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Alumni and Moot Court Bench Cocktail Party

DEAN’S WELCOME TO MURDOCH ALUMNI

Friday, 20 October 2006

Good evening. My name is Gabriël Moens. I am the Dean of the Law School . I am delighted to welcome you back to Murdoch Law School . As Alumni of this School you are very important people because you are Ambassadors for this School. I am also pleased to welcome members of the Murdoch Student Law Society and Murdoch’s Moot Court Bench. I would also like to acknowledge the presence of Vicky Dodds, Director of Development of the University.

Murdoch Law School is a vibrant, energetic law school. The School’s Mission is to provide a rigorous and intellectually challenging legal education, which prepares our students for the domestic and international practice of law.

I would like to take the opportunity to acquaint you with some of the activities that have taken place at Murdoch during the last year. I stress that it is only a sample of some of the activities that took place in the School in 2006.

  1. Murdoch Law School has developed a formidable reputation in the field of advocacy training. This reputation has been cemented by the establishment of the Murdoch Moot Court Bench. As far as I know, Murdoch is now the only law school in Australia with a Moot Court Bench. Although it only started operating in the beginning of the year, it has already established itself as a major player in the education we offer at Murdoch. The Moot Court Bench has worked diligently during the last couple of months to improve the writing and advocacy skills of our students. It has also developed a Judge-in-Residence Programme. The Inaugural Judge in Residence, who commences in 1 st semester 2007, is the Honourable Justice Malcolm Lee.
  2. The Honourable Justice Christopher David Steytler, President of the Court of Appeals officially launched the Western Australian Institute of Dispute Management (WAIDM) on Thursday, 28 September 2006 during a function at Murdoch Law School . Among the guests were dispute resolution professionals from the United Kingdom , France and Singapore . The Launch was preceded by a Seminar on International Commercial Arbitration. Professor Michael Pryles and Professor Doug Jones, respectively President and Vice-President of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) addressed recent developments in international commercial arbitration and the new ACICA Rules. WAIDM was established on 25 January 2006 for the purpose of conducting training in the fields of arbitration and mediation and fostering research in alternative dispute resolution. As an arbitration institute, it conducts arbitrations and mediations for the legal and business communities. In fact, WAIDM conducted a mediation this week in the Board Room of the School.
  3. Murdoch Law School participated in the first international IP virtual mooting competition.  Judges and participating teams were in different locations and connected by videoconference technology during the hearings! This year, four Australian law schools participated in the competition: Murdoch, Queensland University of Technology, University of Melbourne and University of Canberra . The Australian law schools were joined in the competition by a team from the College of William and Mary , United States .
  4. On Wednesday, 27 September 2006, I announced an exciting new partnership with the Francis Burt Law Education Centre during a Function held in the Foyer of the Supreme Court. The partnership involves the establishment of a Murdoch Scholarship in Law, which will be available to the most outstanding student of the Law Society’s Inter-School Mock Competition. The Scholarship will be awarded to the student adjudged to be the best performer at the Inter-School Competition. The Scholarship will enable the recipient to join the team that represents Murdoch Law School in the prestigious Willem C Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot that takes place in Vienna , Austria each year in the week before Easter.
  5. The School hosted the prestigious International Maritime Law Mooting Competition which took place in June 2006. The School welcomed students from 15 law schools representing 8 countries!

In addition, I also list the following achievements and initiatives:

  • The new Graduate Certificate in Australian Migration Law and Practice commenced in September 2006;
  • The SCALES Community Legal Centre hosted a very successful Seminar on proposed changes to Australia ’s legislation on Unauthorised Arrivals;
  • The School developed a new Pre-Law programme that offers an alternative route to admission for members of the community;
  • The Junior Mooting competition and the Constitutional Law Moot were unprecedented successes this year;
  • 2006 MSLS Hypotheticals were held on Thursday, 5 October in the Freehills Electronic Moot Court of Murdoch Law School . The panel answered questions relating to The Murdoch Advocate:Market Forces, Civil Liberties and a Law School .
  • Students have been selected for participation in the prestigious Jessup, Vis and Lachs international mooting competitions;
  • The Law School developed a lecture series, which provides an opportunity for visiting faculty to share their research with Murdoch staff. During the last couple of months, the School welcomed scholars from the United States , France and PR China.
  • The School intends to offer its recently-approved Master of Laws degree in an intensive mode in Sydney as from the middle of next year.
  • Our Graduate Certificate in Chinese Law will hopefully be launched in January 2008 when our students will have an opportunity to travel to the PR China for a four-week study tour.

The School is looking forward to the following highly-anticipated events:

  1. The Honourable Justice Michael Kirby, Justice of the High Court of Australia will be giving a lecture in the Freehills Electronic Moot Court in the Law School on 26 October at 4.15 pm on Judicial Dissent: Annoying Irrelevancy or Institutional Necessity. His Honour, Justice Kirby is one of Australia ’s most prestigious figures in the Law and is well known for his passionate views on many issues connected with law reform.
  2. Murdoch Law School offers its first Professional Training in Arbitration Law and Practice Programme in the period of 1 December – 8 December 2006 at Mallesons Stephen Jacques. Participants in this training programme will study the law and practice relating to domestic and international commercial arbitration as well as commonly applied arbitration rules. This programme is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London . Course presenters are Professor Doug Jones, Partner Clayton Utz, Professor Phil Evans, The University of Notre Dame Australia and I.

These initiatives indicate that the School is a vibrant entity that delivers measurable results to its students, staff and alumni. It is your Law School and it is a School to be proud of!

Gabriël A. Moens

Dean and Professor of Law

 

 

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