Today, 6 April 2023, the Thomas Sankara University (Burkina Faso) won the French edition of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Trial Competition. The final round was held in Courtroom I of the ICC in The Hague (the Netherlands).
The Paris-Panthéon-Assas University (France) won the second place. On the judge's bench for this competition were ICC Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, presiding, ICC Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou and ICC Legal Officer Sophie Courtmans.
The award for the Best Speaker went to Mr Sèlomè Aitchedji of the Thomas Sankara University. Members of the winning team are Mr Sèlomè Aitchedji, Ms Flora Illa, Ms Nadia Kaboré and Mr Lamoussa Hien.
The teams competed on a fictitious case, presenting oral arguments in the roles of the Office of the Prosecutor and the Defence, which were web-streamed live on the Court's website and Facebook page.
This second edition of the ICC Trial Competition in French language is organised by The Hague Academy of International Law with the support of the French Embassy in the Netherlands. 26 universities from 11 countries participated in the preliminary written stage of the ICC Moot Court Competition in French language, and 9 universities from 4 countries competed in the oral phase.
In the context of its Academic Programme, the ICC supports the organisation of ICC Trial Court Competitions in English, Spanish and French, with a view to also support Arabic version in the future. These initiatives play a critical role in galvanising interest in the Court's work with academic communities as well as in enhancing promotion and respect for international criminal law.
Audio-visual Materials (in French):
- YouTube (for viewing): Part 1; Part 2
- Video (MPEG-4) for viewing and download: Part 1; Part 2
- Audio (MPEG-3) for download: Part 1; Part 2
