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Nuremberg Moot Court 2016: Marburger Law Students reach Quarter-final

In the famous Criminal Courtroom 600 of the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, where the International Military Tribunal once convened for the main Nuremberg war crimes trials, the fourth Nuremberg International Criminal Law Moot Court took place from July 27 to 30, 2016. A “Moot Court” is essentially a simulated court proceeding. It is an international competition for law students, allowing them to immerse themselves in the practice of international criminal law: they take on the roles of prosecutors or defense attorneys before the International Criminal Court. Based on a fictional case, they develop legal strategies and arguments, draft written submissions for the court, and finally present their own oral pleadings before benches of judges composed of experienced international practitioners and scholars in the field of international criminal law. And all of this, by the way, not in German, but in English!

Since the inception of this Moot Court, student teams from Marburg have also participated. In 2016, four Marburg students undertook the extensive and demanding preparation and ultimately appeared before the judges in Nuremberg: Miriam Gandras, Jana Hermann, Paco Pawolleck, and Svenja Sperling. They were able to build on the successful performances of their predecessors and even achieved a special, new accomplishment: after winning two rounds against teams from Ukraine and Ethiopia, they reached the “knockout stage” and were only defeated in the quarterfinals by the eventual finalist, a team from the University of São Paulo. But their achievements went beyond these victories. The weeks of giving up free time for intensive research, writing, and practice paid off in other invaluable ways. Such Moot Court competitions offer a unique opportunity to experience law “in practice,” to understand how lawyers and prosecutors think, to practice presenting and arguing complex issues before judges, and to form international connections. The Nuremberg Moot Court is especially excellent for the latter: this year, approximately 100 students from countries including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Kenya, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Rwanda, Singapore, Uganda, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the USA participated in Nuremberg.

This impressive competition is organized by the International Academy of Nuremberg Principles. In Marburg, participation is offered as a special, practice-oriented course by the International Research and Documentation Centre for War Crimes Trials (ICWC) and the Chair of Criminal Law, International Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Public International Law. The Marburg team was prepared and supported by PD Dr. Ken Eckstein along with a group of student coaches, consisting of Nicolai Bülte, Maike Krüger, Jonas Sahm, Simon Sträter, and Leonard Wolckenhaar. The team also received valuable support from Simon Meisenberg and Dr. Ignaz Stegmiller, to whom sincere thanks are extended.