SCHOOL OF LAW

presents

1st BENNETT INTERNATIONAL MOOT

COURT COMPETITION, 2024

APRIL 05th-07th, 2024

THEME: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW

MODE: OFFLINE

MOOT PROPOSITION

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 MOOT PROPOSITION

1. Pangea was a peaceful country consisting of various groups of islands in the southeast
Corrobean sea. The country consisted of multiple small religious segments, but the major
two religious communities were Fastaism and Normadism. Where people of Normadism
followed a general principle of acceptance of all, unity and brotherhood, people of Fastaism
believed in one God, seclusion, and sacrifice to be its major tenants. For a very long time
both the major communities along with other religious segments lived in harmony
occupying the stretch of islands, but slowly disputes and differences started to emerge
between segments of Fastaism and Normadism. Over a period of many decades major
population following Normadism started settling in the southern cluster of Pangea islands
also popularly known by the people as Angara Lands and similarly people of Fastaism
started settling in the northern cluster of islands known by the people as Gondwana lands.
2. These settlements and further demand for division was fueled by the political influence of
United Upfront Alliance (UUA) headed by Mr. Brick Shaw representing the people of
Normadism and People Promotion Party (PPP) headed by Mr. Tapist Remero representing
the people of Fastaism. Mr. Tapist Remero preached to the people of Gondwana Lands that
we need to create Gods own country, and this is only possible with the blood and sweat of
his people. He emphasized that any external influence may disrupt and damage their way
of life with people losing faith in the basic tenants of seclusion and sacrifice. On similar
steps Mr. Brick Shaw also spread the word to the people of Angara Land to raise their voice
for the creation of a safe haven for its people where people can live in unity and harmony.
These demands took an ugly turn when the people of Fastaism after a rally by Mr. Tapist
Remero took up arms against the certain shopkeeper of Normadism living in Gondwana
and burned their livelihood with slogans like “Filth under our feet”, “Either you are with
us or against us: last chance to convert”. A similar retaliation arose in Angara where some
people of Fastaism were severely beaten and killed by the party workers of UUA under the
banner “You shall reap what you sow.” The flames of these incidents spread like wildfire
engulfing various parts of Gondwana islands and Angara islands, sacrificing the lives of
thousands of innocent people in the process.
3. On June 4, 1991, a truce was agreed between UUA and PPP leading to a clear separation
of Lands of Angara into United States of Angara and Lands of Gondwana into Republic of
Gondwana. Both countries after a while got the recognition and membership of United
Nations. Although many small islands of Pangea were left independent in this division and

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 were given the option to join either of the countries through an ‘instrument of accession.’
Among these independent islands was a small religious community of Modernism on the
island of Stark, ruled by an independent thinker Dr. Nores Osborn. The modernists believed
in scientific innovation and economic development as the key to progress and decided to
become an independent country out of the clutches of any religious thought. After the
creation of Republic of Gondwana, Mr. Tapist Remero became its first President and as a
part of its prime initiative to make Gondwana a strong republic, it established an advisory
board for suggestions on religious conversion and inclusion of nearby independent islands
through dialogues with its people or by military occupation.
4. On November 2, 1991, a dialogue was initiated by Mr. Tapist Remero with Dr. Nores
Osborn for inclusion of Stark Island into the Republic of Gondwana. But after seeing a
clear denial by Dr. Nores Osborn, in rapid action, a small military battalion was sent to the
shores of Stark Island which was met with retaliation from the Scientific Forces of
Modernists. As the issue escalated, on November 15, 1991, large military forces of
Gondwana attacked the island and Dr. Nores Osborn was taken aback on a corner due to
limited manpower. In this moment of desperation, he sent a convoy to Mr. Brick Shaw,
who had become the prime minister of United States of Angara after its independence. With
the convoy, an Instrument of Accession was proposed by government of Angara to join the
country, which after some deliberation was accepted by Dr. Nores Osborn on the condition
that no religious conversion would be forced on the people of Modernism after joining
Angara. On this promise military aid was provided by Angara to support against the attack
of Gondwana forces and to a large extent they were successful in taking back the territory
of Stark Island, but due to the delay in such support Dr. Nores Osborn lost his wife,
daughter, and the northern part of Stark Island to the military force of Gondwana. The
northern part of Stark Island was occupied by the Republic of Gondwana, and the southern
part of the island became an official state of United States of Angara with Dr. Nores Osborn
as its Mayor.
5. In the aftermath of this tragedy Dr. Nores Osborn used all his scientific might and the
support of Modernists to create a private weapon manufacturing company called Future
Technologies Ltd. He along with the aid of the Military Leader of United States of Angara,
Brigadier Marshal Hanibal Lecter took many initiatives to build deadly weapons of mass
destruction to increase the military supremacy of their country. In this process Dr. Nores
Osborn created a big name for himself around the world in the segment of leading weapon
developer and supplier.

