Final round of the inaugural ODIHR moot court competition on the rights of persons with disabilities 

On 19 May 2022, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at the National University of Ireland - Galway will host the final round of the inaugural ODIHR Disability Rights Law Moot Court Competition in Warsaw.   

 Out of several high-quality written submissions from law students from around the OSCE region, ODIHR selected two top-scoring teams and invited them to present oral arguments in front of a distinguished panel of judges at the ODIHR premises in Warsaw. The team from the Free University of Tbilisi, Georgia is represented by Mariam Taganashvili, Ekaterine Subeliani and Mariam Bibiluri and the team from the University of California, Berkeley is represented by Marissa Wong, Emma Lapinsky, Sayeda Kulsoom Hasan and Mona Faham. 

The three-judge bench comprises Gerard Quinn, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Theresia Degener, a prominent jurist, disability rights activist and former Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and Carolyn Hammer, Rule of Law Adviser at ODIHR and a seasoned moot court judge. 

This event highlights the importance of disability inclusion and the role litigation plays in protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, while providing law students in the OSCE region an opportunity to deepen their knowledge in the field of disability rights law. 

Due to pandemic restrictions, the event is open only to participants, however, a copy of the recorded event may be requested from the Competition Committee.  

If you need more information, you may contact the Competition Committee, via e-mail at Ola.Quarnstrom@odihr.pl or Amila.Desaram@odihr.pl.