Nadine Daroische, Doriane Hardy, Alvaro Amaya Villareal, Anne-Katrin Speck and Le Phan
A team of Essex law students has beaten off stiff competition from across Europe to make it to the final of a prestigious mooting competition.
The students, all studying the LLM International Human Rights Law, narrowly lost out to a team from Trinity College Dublin at the final which saw them make their cases in the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
The Essex team – consisting of Alvaro Amaya Villareal (the coach), Nadine Daroische, Doriane Hardy, Le Phan and Anne-Katrin Speck – was one of more than 100 teams that applied to the European Law Students Association (ELSA) European Human Rights Moot Court Competition, organised in cooperation with the Council of Europe.
Speaking after the event about why he took part, Alvaro Amaya Villarreal said: “Mooting is the best way to put into practise the knowledge acquired in the classroom, as well as a priceless opportunity to develop analytical thought and oral skills.”
His teammate, Le Phan explained how her Essex education helped her: “Essex offers a unique, holistic degree which is completely tailored around international human rights law. We are taught by experts who are not only leading academics in their field but also recognised practitioners. Our professors encouraged us in taking part and provided us with incredible support.”
The team was supported by Lorna McGregor and Professor Francoise Hampson from the School of Law, and also received funding from the University’s Essex Fund.
Lorna McGregor said: “‘I am so proud and delighted for our students. They only started studying for the LLM in October and so had to prepare their written pleadings before they had even finished studying my module on the European Convention on Human Rights which must have been particularly challenging.
“However, they rose to the occasion and worked incredibly hard. The result speaks for itself: to come second out of over 100 teams is just fantastic and yet another mark of what Essex human rights students consistently achieve.”
The Essex team, all interested in pursuing careers in litigation were commended by the judges for their teamwork.
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