If the Austrian National Team went this far in the upcoming World Cup, it would be quite sensational: Verena Borecky-Kutej, Marius Krabbe and Daniela Lauermann excelled in their oral pleadings on the premises of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and finished among the best four teams out of 18 in the final event and 57 taking part in the oral part of the competition altogether.
Being in the finals was already an achievement: Since last October, the trio was handling a complex case on the use of artificial intelligence in criminal proceedings and the implications thereof regarding Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, wrote submissions on part of the Applicant and of the Respondent government, restructured their arguments into oral pleadings and took part in a regional round in Athens in March (more on this round here) to qualify for the final oral round in Strasbourg. The team was coached by Gerd Oberleitner, UNESCO Chair in Human Rights and Human Security, and Gregor Fischer-Lessiak. Rhetoric coach Monika Schmidt provided valuable guidance regarding the effective delivery of arguments in oral pleadings.
These efforts paid off in the end, resulted in impressive performances against other well-prepared teams from all across Europe and the team’s run only ended after four pleading rounds in Strasbourg, more precisely in the semifinals. Ambassador Aloisia Wörgetter, Austria’s Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe, was the first to compliment the team members on their success. We follow suit – congratulations on representing our faculty and our university so well internationally!
Interested in moot courts? Further information on our faculty’s simulation courses can be found here – the next rounds of the Helga Pedersen Moot Court Competition and other prestigious national and international moot courts are already around the corner!
