American University Washington College of Law Welcomes Record Number of Teams at 17th Annual Inter-American Moot Court Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC, May 17, 2012– The 17th Annual Inter-American Moot Court Competition will take place May 20-25 at American University Washington College of Law. The event is presented by the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, and is co-sponsored by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights.
This year’s competition promises to be the largest in its history, with a record number of 109 participating teams from 26 different countries, and involving more than 300 students, professors, and human rights professionals. The teams largely represent the Western Hemisphere, but the competition will also welcome teams from Australia, Belgium, Ghana, Romania, Switzerland, and Spain.
The competition will include 269 attorneys from around the world as judges for the written and oral portions, with nearly 200 expected to judge the oral rounds. The competition will also welcome 80 observers from the Americas and beyond. In all, the event will host upwards of 600 individuals. The conference portion of the event will begin on Sunday, May 20, with an opening reception and ceremony hosted by Claudia Martin and Diego Rodriguez Pinzon, co-directors of the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.
The honor panel will preside over the final round on Friday, May 25, from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., and will include several representatives from the Inter-American System and human rights community:
- Diego Garcia Sayan - president, Inter-American Court on Human Rights
- Jose de Jesús Orozco Henríquez - president, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
- Robert Goldman - professor & Louis C. James Scholar, Former President, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
- Viviana Krsticevic - executive director, Center for Justice and International Law
- Fergus MacKay - senior counsel, Forest Peoples Programme
- Jorge Calderón - senior staff attorney, Inter-American Court on Human Rights; author of hypothetical case;
- Namiko Matzumoto Benitez - president, Participant Association
- Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón - co-director, Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
The hypothetical case this year, authored by Inter-American Court Senior Attorney Jorge Calderon, focuses on indigenous rights. The Competition will host a panel discussion on Litigating Indigenous Rights in the Americas on Thursday, May 24 at 3:30 p.m. in room 603.
The competition is free and open to the public. Oral rounds will begin Monday morning, and will continue through Thursday afternoon. A complete schedule is available on the competition’s website .
Media inquiries can be directed to Megan Smith, (202) 274-4276.
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About 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
