Four students from the School of Law competed in the Nuremberg Moot Court Competition 2017, which took place from 26 to 29 July and was organised by the International Nuremberg Principles Academy together with the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg. They write about the experience here:
Katie Nagle:
“Overall I found the experience in Nuremberg to be very beneficial and an excellent experience. The opportunity to witness Courtroom 600 was a particular highlight for me – a room filled with history and beautiful architecture. The moot itself was very different to Irish mooting competitions and I found myself learning on my feet as I presented my submissions. Witnessing other teams mooting, particularly the Kenya team, who won the competition, it became clear that practice makes perfect! The way the UL semester falls and with the competition in the summer, sometimes it was difficult to meet with the team to prepare, but I feel we did the best we could under the circumstances. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and it will certainly benefit my future career.”
Karen Pound:
“I am proud to be a member of the first team to ever sit in the infamous Courtroom 600, representing the University of Limerick at this international mooting competition before the International Criminal Court in Nuremberg. Intense preparation is required for the submission stage of this competition. However, there is little that can prepare an advocate for the challenge that presents itself when, said advocate, standing in the body of the Court, with a head full of common law arguments, faces three international judges who challenge and question from the very start. Herein lies the true test of the skill of persuasion that is advocacy. The notes you long to cradle and rely upon as a buffer between you and the bench, must be cast aside. There it is, in all its glory, the true test: no notes to hide behind; nothing to do except think on your feet; know your case well enough to make your arguments on the proverbial hoof; within the rules of law; within the rules of evidence; within the codes of conduct; within the rules of advocacy; within the time constraints; with politeness and clarity; without misleading the Court; without ever becoming angry; whilst showing deference to the bench and trying to demonstrate why your argument is more persuasive and why you should win. A challenge, a wonderful opportunity to work with; collaborate with; argue with; laugh with; be constructively criticised by and most importantly supported by three brilliant team-mates. Good humour is an optional requirement but it meant that our team was able to weather the storms that mooting on an international stage can sometimes bring!”
Joseph Mc Glynn:
“I thoroughly enjoyed my experience in Nuremberg. I am proud to have been part of the first team to fly the flag for the University of Limerick at this prestigious international mooting competition. It posed an excellent opportunity to both personally challenge myself and to further enhance my collaborative skills by working as part of a team. Any team is only as good as the sum of its parts and when placed under extreme pressure as our team was, many roles such as leadership; support; listening; critical evaluation; legal argument; a sense of pride in each other and the team and the ability to see the funny side of things at times, all play an integral part. The intense workload involved in preparation for an international moot is not to be underestimated. Our team worked extremely hard in the lead up to the competition and this was evident in the professional manner in which our team competed and the proud manner in which the University of Limerick was represented. A challenge, an excellent experience and three new friends.”
Bláithín O’Shea
"When departing Ireland, I was nervous about travelling with a group of people I didn’t know and was worried as to how I was going to perform on the international stage. As soon as we landed in Nuremberg however, I knew my worrying was needless. As a group representing UL, we had prepared and practiced for the competition well, and we worked fantastically as a team. The competition itself was thoroughly enjoyable and exciting. I had the opportunity to meet people working in the field of law from all over the world, including those working in the International Criminal Court as solicitors and judges. Nuremberg itself was absolutely beautiful and full of life. The trip as a whole was a challenging, yet rewarding experience. I developed my legal skills and knowledge, represented UL internationally and on top of this I made friends and memories to last a lifetime."
