The students from Graz, Anna-Lena Hörzer and Adina Gahr, managed to take several top places at the Telders Moot Court Finals:
- In the category "highest overall score", the students phenomenally ranked 2nd place (out of a total of 32 participating teams) and thus secured a hard-fought podium position!
- In addition to this podium position with regards to the overall score, the students were able to reach the Top 5 twice in the two individual categories: To the pride of their coaches, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Erika de Wet and Mag. Christina Seewald, the students from Graz ranked 2nd place among the applicants and an equally proud 4th place among the respondents.
- Also, the students were able to impress with their newly acquired "pleading skills": In the category "Best Oralists Award Top 20" Anna-Lena Hörzer came 15th and Adina Gahr 16th!
The Greek team from Democritus University of Thrace won first place with regards to both, the overall score and the individual categories of Applicants and Respondents. As the final competition could not take place between the same national team, it was decided in accordance with the Telders Rules of Procedure that the Greek team would present their plea on the Applicants' side and that the second-placed team (in the individual category "Respondents") from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam would "move up" on the Respondents' side. Deservedly, Team Greece also won the overall competition in the finals.
The result achieved at the TMC by the University of Graz is particularly pleasing if one takes into account that, on the one hand, Team Graz was "outnumbered" (the team consisted of only 2 members instead of 4) and, on the other hand, it was the first "attempt", i.e. the first participation, in more than 10 years of the University of Graz at the Telders Moot Court.
The final rounds of the Benjamin Telders Moot Court in calendar week 23 (07.06.2021 - 13.06.2021) were challenging, but the outstanding results of the Graz students leave no doubt that the two successfully mastered these challenges.
In a total of four online final rounds against teams from the Netherlands, Belarus, Norway and Spain, the two Graz students were able to prove their extensive knowledge of international law and their newly acquired "pleading skills". The students can still hardly believe their exceptional rankings and describe their experiences of the last weeks and months as follows:
"Participating in the Telders Moot Court was one of the most formative and educational experiences of my law studies and provided us as a team with many great opportunities to develop both professionally and personally. It was a great honour and pleasure for me to be able to represent the University of Graz together with my teammate in the virtual final rounds before the ICJ!" (Anna-Lena Hörzer)
"The months I spent with the Telders Moot Court were an extraordinary time in which I not only had the opportunity to develop myself in international law, but also to grow beyond myself. As a team, I think we can proudly say that despite many obstacles, the hard work was worth it. The experience I gained from participating in the Telders Moot Court is something I would not want to miss and I highly recommend participating!" (Adina Gahr)
The two students have been preparing for the Moot Court since November 2020. During this intensive time, the two were busy writing their Memorials, training their pleading skills through rhetorical training and participating in an Online Pre-Moot Court. Read the report about the Online Pre-Moot Court << here >>.
Special thanks are directed to all those involved in the preparation for the Telders Moot Court, in particular to the Rector's Office of the University of Graz and the REWI Dean's Office for their continued support, rhetoric trainer Monika Schmidt and the Pre-Moot Court Judges!