November 1- Australian team wins international environmental competition at Stetson Law
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Gulfport, Fla. – A team from the University of Technology, Sydney, won Stetson University College of Law’s Ninth Annual International Environmental Moot Court Competition Saturday, Oct. 30. Teams from around the world fought for the chance to participate in the two-day competition, Oct. 29-30. It is the only moot court competition that focuses exclusively on international environmental issues; this year’s problem focuses on legal liability related to alien invasive species affecting a wetland of international importance.
UTS defeated Loyola University New Orleans School of Law in the finals. The other semi-finalist teams were West Bengal National University of Juridical Science (India) and Queensland University of Technology School of Law (Australia).
Matthew Day from UTS was named the Best Oralist for the competition. Stetson Law student Jennifer Gonzalez was named Best Oralist – Preliminaries, and Stetson’s James McTyier received Third Place Oralist – Preliminaries. Patricia Bugg from Loyola was the runner-up in this category.
The Best Memorial was awarded to the University of Hawaii School of Law, and the runner-up was Rutgers School of Law – Camden. The Best Foreign Memorial went to Queensland’s team.
Peter Bridgewater, secretary general of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, was one of three judges for the final round. The Ramsar Convention, concluded in 1971, is one of the oldest international environmental treaties, and it promotes the sustainable use and management of wetlands and water resources worldwide. The other two judges were Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington, U.S. District Court; and William Thomas, a Washington, D.C., environment and natural resource lawyer and former chair of the American Bar Association’s International Environmental Law Committee.
Vice Dean Gardner and Dean Darby Dickerson created this competition in 1996 to increase awareness about international environmental challenges. Since its inception, the event has grown to include Indian and Australasian rounds. Teams from six countries including Australia, Costa Rica, India, Ireland, and Spain participated in this year’s competition.
Post date: Nov. 1, 2004
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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