Ref: 57/2013
On 08 September 2013, the Palestinian Centre
for Human Rights (PCHR) concluded the International Criminal Law Moot Court
Project which is the second of its kind in the Gaza Strip. In the concluding
ceremony, the 2 groups playing the roles of prosecution and defense were
announced as the winning groups due to their competence and convergent scores.
The winning group from al-Azhar University that
played the role of prosecution was comprised of 5 students: Hana’ al-Yazji,
Ahmed Abu Foul, Hanadi ‘Akila, Mohammed Attallah and Nour al-Dreimli, while the
winning group from the Islamic University that played the role of defense was
comprised of other 5 students: Fayza Omar, Amjad Abu Sido, Belal al-Najjar,
Ra’ed al-Bursh and Jehad Riman.
Certificates were distributed to the students
participating in the competition. Moreover, certificates of appreciation were
granted to the local coaches, who supervised the training of the students; Dr.
Zaher al-Saqqa, al-Azhar University, Dr. Mohammed al-Nahhal, the Islamic
University, and Dr. Abdul Qader Jarada, from Palestine University.
During the ceremony, lawyer Raji Sourani,
Director of PCHR, delivered a speech stressing the significance of this project
on the practical and theoretical levels. He explained that he would allow deans
of law faculties at the three universities to choose 2 students from each one
to receive training at PCHR for a full year as Sourani believes in the
importance to transfer the knowledge and experience of PCHR to these students
who proved their competence.
Mr. Dawood al-Masri, Deputy Program Director
for the Rule of Law and Access to Justice at the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP), congratulated the participating students and praised their
performance. He also announced that the project would continue for 3 other
years starting from the coming year in order to enhance the students’ skills
and potentials. Al-Masri thanked PCHR, as the implementing party, the jury and
the coaches.
Mr. Saher al-Waleed talked on behalf of the Deanship
of the Faculty of Law at al-Zahar University highlighting that to win means
that everybody is a winner, because the participation of the students who had
the chance to join the project is a success. Al-Waleed thanked all who
contributed to the project and competition to make them a success, especially
the jury that presented a real image of juries in courts.
Dr. Basem Bushnaq, Head of Sharia and Law Department
at the Islamic University, praised the performance of the participating
students. Furthermore, he thanked all who contributed to making the competition
a success, especially lawyer Sourani. Bushnaq addressed the students
highlighting that all of them had won and that they were the cornerstone that
should be promoted to prosecute war criminals and litigate before courts in the
future.
On behalf of the Dean of the Faculty of law and
Judicial practice at the University of Palestine, Mr. Na’el Shallat, appreciated
the efforts of those who contributed to the competition. He hoped the students
would be able to understand the international criminal law to stand for the
Palestinian people’s cause and ensure remedy for Palestinian victims.
The competition continued for the second day.
The jury comprising of lawyer Sourani, head of the jury; Mr. Salama Bseiso,
Deputy Director of the Bar Association in Palestine, a member of the jury; and
Mr. Iyad al-‘Alami, Director of PCHR’s Legal Aid Unit, a member of the jury,
listened to the legal pleadings presented by the 2 groups from two of the
competing universities as part of the court hearings that started on 07
September 2013.
Once the hearing was concluded, the jury
announced the prosecution and defense groups that gained the highest scores
after the evaluation of the written submissions and oral pleadings of the 6
groups representing the 3 competing universities. The last 2 groups competed in
the final round against each other. At the end of the round, the winning group
was announced.
On the opening day, 2 rounds were held when 4
groups out of 6 ones competed against each other and presented their arguments
before the jury.
It should be noted the International Criminal
Law Moot Court Project is implemented by PCHR, funded by the UNDP and sponsored
by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in
cooperation with three universities (al-Azhar University – the Islamic
University – Palestine University) for the second year. The 30 participating students
(10 students from each university) were intensively trained for almost a year
by local and international legal experts on the principles of the international
humanitarian law and international law.
The project and competition are considered an
opportunity for theoretical and practical training on oral arguments and
written submissions in the context of a fictional case. The project offers the students new
perspectives to enhance their potentials in the field of applying the
principles of law over cases in the practical life.
