In the courtroom of the Namur courthouse, the tension is palpable. The case is making a lot of noise. Evelyn Bennet, president of the imaginary state of Green Highlands, is on trial for various war crimes allegedly committed by soldiers under her command. After months of research and hard work, the prosecutor's office and the defence lawyers are finally facing off at the International Criminal Court.
The jury is impressive. It was composed of:
- Hélène Paquay, legal advisor at the Ministry of Defence and teaching assistant at UNamur,
- Pauline Warnotte, senior legal advisor at the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross to the European Union, NATO and the Kingdom of Belgium and lecturer at UNamur,
- Aude Hansel, Professor of English at UNamur,
- Arthur Fallas, lawyer and assistant in public international law at the ULB,
- Nathalie Colette-Basecqz, professor of criminal law at UNamur.
Attentive, they assessed, not the guilt of the accused, but the quality of the pleadings.
Matteo Ghislain was rewarded for "the calmness and naturalness of his eloquence, but also for the accuracy of his tone", underlined Hélène Paquay who coached the students.
As for the public, it awarded its prize to Carla Coduti.
This mock trial was organised as part of the end-of-cycle work of the Block 3 students.
"This practical exercise puts the students in a situation, giving them a glimpse of what their future professional life could be like. They were highly motivated, gave their best and overcame the stress of the prestigious setting and the presence of an audience," says Hélène Paquay.
It is also a great opportunity to learn more about the fundamental concepts of the law of armed conflict.
