Ref: 56/ 2013

On Saturday, 07 September 2013, The Palestinian Centre for Human
Rights (PCHR) inaugurated the first day of activities of the International
Criminal Law Moot Court Competition.  A
number of academics, jurists and law students from the three Palestinian
universities participating in the competition (University of Palestine, the
Islamic University and Al-Azhar University) attended the inauguration.

Dr. Riyad al-Za’noun, Chairman of the PCHR Board of Directors,
delivered the opening speech welcoming the audience and thanking both the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for funding this competition and Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for sponsoring it for the
second consecutive year.  He also praised
the role of professors of law in the Palestinian universities and congratulated,
on behalf of PCHR. the students participating in this competition for the model
they represent, which has a strategic and national dimension in the context of
being qualified to defend their people’s rights and prosecute war criminals.

Dr. al-Za’noun also noted that the closure imposed on the Gaza
Strip and developments in Egypt prevented the arrival of the international jury,
so they were replaced with highly respected local experts comprised of: Mr.
Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR; Mr. Salamah Bseiso, Vice-Chairman of the Bar in
Gaza; and Mr. Eyad Alami, Director of the PCHR’s Legal Unit.

The Moot Court is considering a fictional case which talks about an
armed conflict between two countries somewhere in the world.  Ten students were selected from each
participating university and they were all divided into six groups,
representing the prosecutor and the defense. 

During the first hearing of the Court, two groups of the competing
student groups presented their pleadings and legal evidence as members of the
two groups represented the parties of the Prosecutor and the Defense in the
context of the fictional criminal case. 
By the same token, the second hearing of the court was held and during
which another two groups of the competing students representing another two
participating universities presented their pleadings and evidence.  Hearings of the first day competition were
later concluded.

The competition activities will continue On Sunday, 08 September
2013, as the third hearing of the court will be held and during which two
groups representing two competing

universities will present their pleadings and evidence.  They will also represent the prosecutor and
Defense.

Following the conclusion of the third hearing, it is scheduled that
the parties of the prosecution and defense with the highest points will be
announced according to the Jury’s evaluation of the six groups’ written
submissions and oral pleadings in order to qualify for the final hearing of the
competition hearings.

It should be mentioned that the Moot Court Competition on Criminal
Law is a project implemented by PCHR for the second consecutive year in
cooperation with 3 Palestinian universities: al-Azhar University, Islamic
University and the University of Palestine. 
Ten students were selected from each university (30 students in total) and
received intensive training, which continued for an almost-full academic year,
on the principles of international humanitarian law and international law by
local and international legal experts.

The Moot Court Competition and its activities are considered an
opportunity for theoretical and practical training on presenting oral
pleadings, preparing written submissions and presenting legal evidence in the
context of a fictional case.  This
project opens for the participating students a broad prospects to promote their
capacities on how to apply practically the principles of law on cases.  It also improves their skills and shows their
potentials when using laws.