Moot Court has qualified for two prestigious international moot court competitions this summer.
Aurora Sutton and Thomas Hamilton will represent St. Thomas at the Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition, July 13-17 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Fellow Mooters Sydney Gallibois, Jazmyne LeBel, Edyn Clowater, and Alex Ryan will represent the Green and Gold at the Nuremberg Moot Court competition, July 22-25 in Nuremberg, Germany. was the only Canadian university to qualify for the in-person portion of the competition.
“Competing against law school students on an international stage as an undergraduate student feels surreal. It is an incredible honour,” said Sutton.
“It really reinforced for me that even coming from a smaller university, we are still capable of making a real impact at the international level.”
The Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition
The Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition is the only global moot court competition explicitly dedicated to human rights. After months of reading and analyzing the facts of their case, drafting two legal briefs, and competing in the online preliminary rounds, Sutton and Hamilton placed among the top 24 teams, qualifying for the in-person rounds in Geneva beginning July 13.
“ Moot gave me the skills and confidence needed to succeed in this competition. It helped me develop strong research, writing, and oral advocacy skills,” said Sutton.
“I came to with hopes of competing on the Moot Court team, having heard of its outstanding success. Experiences like this really show what students can achieve with the right encouragement behind them.”
The competition invites students from universities worldwide to argue a hypothetical human rights case before judges from leading international tribunals and human rights experts at the United Nations Palais des Nations.
The Nuremberg Moot Court
This is Moot Court’s first time competing in the in-person Nuremberg competition. will be the only Canadian university represented at the international event.
“We have dedicated countless hours to reading case law, researching, and refining our knowledge of international criminal law,” said LeBel.
“It was intense but worthwhile to see all that work come together. I’m proud of how far we’ve come and am grateful I chose a school that gave me the opportunity to grow and chase something meaningful.”
The Nuremberg Moot Court competition replicates the International Criminal Court. Over four months, Ryan, Clowater, Gallibois, and LeBel wrote legal briefs for the defense and prosecution and are now prepping oral arguments for the in-person competition beginning July 22 in Nuremberg, Germany.
“This is my last moot court experience as a student for the team. For me, qualifying for this competition is the culmination of my three years of work with Moot,” said Gallibois.