International Criminal Law Moot Grand Final: What You Missed
A seven-paged problem, four judges and one final competitor is all that stood between the two International Criminal Law Moot Grand Finalists and victory. Monday evening saw the inaugural QUT UNSA and QUT Law Society joint moot come to an end with a bang. The night came after three long weeks of competition which narrowed 15 teams down to the final two.
The Prosecution was comprised of a team of four – Thomas Feeney, Teagan Matthews, Mitchell Sorensen and Chris Smith. The Defence was Tom Robson and Sarah Kneipp. Each teams’ advocacy skills were put to the test with an extended problem centred around acts of war. The fictional case was presented as as a preliminary hearing in the International Criminal Court.
A full audience watched on as the final two teams advocated in the Queensland Supreme Court, a real highlight for the competitors. This audience included a panel of four distinguished judges, The Honourable Margaret McMurdo AC, His Honour Judge Ian Callinan AC QC, His Honour Judge Paul Smith, and United Nations Legal representative, Natalie McIntosh. The evening’s panel provided an authentic and genuine representation of an International Law trial, throwing tough questions at both teams, but it wasn’t enough to stump the competitors who proved to be well prepared and knowledgeable around the facts.
After an hour and a half, the judges came to the unanimous decision to award the prosecution as the Moot winners. This team was pulled together just five days before the first round but presented a captivating and confident case. All the judges commended the winning competitors on the excellent preparation which demonstrated a high standard of legal research and reasoning.
Thomas Feeney took away the night’s award for Best Mooter. The Honourable Margaret McMurdo AC could not provide any criticism to Thomas, instead praising him on being thoroughly prepared, knowing the topic and handling the questions with professionalism. Co-council, Teagan Matthews, described Thomas as ‘a walking Law Encyclopedia' and was thankful to have met him through the competition. All competitors were congratulated for an outstanding effort by His Honour Judge Callinan AC QC, who was thankful for not having to compete against either team.
This International Law Moot was a stepping stone for competitor Teagan Matthews who aims to be a prosecutor in the International Criminal Court. With previous mooting experience, Teagan encourages others to get involved, ‘I liked how much depth of understanding in international law this moot gave me because you really had to dig into the details for your case’.
A special thank you must go to the Moot sub-committee of Liam McAndrews and bailiffs who volunteered their time through the entire competition. Additionally, a final thank you must go to the judges who volunteered their time to support the competition and encourage the next generation of the Queensland legal profession.
