MANILA, Philippines–The University of the Philippines (UP) is currently in Oxford University to compete in the Price Media Law Moot Court competition from March 24 to 27. The UP team won the right to represent the Asia-Pacific region after becoming champions at the Asian regional rounds held in Renmin University, Beijing, late last year.
The competition is sponsored by Oxford’s Program in Comparative Media Law and Policy (PCMLP). It aims to “foster an interest in some of the most cutting edge issues of our time: the role of new information technologies and free speech” by using “solid empirical research that is grounded in historical context and [based on] a dialogue between all those involved and affected.”
The Oxford program hosts a Media Law Reference Database, and links to “case-law, legislation and juridical doctrine repositories from various jurisdictions around the world.” Among its partners are The Open Society Foundation, the Annenberg School for Commmunication at the University of Pennsylvania, and The Guardian. The Philippine Daily Inquirer is one of the local sponsors of the UP Oxford Price Moot Court Team.
The competition is named after professor Monroe E. Price, who cofounded the PCMLP. The team consists of UP law students Gil Anthony Aquino, Gemmo George Fernandez, Pauline Gairanod, Rachel Angelie Miranda and Raphael A. Pangalangan, with professor Harry L. Roque as coach and lawyer Macel Seno as assistant coach.