Two University of Queensland law students have successfully prosecuted a rebel general for human rights abuses during a military coup-hypothetically speaking.
Final-year students Andrew Stumer and Jonathan Crowe defeated teams from 16 Australian universities to win the prestigious International Humanitarian Law Moot Competition held in Canberra in late June.
Sponsored by the International Committee of the Red Cross in association with the Australian Law Students Association, the inaugural moot is designed to raise awareness in the Australian community of international humanitarian law issues.
T C Beirne School of Law Head Professor Tony Tarr said given recent events in a number of countries (including some close to Australia), the moot competition could not have been held at a more appropriate time.
"This competition attracted substantial interest among students in the law school and both Andrew and Jonathan are to be congratulated for a superb effort. Thanks should also go to the Moot Court Bench who assisted with the organisation of the competition rounds," Professor Tarr said.
"Sincere thanks should also go to the distinguished members of the wider legal profession who gave of their time and extensive knowledge to judge the practice competitions leading up to the event. The competitors benefited greatly from their input."
The UQ team's coach, lecturer Peter Alcorn, said Mr Stumer and Mr Crowe were looking forward to their prize of spending a week with a regional Red Cross agency to observe the organisation's work first-hand.
In the hard-fought final against Monash University, Mr Stumer and Mr Crowe prosecuted a hypothetical case in which "General Ignis" stood accused of violating human rights in his bid for control of a country's government. The emphasis was on the advocacy skills displayed by the students.
"The moot problem involved a hypothetical conflict during which there were violations of humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions," Mr Alcorn said.
"Students argued using the same body of law applied in the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The significance of this body of law has been recently emphasised following the indictment of President Milosevic."
Professor Hilary Charlesworth (Australian National University), Justice Terry Connolly (Master of the ACT Supreme Court) and James Blackwell (Australian Red Cross) judged the final.
In 2002, Mr Stumer will take up a position as Associate to Justice Rosalyn Atkinson of the Queensland Supreme Court while Mr Crowe will begin a PhD in the area of jurisprudence.
This recent success adds to the law school's already substantial reputation in the area of mooting following its third consecutive win last year at the prestigious Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot.
For more information, contact Professor Tony Tarr (telephone 07 3365 1021), Peter Alcorn (telephone 07 3229 5833 or mobile 0419 390 655) or Shirley Glaister at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2339).
