March 27, 2012

University of Amsterdam (UvA), Netherlands, LLM students win International Human Rights Law competition

Source:UvA

Students of the Amsterdam Law School's LLM program in Public International Law won the 5th Frits Kalshoven competition in the field of International Humanitarian Law, held from March 5-9, 2012 in The Hague.

The UvA team competed against 11 other teams from Dutch and Belgian universities and defence academies. In the finals, they faced a jury in the Peace Palace consisting of the eminent jurists Brigade-General Spijk (Dutch Ministry of Defence), Prof. Sandoz (ICRC) and Judge Van den Wyngaert (ICC). After pleading against Leiden University, they finished second in the moot court and first in the role-plays. Arif Abdillah (Indonesia), Michelle Gonsalves (Netherlands) and Ralph Janik (Austria), who were coached by Martijn Keeman, convinced the jury with their profound knowledge of the law as well as presenting their case persuasively. Abdillah also received an honourable mention during the awarding of the best speaker.

Frits Kalshoven Competition on International Humanitarian Law, named after one of the world’s most renowned legal experts in the laws of armed conflict, is organised annually by the Dutch and Belgian Red Cross. It is divided into two equal parts, the elements of role-plays and moot court, and touches upon other relevant fields of public international law such as International Human Rights Law, International Criminal Law and International Refugee Law.