16 May 2017
Amen presenting his arguments before panel judges of the moot court. CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Alemayehu Takele
Law students from various universities have been testing their knowledge and skills of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) at the second National Moot Court Competition which was organized by ICRC in partnership with Addis Ababa University (AAU).
After a review of written submissions by 16 universities comprising of 32 students, the top eight teams were selected to take part in the oral rounds that took place from 11 to 13 May, 2017 at AAU. After the quarter and semi-finals, Debremarkos University and AAU competed in the final on 13 May taking the role of prosecution and defense, respectively. A panel of five judges, comprising of prominent Ethiopian lawyers and Jelena Nikolic, legal adviser of the ICRC Delegation to the African Union, adjudicated the final. Based on the aggregate result of the panel, the team from AAU was crowned the winner. This year saw newer universities such as Wolaita and Wollo universities progressing into final rounds.
Amen Taye from AAU, 21, , said, “The research and rehearsals I conducted in preparation for the moot competition in the last three months helped me to widen my knowledge on IHL.”<
Tave, who was awarded the best orator during the competition, said, “I have also developed my skills on how to organize, construct and present persuasive arguments as well as to easily counter the opponent’s arguments in a law suit.”
Finalists from Addis Ababa University (right) and Debremarkos University (left) debating during the competition. CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Alemayehu Takele
Another competitor, Filagot Mulat, from Debremarkos University, said, “It was a golden opportunity for my colleagues and I to test our skills and knowledge of IHL and related laws, which we had acquired theoretically in college, and were able to further develop in the course of preparation for the competition.”
In his closing remarks, James Reynolds, Head of the ICRC delegation in Ethiopia, said, “Competitions such as this one are highly important as opportunities to promote IHL and other related laws for they bring together dynamic and motivated students who are interested to put into practice what they learn.”
Dr. Solomon Negussie, Dean of the School of Law and Governance Studies at AAU, said that the competition supported the curriculum of the law school. Negussie also shared his sincere belief that in addition to the competing students, the various stakeholders who were involved in various capacities such as coaches, judges, volunteers or otherwise, found the experience enriching.
The team from AAU and Noah Yusuf from Wollo Universtiy, who was selected as the second best orator along with Lea Mehari from AAU, will participate in the All Africa IHL Competition which will take place in Arusha, Tanzania in November this year.
As part of its mandate to spread awareness about IHL, the ICRC in Ethiopia promotes the law through the provision of relevant education, trainings and organizing moot court competitions involving legal professionals, law students, instructors, decision makers, members of the police and armed forces among others.
Source – 
International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross