Bond Law wins international speaking prize two years running

Bond University Faculty of Law has again proved its first-class credentials on the world stage at the prestigious International Criminal Court Trial Competition in The Hague, Netherlands earlier this month.

Law student Ashleigh Light took out the coveted award of ‘Best Oralist’ after outshining speakers from 17 other universities around the world, including Yale University in the United States, Osgood Hall in Canada and Queens University in Belfast.

Her success follows in the footsteps of Bond Law Alumnus Kate Mitchell, who was also awarded ‘Best Oralist’ at last year’s competition. 

Ms Light, together with fellow students Daniel Ryan, Rowan Kendall, Sarah Bond and Hannah Maher, made up the Bond team that also took home the award for Best Defence Counsel.

The team’s coach, Senior Teaching Fellow Joe Crowley, said the win supported Bond’s claim to be ‘arguably the best advocacy teaching university in the world’.

“It is a tremendous achievement to win an international mooting award of this calibre, let alone to win it two years running,” Mr Crowley said.

The International Criminal Court Trial Competition allows top law students from around the world to improve their knowledge of the Court and its proceedings.

The legal arm of the United Nations, the International Criminal Court was established in 2001 by the Rome Statute to try persons alleged to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Participants at this year’s Trial Competition were asked to respond to a fictitious incident in which a president incited genocide against the population of a neighbouring country.

Each team was required to provide a memorial (written argument) of up to 30,000 words prior to the oral presentation rounds, where advocates, representing the prosecution, defence or victims, presented their case to an expert panel of judges.

Mr Crowley said competitions such as this offered participants a fantastic opportunity to meet judges and practitioners in International Law as well as engaging in vigorous debate with some of the smartest students from around the world.