MSAL Open 2008 results

Moscow State Academy of Law (MSAL) hosted their 5th Open on 26-27 April 2008. This AP format tournament was won by a composite team of Eugene Akulich (MGIMO) and David Powell (Oxford). MSAL Open is run in Russian language, and David was the first ever RSL-speaker (Russian as Second Language) to compete. Speakers from ex-USSR don’t count as RSL:)

20 teams from more than 10 cities of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus participated in the Open. Eugene Akulich also became the best speaker on the tab. Best judge (according to feedbacks) was Maxim Shmakotin (Novosibirsk, Russia).

The motions were (translated from Russian and some are Russia-specific):

• Round 1. THBT the US should lift the economic sanctions against Cuba
• Round 2. THW give equal rights to the football legionnaires in the EU
• Round 3. THW grant the barristers the right to deny execution of a commission at any stage of criminal process
• Round 4. THBT international community should fight with visa regime usage as an instrument of external politics
• Round 5. THBT state bears liability for breakage when its actions lead to an economic crisis
• ¼ final. THW demonopolize the railway market
• ½ final. THW allow default judgment on criminal cases
• Final. THW boycott Beijing Olympics.