On Saturday, 28 April, four students from the Oslo University Law Faculty became the champion of the 35th Telders International Law Moot Court Competition 2012. From late January to mid-March, PRIO’s Nobuo Hayashi organised a series of oral pleading practice sessions for the competitors where they refined their skills.
The oldest, largest and most prestigious of its kind in Europe, Telders features fictitious cases authored by leading practitioners dealing with timeless as well as contemporary issues of public international law. This year’s scenario involved questions of universal jurisdiction for incitement of genocide, immunities of a government minister from criminal prosecution in foreign courts and consequences of an illegal trans-boundary abduction. Over 100 students from some 27 European law schools spent up to eight months working tirelessly, reading, writing, arguing and dreaming about the fate of a certain Mr. Neville (also known as “DJ Red Nev”).
The championship round took place before a panel of three real-life judges of the International Court of Justice, Judges Keith, Skotnikof and Greenwood, at the historic Peace Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands. Having finished 1st arguing for the applicant state in the dispute, 7th for the respondent and 4th overall during the semi-final rounds, the Oslo team faced University College London, a formidable opponent who had won the competition for the last two years. Undaunted, Oslo’s two agents for the applicant delivered virtually flawless arguments, fielding penetrating questions from the bench and mounting a knock-out rebuttal. PRIO is proud to have been associated with this unprecedented success. Congratulations Oslo!
