Student teams from all over the world practiced in an international criminal law Moot Court competition gaining valuable experience and expertise for their professional future. The team of Maastricht University from The Netherlands came first in the Nuremberg Moot Court 2018, which was held at the Nuremberg Palace of Justice in Germany from 25 to 28 July.
All seats were occupied in the historic Courtroom 600 of the Nuremberg Palace of Justice. In the place where more than 70 years ago, the main German war criminals were judged at the Nuremberg Trials, student teams from 45 countries closely followed the pleadings of the final round of the Nuremberg Moot Court 2018. The finalists, selected in a single elimination tournament throughout various rounds, sat in front of the judge's bench representing the prosecution and the defense. Concentrated and confident, they argued to convince the judges, chaired by Judge Prof. Dr. Bertram Schmitt of the International Criminal Court, of their positions. The students demonstrated their legal skills on the question if “Mr. Balboa”, a leading politician and major industrialist of a fictitious state, could be held individually responsible for the persecution of minorities, enslavement and a cyberattack against the equally fictitious neighboring state. The competitors dealt with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, just as existing international criminal tribunals do as part of their everyday functioning.
In this final round, the team of Maastricht University from The Netherlands, consisting of Anna Lena Neidmann, Marie Vesayt, Victoria Marie Häberle and Kimberley Mills, outplayed the team of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy from Ukraine.
1st Place - Maastricht University - The Netherlands
2nd Place - National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy - Ukraine
Best Overall Speaker - John Bergstresser (Creighton University School of Law - USA
Second Best Overall Speakers - Mariia Raievska (National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy - Ukraine) and Anna Lena Neidmann (Maastricht University - The Netherlands)
Best Written Memorandum Prosecution – Peking University - China
Best Written Memorandum Defense – University of Copenhagen - Denmark
