Moot Court debaters compete in Switzerland, placing in the top eight

STU students Jazmyne Lebel and Sydney Gallibois competed at the Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition in Geneva, Switzerland. (Credit: STU Communications)

St. Thomas University’s Moot Court program once again proved that a small school from Atlantic Canada can make a big impact on the world stage. 

This summer, fourth-year students Jazmyne Lebel and Sydney Gallibois finished among the top eight teams at the Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition, held in Geneva, Switzerland.

The competition, hosted at the United Nations Palais des Nations, brought together students from universities across the globe to argue complex cases before human rights experts and international tribunal judges.

STU was the only Canadian university to qualify for the advanced in-person rounds.

For Gallibois, who is completing her fifth year with an honours in human rights and majors in history, political science and law, politics and society, the achievement was a milestone.

“I felt extremely excited — it was a very large thing to be able to go to the United Nations in Geneva and advocate there,” she said. “It really showed me how, even from a small university, we can make a very large impact at the international level.”

Both students spent months preparing, beginning with drafting two 40-page legal briefs in January before turning to oral arguments. Gallibois said the biggest hurdle was working at a level normally expected of law students.

“That was quite a challenging hurdle to overcome,” she said. “But it also makes it fun because you’re able to learn a lot from the law students that were there.”

Lebel, who is double majoring in human rights and law, politics, and society, agreed that the preparation was intense and eye-opening.

“The biggest challenge was getting used to the different legal systems,” she said. “We were reading cases from the European Court of Human Rights, the African Court and the Inter-American Court. It was definitely challenging, but really interesting because I got to learn a lot about how different judges write their decisions in different countries.”

Both students said they felt proud to represent STU and  Canada.

“It’s really great to show that even though we’re a small university, we can compare to schools like U of T, McGill and UOttawa,” said Lebel. “We’re more than just a small school in Fredericton.”

They both said teamwork was a key part of their success.

“Sydney was a great partner. We were very supportive and really in it together,” said Lebel. “It was great to be paired with somebody who’s as dedicated to this as me because we both really wanted to make it to Geneva and to succeed there.”

The experience was not just an academic achievement, but also a deeply personal one.

“This experience is honestly unmatched compared to other experiences in my undergraduate degree,” Lebel reflected. “The critical thinking, research and advocacy skills I took away will stay with me. It was also my first time traveling abroad, meeting students from other countries, talking about their legal traditions and cultures — it was mind-expanding in every single way.”

Looking ahead, both students are planning to attend law school and continue pursuing careers in human rights and legal advocacy. They hope their success will inspire more STU students to join Moot Court.

“Hopefully it will attract more people to STU,” Lebel said. “People who join Moot Court end up doing amazing things. It’s a great experience if you want to learn oral advocacy, argumentation, and critical thinking, even if you’re not planning to go into law.”

For future Moot Court participants, Lebel had one piece of advice.

“Give it your all, because you never know how far you’ll go,” she said. “My first year, I wasn’t sure I’d ever compete beyond Canada or the U.S., and then here I am, competing in Switzerland. Your work might be recognized and you might be given this opportunity or a similar one.”