On 21-23 February, ELSA Lithuania, the Lithuanian national group of the European Law Students’ Association, organized the regional stage of the international Helga Pedersen Moot Court Competition (HPMCC). On the first day of the event, the opening ceremony at Vilnius City Municipality was opened by various guests, among them – the Dean of the VU Law Faculty, Assoc. Prof. Dr Haroldas Šinkūnas. On the following days, the participants from different European universities competed at the VU Law Faculty, where a team of students from the Faculty also tried their hand at the competition.
During the competition, law students demonstrate their knowledge and skills by participating in a simulation of a European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case. During the simulation, students analyze a case, prepare written procedural documents, and participate in a simulation of a court proceeding in which they represent the plaintiff or the defendant. Regional rounds of the competition are held in a different European city each year.
This year, the VU Law Faculty was represented by Arnoldas Čepkauskas, Liepa Tamošiūnaitė, Inga Zacharevič, and Povilas Virbašius. The students’ team was led and assisted in their preparation by Assoc. Prof. Dr Indrė Isokaitė-Valužė. According to her, when preparing for such a competition, it is important to have a strong determination, a team, and a willingness to devote time to such an activity. “These competitions really give you a lot – confidence, motivation, courage to strive for a goal, not to give up. To be together among many international competitors and to reach the final in Strasbourg, to feel a big part of Europe with us, for the first time at the VU Law Faculty for the semi-finals. Being a part of it is inspiring and drives us forward”, says the team leader.
Not only the competition but also the preparation process itself presents new challenges and opportunities for development. “Sometimes the preparation was even too engaging for the team members: every argument of the other ‘litigant’ was almost insulting, and the questions of the ‘judge’ were annoying, as if we were in a real European Court of Human Rights case. This is not surprising because these competitions are also about how to be heard, how to say a word, how to justify a position, and how to convey an idea so that it reaches the person for whom it is intended – after all, sometimes we learn this all our lives,” says I. Isokaitė-Valužė.
The faculty students who participated in the competition are delighted with the experience and skills they have acquired. “It was an unforgettable experience to compete in such a high-level competition, to tackle complex human rights issues, and to exchange ideas with talented teams from across Europe. The competition was a great opportunity to improve our legal thinking, reasoning skills, and teamwork – valuable lessons beyond moot court,“ says P. Virbašius.
“The verbal statements were the most exciting part, as the judges created an engaging atmosphere. We got many questions during the speeches, so we had to really think and try to answer as accurately as possible. We couldn’t prepare for the questions in advance, so it was really a unique experience to answer the questions that the judges had just asked,” says I. Zacharevič, who took part in the competition for the first time.
The results of the regional competition will be announced on March 3.
