National Research University, Higher School of Economics wins ICC Trial Competition, Russian version
Today, 22 May 2015, the Law School of the National Research University of the Higher School of Economics won the final round of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Trial Competition, Russian version, held in ICC Courtroom I in The Hague (Netherlands). The Law Faculty of the Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Kutafin Moscow State Law University won, respectively, the second and third place. The winning team comprises Gulnaz Zhuravleva, Vasilii Bakumenko, Anastasia Sukhareva, Georgii Tiuliaev, and Anastasia Zakharova. The Best Speaker award went to Gulnaz Zhuravleva of National Research University of the Higher School of Economics.
Before a bench composed of ICC Judge Geoffrey A. Henderson and ICC Associate Legal Officers Matt Halling and Thomas Koerner, the teams competed on a fictitious case, presenting oral arguments during an appeals hearing in the roles of Prosecution, Legal Representatives of the Victims and Government Representatives. After a break for deliberations, the jury announced the bench's decision and an awards ceremony was held for all participants. The finalists' peers attended the event in the Court's public galleries and the event was web streamed live on the Court's website.
The ICC Trial Competitions are simulation exercises on the applicable law and jurisprudence of the ICC. Today's final rounds were preceded by preliminary competitions which involved a total of 75 participants amongst fourteen teams from different universities throughout Russia and one team from Belarus. The preliminary rounds were visited by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of The Netherlands to the Russian Federation H.E. Ron van Dartel.
This version of the ICC Trial Competition was organised by the Law School of the National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow) with the institutional support of the ICC and direct support from the International Committee of the Red Cross Regional delegation in Moscow and the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Moscow.
In the context of its Academic Programme, the ICC supports the organisation of ICC Trial Competitions in Chinese, English, Russian, and Spanish, with a view to also support Arabic and French versions in the future. These initiatives play a critical role in galvanising interest in the Court's work with academic communities as well as in enhancing promotion and respect for international criminal law.
View photographs of the event here.
For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or+31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: [email protected].
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