Law Moot Court organised at public universities in Kosovo, 10 – 19 July
Kosovo. Within the scope of the project “EU-LER Legal Education System Reform” a Law Moot Court was organised at two public universities in Kosovo – University of Prishtina and University of Prizren. It handled the case of trafficking of human beings and was regarding as great success by both students and the experts (including staff of WUS Austria), who were involved in the process of organisation and implementation.
A Law Moot Court (LMC) was organised as a course, consisting of three components: (1) training on legal and empirical background of the trafficking of human beings (THB), (2) presentation skills training, and (3) competition – simulation of a trial. The case handled the topic of THB and during the simulation students competed in groups assuming the roles of the prosecution and defense. External experts played the roles of the victim and the defendant, which allowed examination and cross-examination of the witnesses. The panel of judges consisted mainly of international experts.
At the University of Prizren the LMC was organised from the 10th until the 13th of July as an extracurricular course and it gathered 18 students who competed in teams. Two simulations were organised in front of the same panel of judges and they were very impressed with the performance of these very young students.
At the University of Prishtina the LMC took place from the 16th until the 19th of July within already existing course “Legal Clinics” and it gathered four students. They competed in one simulation divided in two groups – prosecution and defense, and have offered great performance.
Students were awarded with the certificates of merit and additionally the best speaker(s) and the best team were announced at the official closing of the LMC after the provision of feedback by the judges and lecturers.
Students expressed their gratitude and appreciation for this project, since it gave them the possibility to receive training in soft skills and to apply the theory into practice. Organisers, on the other hand, were very impressed with the engagement and the interest of the students, as well as with their performance. Therefore, we sincerely hope that the implementation of LMC will continue in the future at both universities.
