American University Washington College of Law Welcomes Teams to 20th Annual Inter-American Moot Court Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, DC, May 17, 2015 –The 20th Annual Inter-American Moot Court Competition will take place May 17-22 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 is supported by a generous grant from the Ford Foundation.

The competition continues to draw large numbers, with a total of 99 participating teams from a total number of 26 different countries, 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 Angola, Belgium, France, India, and Switzerland.

The competition will include 210+ 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 17, 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 22, from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., and will include several representatives from the Inter-American System and human rights community:

Iris Yassmin Barrios Aguilar
Judge, Guatemala

Robert Goldman
Co-Director, Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
American University Washington College of Law

Claudio Grossman
Dean, American University Washington College of Law

Viviana Krsticevic
Executive Director, Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)

Claudia Martin
Co-Director, Academy of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
American University Washington College of Law

Juan Mendez
Special Rapporteur on Torture, Organization of the United Nations

Felix Paz Moreno
President of the Participant Association, Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition

José Thompson Jimenez
Executive Director, Inter-American Institute of Human Rights

Rodrigo Uprimny Yepes
Author of The Hypothetical Case
Director, Center for Law, Justice, and Society (DeJusticia)

Jose Miguel Vivanco
Director of the Americas Division, Human Rights Watch

The hypothetical case this year, authored by Rodrigo Uprimny Yepes, Director of the Center for Law, Justice, and Society (DeJusticia), focuses on Transitional Justice, International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. The Competition will host a discussion with the author of the case on Friday, May 22 at 3:00 p.m. in room 601. Oral rounds will begin Monday morning, and will continue through Thursday afternoon. A complete schedule will be available on the competition’s website on Sunday, May 17.

Media inquiries can be directed to Franki Fitterer, (202) 274-4279.

###

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, D.C. and around the world. For more information, visit wcl.american.edu