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6. Over the past 2 decades where United States of Angara progressed to become a developed
country, because of the traditional approaches of Republic of Gondwana it remained an
under-developed country with its survival dependent upon heavy loans from nearby
countries. The government of Gondwana had taken an accumulated loan with interest of 56
billion $ which it failed to repay after repeated reminders. An internal turmoil was also
emerging due to economic instability and depression in Gondwana. Taking this
opportunity, a dialogue was initiated on October 3, 2022, by Mr. Brig Shaw, the current
Prime Minister of United States of Angara and second son of late Prime Minister Mr. Brick
Shaw, with President Tapist Remero to submit the territory of Stark Island and Republic of
Gondwana for its own development and making Pangea whole again. It was also promised
that all the previous debt of the government of Gondwana would be waived off and further
investments would be done for infrastructural development of the country to uplift its status
as a part of developed nation. Mr. Tapist Remero, being furious of such proposal left the
dialogue in the middle with the words, “we will never submit our people to religious scum
like you and will never agree to pollute our motherland and our nation.”
7. After these failures Mr. Brig Shaw through an official letter of United States of Angara
gave an ultimatum to the Republic of Gondwana to either pay the whole debt with interest
or be ready to hand over the country. He took the support of Brigadier Marshal Hanibal
Lecter and Mayor Dr. Nores Osborn to prepare an all-out military attack on stark island to
reclaim the land of Modernist and rapidly move on to occupy the mainland of Republic of
Gondwana. On the direction of the Prime Minister of Angara, Brigadier Marshal Hanibal
Lecter authorized the use of shelling weapons provided by Future Technologies Ltd to
occupy the northern territory of Stark Island, but in the process caused death of thousands
of military personnel’s of Gondwana, including Modernist civilian living in the area who
were forcefully converted into Fastaism. The fire of war spread further to the Republic of
Gondwana where advance weaponry was used to bring more damage to the area to deal
with the local force brutally and swiftly. This sudden act helped in taking back the borders
of Republic of Gondwana, but it proved difficult to manage occupation of the internal lands
where People of Fastaism heavily resides. As Gondwana people retaliated with the help of
military, local young generation protecting their motherland and external arms and
ammunitions support by other developed nations, the war seems to be balancing from both
sides.
8. Under these circumstances the war stretched beyond the imagination of Brigadier Marshal
Hanibal Lecter to 8 months and still the end of it seemed very far as forces of Gondwana

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 adopted guerilla warfare strategy in the local hilly areas of its mainland. To win at any cost
Brigadier Marshal Hanibal Lecter gave a free hand to the Generals of its military battalions
to do whatever they could to bring victory against Gondwana. The soldiers of Angara took
this opportunity to commit acts of aggression against the civilian population of Gondwana
where people were brutally tortured, raped and killed to set an example to anyone who
stood against the might of United States of Angara. Airborne weapons of mass destruction
were supplied by Future Technologies Ltd. to target all major cities regardless of being
used as a military base or by local people fighting against the military occupation. With
these weapons of mass destruction, millions of military personnel and civilians died,
although United States of Angara finally won the war.
9. In the aftermath of the war, the United Nations Security Council referred the situation to
the Prosecutor, under Chapter VII of the United Nations and in accordance with Article 13
of the Rome Statute, of the International Criminal Court, against Mr. Brig Shaw, Brigadier
Marshal Hanibal Lecter, and Dr. Nores Osborn, under the following charges:

i. War Crimes: Indiscriminate attack: They were accused of ordering and overseeing
military operations that involved the indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, resulting
in civilian deaths and injuries.
ii. War Crimes: Sexual violence during war: They were charged with systematic use of
sexual violence as a weapon of war by raping the local population by soldier of United
States of Angara under their supervision.
iii. Crimes Against Humanity: Forcible Transfer of Population: They were charged with
forcibly displacing civilians from their homes as part of a widespread and systematic
attack against the civilian population.
iv. Crimes Against Humanity: Mass Murder: They were also accused of being responsible
for the mass murder of civilians as part of a widespread and systematic attack against
the civilian population, along with Dr. Nores Orborn who supplied the means of such
destruction and mass killing through Future Technologies Ltd.

Note:

1. Both the states are party to the Rome Statute.

2. We have given the concerned legal issues. However, any other sub issues the teams deem
fit can be added as sub issues to the most relevant legal issue/s.

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3. Principles of International Criminal Law, Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian
Law along with the Rome Statute or any other relevant Conventions can be used.
4. Relevant legal cases of national and international courts could be used if the teams are able
to cite the reason and relevance of using such cases.