts. The Department of Law & Diplomacy’s Vis Moot team have previously been crowned ‘Best Law Team’ in the Middle East five times. Earlier this academic year, in preparation for Vienna, the team picked up accolades in the 9th Annual Middle East Vis International Commercial Arbitration Pre Moot Bahrain and the 3rdAIAC/ICC Arbitration Pre-Moot in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where they  won the award for Best Claimant Memorandum, from 90 teams around the world, and beat 74 teams from around the world to be in the top 11 teams overall.  They also took part in the Permanent Court of Arbitration Pre-Moot in The Hague. Here the team achieved the accolade of being amongst the top 4 teams, beating teams such as McGill University Canada, Stetson University USA and Maastricht University the Netherlands.  

Their firsts for the Kingdom and for the whole GCC were recognised by Saudi Arabian Airlines, who made a special announcement recognising their achievements, on the team’s return flight from Vienna to Jeddah. The team were also invited to meet Saudi Arabian Airlines Director General Eng. Saleh Al-Jasser. Eng. Saleh Al-Jasser praised the university’s efforts in raising the standards of education in the Kingdom and proudly displaying this to the world. Saudi Arabian Airlines pledged support to Dar Al-Hekma University for future competitions, as the Kingdom’s national carrier.

Dr. Suhair Al-Qurashi, President of Dar Al-Hekma University, said, "To achieve such firsts for not only the Kingdom but the GCC from an all female team, shows the efforts, standards and quality of the students, coaches and faculty at Dar Al-Hekma University. These prominent accomplishments have demonstrated the reputation of legal education from the Kingdom, not only to the rest of the Kingdom, but to the rest of world. We have met many well-known international universities as part of this experience, all of  whom are delighted to meet such bright, astute, and articulate female future lawyers of the Kingdom. We hope to continue this success for the Kingdom by mentoring other law schools across the region".

Sairah Narmah-Alqasim, Law Department Faculty Member who is also the legal representative of the university and the law advisor of the team, said the students worked hard and exerted great efforts to achieve this success. If anything, this accomplishment shows the great capabilities Dar Al-Hekma female students possess. Throughout the competition, the students remained confident and showed their innate potential as future lawyers. 

Salih Al-Jasser, Director-General of Saudi Arabian Airlines, said, “I was pleased to receive Dr. Suhair Al-Qurashi, the President of Dar Al-Hekma University and the accompanying delegation of the faculty members and the outstanding students who participated in the international commercial arbitration competition and made a great achievement for our homeland. I am proud of the continued accomplishments made by the Dar Al-Hekma University, its leadership and students.” 

Dar Al-Hekma University’s Law Vis Moot Team consisted of students Lama Abumansour, Ragad Al-Faraidy, Mariam Al-Khattab, Yara Al-Sayegh, Areej Bahashwan and Bashayer Binyamin. They were coached by Law graduates Jude Jamjoom and Hadeel Tayeb. The Dar Al-Hekma University Law Team Faculty Advisor for the competition was Sairah Narmah-Alqasim.

Dar Al-Hekma University’s Law Vis Moot Team were an all-female team and the only team from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 3rdAIAC/ICC Arbitration Pre-Moot in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and The Permanent Court of Arbitration’s Pre-Moot in the Hague. The 26thWillem C.Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna Austria in April 2019 involves legal analysis and strategy, written memoranda, as well as oral advocacy, where students prepare and present a case as if they were qualified lawyers and practitioners in the area of International Commercial Arbitration. The competition is organised and supported by amongst others; the United Nations (UNCITRAL), CLDP (Commercial Law Development Program) part of the United States Department of Commerce, USAID (United States Agency for International Development), the United States Department of State, CILE (Centre of International Legal Education, University of Pittsburg), and Wolters Kluwer.