Heading to Strasbourg – Participating in the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition

From 22-25 February 2015, four master students of the program on human rights at the Norwegian Center for Human Rights (NCHR), took part in the third round of the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition. Under the guidance of their coach, Gentian Zyberi, they qualified for the final round as one of the 16 teams selected from universities from all over Europe, and the team was ranked 6th in the overall ranking.

From left to right: Alfonso Calcáneo Sánchez, Emiliya Ramazanova, Daniela Kistler, Dorina Damsa, Gentian Zyberi (Picture: private)

The competition

The European Human Rights Moot Court Competition is a simulation of a court trial under the European Convention on Human Rights. The competition is organized by the European Law Students Association (ELSA), with the support of the Council of Europe and takes place at the premises of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The moot court exercise is a unique contribution to university curricula, providing students with an opportunity to gain practical experience in the field of human rights.The team was represented by Dorina Damsa, Daniela Kistler, Emilia Ramazanova and Alfonso Calcaneo Sanchez.

Taking part in the moot

The Human Rights Moot Court simulates the procedure of individual complaints to the European Court of Human Rights. The competition is divided into two phases: The written and the oral phase. In order to qualify for the final round in Strasbourg, a team has to examine a fictive case and to draft written submissions on behalf of both the applicant and the respondent. “Working on the moot has helped me to understand the fundamental principles of interpretation, procedural issues and landmark cases of the European Court of Human Rights”, says Dorina D