Three advocates from Temple University Beasley School of Law will represent the United States in the international round of the International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition, to be held this May in The Hague, Netherlands. While Temple teams have advanced to the semi-final round three times in the past five years, Danielle DerOhannesian LAW ’18, Hwui Lee LAW ’18, and Alison Smeallie LAW ’19 are the first Temple squad to advance to the international round.
“Participating in the ICC Moot Court Competition has been one of the most challenging endeavors of my law school career, but the hard work and preparation of our team truly paid off,” said Smeallie. “I could have never in my wildest dreams imagined that our efforts would take us all the way to The Hague for this once in a lifetime opportunity!” DerOhannesian concurred, crediting the team’s achievement to “the legal education we have received at Temple Law, Temple’s faculty support, the assistance of fellow students and alumni, and Temple Law’s commitment to international law studies.”
“We are indebted to not only our coaches, but also other professors, such as Professor Dunoff, and Temple Law alumni who took the time out of the their busy schedules to assist us with preparation and practice,” said Lee. “It is an honor to be able to represent Temple Law at the ICC Moot Competition, and our team would not have performed as well as it did during the Regionals without the dedication of our coaches, Professor Greenstein and Professor deGuzman.”
The ICC Moot Court Competition
The ICC Moot Court Competition welcomes universities from all over the world for a large scale moot court simulating the proceedings of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Competition consists of an extensive six-day educational and social program, which brings together students of diverse backgrounds and cultures to The Hague to challenge their skills as future international lawyers. The final round is expected to take place in an actual ICC courtroom with ICC judges adjudicating.