Law Times

www.lawtimesnews.com Page 4 January14, 2008 / Law Times Law school shines at International Criminal Court Trial Competition Osgoode team cleans up at The Hague A team of three Osgoode Hall Law School students made the grade at the in- augural International Criminal Court Trial Competition held recently in The Hague, bringing home two top prizes from the prestigious event. Plus, the trio of Subhi Ba- rakat, Sarah Boyd, and Josh Scheinert, came in first place in the preliminary round robin, making it to the final three out of an overall 12 teams. The team from South Africa ultimately won the competition, while In- dia came second, and Canada was a respectable third overall. Individual prizes went to Boyd, who won for "best pros- ecutor," while Barakat was voted the "best judge." "I was just thrilled for them," says Toronto criminal lawyer Leo Adler, who with Osgoode professor Sharon Williams went to the competition as coaches. "When you look at all the other law schools that competed who ended up getting nothing — not making it into the final rounds — I'm very, very proud of them." "I had this feeling we had a re- ally strong team," said Williams in an interview with Law Times, adding she and Adler were "so delighted when it was announced we were going into the finals in first place. I told them, 'What- ever you do tomorrow we are so proud of you,' and it's true. It was a great team effort." The competition focused on ICC proceedings and interna- tional criminal law, and had a distinct structure, with students arguing a fictional case, taking on the roles of prosecutor or defence, as in traditional moot courts, but also the role of judge. There were three knockout rounds in which the students played out their roles. The ICC was established in 1988 by the Rome Statute but didn't come into operation until July 1, 2002, when the required 60 countries had become parties. Canada joined in 2001. Cur- rently there are 105 countries involved. Williams says the core reason for the moot competition is to "foster knowledge of the ICC, its statute, the substantive law con- cerning genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and the procedure of the court." She added that with respect to students from countries that have not ratified the statute, they can learn more about it and assist their countries to do so. The Friends of Simon Wiesen- thal Center for Holocaust Studies sponsored the team that headed off to The Hague in mid-Decem- ber. Adler is an adjunct professor at Osgoode, a Toronto criminal lawyer, and a director of national affairs for the Wiesenthal Center. Williams was faculty advisor and was a Canadian judge at the War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia from 2001 to 2003. Adler says he coaches the stu- dents in the "realities of being a lawyer" while Williams is the whiz at international criminal law. The team was hand-picked this time around — with Os- goode professor Stepan Wood assisting — since it was the first one, and lead time was shorter than it will be in the future. Scheinert, in his second year, learned he was on the team his second day of school. "I was flat- tered. It was a little overwhelm- ing. I realized I was clearly the rookie, but it's exciting. I was the least experienced, so I wanted to get a good handle on things and pull my weight." Boyd and Barakat are third- year students. Scheinert is an ad- vocacy director of Stand Canada, (Students Taking Action for Dar- fur), so Williams thought given his international work "Josh was a good gamble." He played the role of defence. All three are part of the school's international, comparative, and transnational law program. Adler says some tinkering needs to be done with the com- petition in the future, but "the idea is fantastic. The problem could have been a little bit bet- ter, but that's the reality of law. I think it certainly gave the stu- dents an opportunity to argue a wide range of issues and that was good." Adler says they found out lat- er the South African and Indian teams had actually been together for several years, which makes him prouder still of the Osgoode bunch, who were chosen for this, their first competition, in Sep- tember. "I think it's a terrific opportu- nity to meet, to be able to spread the concept of the rule of law around the world, and to be able to work out a system that hope- fully reflects ultimately demo- cratic values," says Adler. "That's what a trial is all about; it's a democratic process, as opposed to simply shooting somebody or doing a sham trial." He adds, "Some of these kids may very well end up in front of any one of these [international] courts or tribunals." Williams agrees it's a "special" opportunity. "You meet other students from around the world, and who knows, you may see them in a real courtroom some day," she says. An added feature, she adds, is that, "You don't of- ten go to The Hague with your professor." "We did not win but we had a fun time. It was a good experi- ence — definitely an honour — I learned a lot, and it was gratify- ing for all of our hard work to pay off," says Scheinert. "I think we did great," he says. "So does my mom." NEWS Canada Law Book is A Division of The Cartwright Group Ltd. • Free Shipping on pre-paid orders. Prices subject to change without notice, and to applicable taxes. For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1 800 263 2037 or 1 800 263 3269 www.canadalawbook.ca LT0114 Everything you need to successfully initiate, defend or manage a class action lawsuit Cited with approval by the Supreme Court of Canada in the leading class action decision Hollick v. Toronto (City) (2001), 205 D.L.R. 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Looseleaf & binder • Supplements invoiced separately (2-3/yr) • $203 P/C 0378030000 • ISSN 1206-2375 Branch_CAIC_6.0 1/9/08 2:39 PM Page 1 Osgoode Hall Law School's team at the International Criminal Court Trial Competition gathered re- cently. Left to right are, Avi Benlolo, Friends' of Simon Wiesenthal Center president & CEO; criminal lawyer Leo Adler; student competitors Josh Scheinert, Subhi Barakat, Sarah Boyd; professor Sharon Williams; Johan Kramer, Netherlands consul general and Osgoode Dean Patrick Monahan. BY GRetCHen dRummie Law Times SERVICES - Available law clerk. Proficient in estates, real estate, litigation, ADR, corporate/com- mercial and labour and employ- ment. Part/full time. Messages (416) 621-2485. EMPLOYMENT WANTED Marketplace To advertise call 905-841-6481 LT Andrew Tomkins/AKA Photos LT-Jan 14 08.indd 4 1/10/08 8:06:55 PM

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