THE HAGUE--St. Maarten may be the smallest jurisdiction to compete at the International Moot Court competition in The Hague, but the team of mostly St. Dominic High School students is making an impression and may very well make it to the finals this Friday.
The seven-girl team is competing against 15 other teams from 11 countries: Germany, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Romania, the United States of America, Russia, Venezuela, Argentina, Mongolia, Poland and South Africa. Some of the countries have more than one team. St. Maarten is participating for the first time in this prestigious event hosted by the municipality The Hague, the City of Peace and Justice.
The St. Maarten students, Tatia Brunings, Ariel Vlaun, Manaar Mohammed, Hilda Soares and Hailey Greaux of St. Dominic High School, Candace Ford of St. Maarten Academy and Harsha Parchani of Learning Unlimited (LU), have been making their mark during the preliminary rounds this week. The team has four coaches: Bastiaan Pilon, Willem Nelissen, Fehmi Kutluer and Erica Cannon, three attorneys-at-law and one from the banking sector.
The team has performed six times so far. The two last rounds take place on Thursday before the finals on Friday. The two teams that will participate in the finals will be announced Thursday evening. Each teams, divided into members of the Prosecution and the Defence, has been arguing its case against group of another country before an international panel of Judges.
The case in point is a trial against a fictive suspect Eric Maxwell who is accused of committing war crimes by supplying weapons to the army in a made-up country called Cheketalo, and the army of that fictitious country which bombed the “Ytoma Unity Church” in May 2007, causing civilian casualties. According to the Prosecution, this is a case of a war crime and a crime against humanity, while the defence is arguing that no such crimes were committed by its clients.
“I really enjoy the competition,” said student Candace Ford (16), a member of the Prosecution, who is interested in studying law. “It went very well and I am looking forward to tomorrow and the finals.” Ford was not a member of the original team from St. Dominic High School that won the St. Maarten Moot Court competition in May 2015, but was selected for the national team because of her excellent speaking talents.
Tatia Brunings (19), a St. Dominic High School International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme student, said the St. Maarten team was “really setting a standard” for St. Maarten. “When we came in most of the other teams didn’t know us, didn’t know St. Maarten. They thought that we were not a force to be reckoned with as a small country. But we proved them wrong,” she told The Daily Herald.
“It is going spectacularly, especially when you consider that St. Maarten is participating for the first time,” said Hilda Soares (19), another IB Programme student. “Other countries have been doing this for years. We are certainly not the underdogs. We drew the line on the first day and showed that we are not here to fool around.”
Harsha Parchani (17), an LU 12th-grader and, like Ford, selected for her excellent speaking abilities, said the competition had been an enriching experience. “I like speaking and debating, and this certainly has been an experience of personal growth, to learn and to have fun. It is a real honour to be here, because we get to speak before real judges and other Justice experts. Some of the judges are really tough and question you hard.”
The students hope they will make the finals, but winning is not the most important thing. “We were nervous in the beginning, but we seem to have impressed the judges. I think our chances are pretty good,” said Parchani.
“I don’t want to jinx it, but I think that we stand a very good chance at going to the finals. We can get there. Our efforts didn’t betray us,” said Soares, adding at once that even if St. Maarten did not make it to the finals, the team still had been able to set a mark.
“The hard work is paying off. We are confident. But it is more about the experience than about winning. We are paving the way for others,” said Brunings, who wants to become a lawyer. She hoped that another St. Maarten student team would participate next time. “And, I would also like to see boys take up the challenge. Don’t be afraid that you are not capable. You can do it,” she said.
A special aspect of participating as a team at the International Moot Court Competition is the feeling of togetherness, experiencing that indeed unity is strength.
“I didn’t know my fellow teammates before, but now we form one solid team. It doesn’t matter that I am from another school. We are one,” said Ford.
“We have bonded well and founded great friendships. We trust and support each other,” added Brunings.
Coach Willem Nelissen, an attorney-at-law at Lexwell, obviously very proud of the St. Maarten team, explained that the Moot Court project had started out as an initiative to interest St. Maarten youngsters in a career in law, as there are few local lawyers, prosecutors and judges.
“We got into contact with a New York Justice organisation and we were invited to supply a team. The local Moot Court competition with five eligible secondary schools in May was a huge success. This is our first time in the international competition and so far we have been doing very well,” said Nelissen.
The St. Maarten team was specifically mentioned by The Hague’s Deputy Mayor Ingrid van Engelshoven. She proudly stated that St. Maarten was participating for the first time and gave them a warm welcome.
Members of the Cabinet of St. Maarten’s Minister Plenipotentiary in The Hague were at hand during Wednesday’s reception, in support of the St. Maarten team and to wish the participants much success.
