What makes a parent a parent? Modern reproductive medicine and especially gestational surrogacy raise sensitive questions that go far beyond the biblical-proverbial Solomonic Judgement. The way that states deal with this challenge is at the center of this year's case of the Helga Pedersen Moot Court Competition co-organized by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the Council of Europe (CoE) and ELSA International. Students from all across Europe have prepared Written Submissions for a fictitious, demanding case based on recent decisions and/or ongoing proceedings in the context of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
From 3 to 5 February 2023, a Regional Round of the Competition took place at the Law Faculty of the University of Maastricht (NL). There, the participants had to present their arguments in oral pleadings. As the team of REWI Uni Graz, Dimitar Draganov, Helena Lewis and Amila Mrkonja rose to the challenge and presented persuasive argumentations for both sides of the proceedings, i.e. as the legal counsel of the Applicant as well as of the Respondent State. Depending on the combined assessments of their written and oral performances hitherto, our students could qualify for the Final Round of the Helga Pedersen Moot Court Competition held on the premises of the CoE and the ECtHR in Strasbourg this May. The team's coaches Gerd Oberleitner and Gregor Fischer-Lessiak keep their fingers crossed.