A four-day moot court competition is being held in Hong Kong this week. Students from across Asia Pacific will be challenging each other in International Humanitarian Law. Mao Dan reports.

More than 100 law students representing 24 teams from 18 countries and regions across the Asia Pacific are taking part in the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot Court competition in Hong Kong. The annual event, in its 16th edition now, aims at challenging and testing the students' knowledge and application of international humanitarian law and to raise awareness throughout the region.

ZHOU WEN ICRC REGIONAL DELEGATION "This competition is not only an event to generate interest but also a flagship event for dissemination IHL in law society across Asia Pacific. Over the years, we've seen increase of interest from regional law school students in international humanitarian Law. We've also seen more and more and higher level of understanding, research and advocacy."

The problem this year is set in the context of climate change and involves fictional cases at sea. Students will act as counsels before a simulated International Criminal Court.

DANYON CHONG MOOTER "I think international humanitarian law is really important and it's recognizing that war does happen and then looking at what we should do in those circumstances and just to figure out the realm of how we can conduct those to ensure it's done properly."

NATHAN WHITTLE MOOTER "I think the most challenging was answering questions to help me understand more and that always has challenges. It's fantastic to come here and see what's it like, and meet people from all around the region."

CHEN JIAQIN MOOTER "You are competing with mooters from another country. They may have a different legal understanding of the issue. So you have to understand their understanding and cope with them. And you have to make your arguments strong and explicit."

General rounds are being held on the campus of HKU, while the Final will take place at the High Count Building where the participants will compete at a real court.

MAO DAN HONG KONG "The International Committee of the Red Cross believes that the moot court competition will not only test students' legal knowledge and skills, but also raise their interest in humanitarian affairs, and most importantly, make them think about how the international humanitarian law should be applied in reality. Mao Dan, for CGTN, HK."