Sierra Leone’s first Director of Public Prosecutions, Nasiru Deen Tejan Cole, will be honoured with a Moot Court Competition scheduled to hold at the Multi-purpose Conference Hall at Fourah Bay College (FBC), University of Sierra Leone from 1st – 4th September 2020. It will be organized by the Institute for Legal Research and Advocacy for Justice (ILRAJ) in partnership with the Law Society at Fourah Bay College.
“This competition aims to provide training for Sierra Leonean law students and improve their participation in regional and international competitions. It provides an opportunity to debate a cutting-edge topic in the law as well as recent developments in policy. Students will be given a hypothetical case, and they will argue for both applicant and respondent in the case by writing legal memoranda and preparing oral arguments for presentation in front of a panel of judges,” according to Mohamed Wurie Bah, President of the Law Society.
“Moot competition has been part of the process of training lawyers for centuries and plays an important role in legal education. It is a specialised application of the art of persuasive advocacy that we hope to make an integral part of legal training in Sierra Leone,” says Basita Michael, one of the founder of Institute for Legal Research and Advocacy for Justice (ILRAJ).
The judges in the preliminary rounds of the competition, which are taking place on 1st and 2nd September 2020, shall consist of prominent legal practitioners and academics including Nancy Sesay, Nicky Spencer-Coker, Sally Khatumal, Ibrahim Sorie Yillah, Rhoda Sufian Kargbo, Emmanuel Saffa-Abdulai, Rashid Dumbuya and Hon. Hindolo M Gevao.
In the final round, the judges will be recognised experts in international and human rights law, including the former Chief Justice of Belize, Dr. Abdulai Conteh, Supreme Court Judge, Honourable Justice Viviane Solomon, and President of the Court of Appeal, Honourable Justice Reginald Fynn.
Honourable Justice Glenna Thompson of the Supreme Court will give the teams a 1-hour training session on advocacy skills.
Eligibility of persons who are to participate in the moot court debate is limited to only students who are part of the Law Department, Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, FBC, USL.
So far, four (4) teams of at least three members have registered for the upcoming moot court debate and are ready to contest for the various prices.
The event has generated immense interest on the part of law students who are eager to showcase their knowledge and understanding of different areas of the law as well as their research and oral argument skills.
MEET THE COMPETING TEAMS
Credit: Owl Press
