YEREVAN. – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Delegation in Armenia is pleased to announce the call for applications for the annual National Moot Court Competition on International Humanitarian Law (IHL), which will take place in Armenia on 28-30 October 2016.

The ICRC has been a long-standing organizer of this competition since 2005, it informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. The moot court is one of the most important IHL learning events for the ICRC organized every year in Armenia. The objective of the event is to raise awareness of international humanitarian issues among law students and to enhance their knowledge of application of IHL rather than the black letter law. “This moot court competition is an opportunity for law students to penetrate the depths of international humanitarian law as well as other relevant areas of public international law.

Thanks to this kind of event, students can gain many practical skills, which are impossible to include in a university curriculum,” says Vladimir Vardanyan, judge and former participant of the moot court.

What is IHL?

International humanitarian law is also known as the laws of war and law of armed conflict. As a set of rules and principles, IHL aims, for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict. It protects people who are not or are no longer participating in hostilities and restricts the means and methods of warfare.

How does the National IHL Moot Court Competition differ from your standard mooting competition?

The competition aims to “take the law out of the books” exposing students to a variety of simulations and role-plays. Teams will present a verbal submission related to an area of international humanitarian law. Two weeks prior to the competition the selected teams will be invited to take part in preparatory courses to prepare for their role-plays, improve their mooting and public speaking skills, and trainers will be assigned for the teams.

The competition also adopts a round-robin style format, with finals held at the end for the teams who have done the best throughout the preliminary rounds. By doing away with the standard elimination format, it means that competitors are guaranteed to participate in several moots without the risk of being knocked out straight away.

Registration Requirements and Details

To register teams must consist of three students (undergraduate or above in Law, Political Science or International Relations) of Armenian higher educational institutions, including military academies.

Members of the teams shall be from the same institution, none of whom has taken part in the competition before. They shall submit a collective application form and answer the international humanitarian law related questioned suggested below.

Completed applications (either in English or in Armenian) should be submitted to the ICRC Delegation in Armenia (73/1 Nairi Zarian Street, 0014 Yerevan, Armenia) or sent to [email protected] The deadline is 6 PM on 12 October 2016. Successful teams will be notified by October 16 2016.

Selection and Awards

Only selected teams will take part in the competition. The ICRC will cover all expenses related to the transportation and accommodation during the event. The winning team of the competition will receive an opportunity to participate in a similar international event abroad.

For further information, please contact: Iren Aloyan, Legal Programs Officer, ICRC Armenia / Tel: +374 10 29 74 15 / 16 / 17

QUESTIONS

In your opinion, which are the main challenges that medical staff, humanitarian organizations and their employees face while providing assistance in conflict zones? (max 900 words)

In your opinion, what are the legal challenges in the regulation of operations undertaken by multinational or peacekeeping force in armed conflicts? (max 900 words)