Leiden University wins the 2016 Kalshoven IHL Moot Competition
Every year, the Netherlands and Belgium Red Cross organize the Frits Kalshoven International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition, which brings together students from both Dutch and Belgian universities.
The Leiden team members were Alexandra Cahen, Solène Moutier and Callum Thomson. In addition, Callum received the award for Best Oralist.
The team spent last week meeting IHL experts, attending seminars on contemporary issues of IHL and engaging in role play exercises in Mechelen (Belgium) and The Hague. At the formal moot court on Friday 19 February, the team performed very well in the preliminary rounds before meeting Utrecht University in the final. The moot problem for the final round involved a cross-border non-international armed conflict, the targeted killing of a military leader and a cyber-attack.
The jury members were Judge Orie (ICTY), Audrey Palama (ICRC), Lt. Col. Chris de Cock (Belgian Ministry of Defence), Prof. dr. Lijnzaad (Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and Pieter de Jong Schouwenburg (Van Doorne, Amsterdam). The team was also lucky to meet with Professor Kalshoven, who attended the final round.