Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition Celebrates 15th Anniversary

Final round of competition to be held at the Organization of American States (OAS)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, DC, May 21, 2010 – American University Washington College of Law is proud to announce the 15th anniversary edition of the Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition, taking place May 23-28 at the law school’s campus at 4801 Massachusetts Ave., NW.  The competition is presented by the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

The competition is the only trilingual (English, Portuguese, and Spanish) moot court competition in the world. It is dedicated to the Inter-American Human Rights legal system and seeks to promote and develop the understanding of human rights law and to foster a vibrant academic exchange among universities of the Americas and beyond. More than 500 students, professors, and attorneys are participating in this academic exercise. There are 94 teams from 31 countries, most of them coming from the Americas and the Caribbean, with 5 teams from Africa and Europe (including Cameroon, Nigeria, Germany and Switzerland). A team from Spain will also be taking part for the first time this year.

“This competition is a direct way for students around the world to actively participate in the Inter-American justice system,” says Claudio Grossman, dean of American University Washington College of Law, chair of the United Nations Committee against Torture, and a judge in the final round competition.  “As this unique initiative continues to grow, it fuels the progress of human rights legal education in universities around the world.  We are proud to offer such a prestigious and important competition.”

A hypothetical case on a topic currently debated within the Inter-American system serves as the basis of the competition.  This year’s case deals with the licensing of radios, community and social media as well as political protest, and was written by Catalina Botero Marino, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression at the Inter-American Human Rights Commission, and Nelson Camilo Sanchez Leon, lead researcher at the Center for the Study of Law, Justice and Society (DeJusticia) and professor in the Global Justice and Human Rights Program at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.

There will be a gala at American University’s Katzen Arts Center on May 27th to commemorate 15th Anniversary. Ambassadors to OAS are invited as well as Senior Staff and Faculty from WCL and all participants and judges.

In order to commemorate the Competition’s fifteenth anniversary, the final round will be celebrated exceptionally at the headquarters of the OAS in Washington, D.C.  The final round will be presided by Dean Claudio Grossman, Frank La Rue, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression at the UN, Catalina Botero, Special Rapporteur For Freedom of Expression at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Professor Robert Goldman, Louis C. James Scholar; co-director, Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Viviana Krsticevic, executive director of Center for Justice and International Law, Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon, professorial lecturer-in-residence and co-director of the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, and Maria Jose Veramendi, human rights specialist at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Since its inception in 1995, the yearly competition has trained students and faculty participants from more than 170 universities throughout the Americas and beyond. For more information on the Competition, please visit the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law website.

American University Washington College of Law

In 1896, American University Washington College of Law became the first law school in the country founded by women. More than 100 years since its founding, this law school community is grounded in the values of equality, diversity, and intellectual rigor. The law school’s nationally and internationally recognized programs (in clinical legal education, trial advocacy, international law, and intellectual property to name a few) and dedicated faculty provide its 1700 JD, LL.M., and SJD students with the critical skills and values to have an immediate impact as students and as graduates, in Washington, DC and around the world. For more information, visit wcl.american.edu.

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