Hugh Wooding students place third in Children's Rights competition

FOUR first-year students of the Hugh Wooding Law School have placed third in a recently held Children’s Rights Moot Court competition in the Netherlands.

Representing the school were: Dominique Bernard (TT), Jubilante Cutting and Cicelia Corbin (Guyana) and Dina Wilkinson (Barbados), a release from the law school said.

The four formed the first Caribbean team ever to participate in the prestigious competition, despite challenges they faced with funding and suffering penalty points because of late entries.

“Whereas other teams had begun their preparation for the competition since October, 2018, when the case was published, with the deadline for registration being October 31, 2018, our students entered the competition very late, because of difficulties with funding.

“When, towards the end of February, the possibility of funding from UNICEF seemed it would become a reality, we were elated, but our students had to rush to submit memorials, way past the deadline and suffered penalty points. The organisers were otherwise accommodating, as they not only substantially reduced our registration fee but, unknown to us, had registered us even before we paid their fee,” the law school said in its release.

The team was coached by Senator Hazel Thompson-Ahye.

Before they left for the Netherlands, the team made a presentation of oral arguments before an audience of judicial officers and others, including Justice Barrow of the CCJ and Justices Ronnie Boodoosingh, Betsy Lambert-Peterson, Master Halycon Yorke –Young, staff of the HWLS and the Children’s Authority, probation officers, and the human rights officer from the Australian High Commission.

“We are very proud of achieving third place in this international competition, against all odds. Fourteen of the sixteen judges who judged their oral arguments awarded them over 90 per cent,” the law school said.

After the competition, the team visited the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague and were welcomed by ICC judge Justice Geoffrey Henderson.