On 10 December 2021 the Human Rights Lawyers’ Association’s annual judicial review mooting competition final took place in-person in Court 7 at the Royal Courts of Justice with a mock substantive judicial review hearing.
No5 Barristers’ Chambers sponsored the prizes for the winning and runner-up teams of mooters who arrived at the final after a tough selection process with written sifting of the grounds, and a competitive first stage of mooting to compete through to earn a place in this final.
Lord Justice Singh, Melanie Simpson QC and No5’s Philip Rule presided over the proceedings that heard the claimant’s case presented by Kayode Asweje and Hajra Jafri, and the defendant’s case advanced by Ben Cartwright and Laura Jane Addo-Donga.
The moot problem required the participants to argue a case concerned with arrest and prosecution, protest rights, and freedom of expression protected by Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights 1950, and with Coronavirus regulations imposing restrictions criminalising gatherings in public places.
The judges were impressed with the quality of the mooting from both teams and, amongst other things, considered the mooters’ use of the law, the cogency, accuracy and persuasiveness of the argument and responses to judicial interventions, and the fluency and clarity of the advocacy, as well as written submissions quality.
Our congratulations to both teams from No5 for making it to the final and an especial congratulations go to the winners Ben Cartwright and Laura Jane Addo-Donga.
Finally, credit is due also to the Young Lawyers’ Committee of the HRLA who pulled off a fantastic event in challenging times with their hard work and dedication.
