AUS students take part in International Moot Court Competition

Five students and one faculty member from American University of Sharjah (AUS) took part in the Susan J. Ferrell Intercultural Human Rights Moot Court Competition on February 1-3, 2013. The competition was held at St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida.

Now in its eighth year, the Susan J. Ferrell Moot Court Competition is an international competition where student teams representing both sides of a fictional problem of human rights law and policy between states prepare written pleadings and present their claims in a simulated oral argument before the International Court of Justice. The purpose of the competition is to further the development of respect and promotion of human dignity across cultures in the context of international law. 

Ten other universities competed in the competition, including Duke University, Florida International University and the City University of Hong Kong. 

Of the five students who took part, four are majoring in international studies. These are Sanjhana Dore, Amal Azimova, Aisha Orbal Ali and Arfa Sidiqqi. The other student, Salma El Shahed, is majoring in mass communication. The team was accompanied by Dr. Kevin Gray, Assistant Professor in the Department of International Studies.

"It was an incredible experience, meeting law students from some of the top universities around the world," said Salma El Shahed. "I gained an incredible amount of knowledge from the matches and the conversations in between," she added.

AUS students also participated in the Susan J Ferrell Moot Court Competition last year. In addition, students from AUS won the national rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition held in the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts.