Ukraine rejoins moot court competition

Law-Ukraine storyUkraine will host a regional round of Stetson University’s International Environmental Moot Court Competition again this year after a hiatus from the competition. Ukraine hosted the first Central and Eastern European rounds of the IEMCC in 2010.

“Ukraine has experienced many challenges in the past year, and it is especially important for us to stay connected with our colleagues in the Ukrainian legal community,” said Professor Royal C. Gardner, director of Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy. Prior to joining the Stetson faculty, Gardner participated in negotiations in Kyiv to help facilitate the safe and secure dismantlement of the former Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons.

Law students from Ukraine, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Turkey, the Middle East, as well as West, Central, and South Europe are invited to compete in Kyiv, Ukraine, in January 2015 in the regional rounds of the IEMCC. The regional competition winners will travel to Stetson University College of Law’s Gulfport, Florida, campus for the final rounds of the IEMCC, April 16-18, 2015.

The 2014 IEMCC winning team, from the University of California-Hastings, is pictured with Professor Royal Gardner (second from left), director of Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy.

“I am more than excited and looking forward to the event,” said Ielyzaveta Badanova, who is helping coordinate the IEMCC regional rounds in Eastern Europe. Badanova works in the legal unit at the Energy Community Secretariat and as a senior tax and legal consultant at KPMG Ukraine. Professor Maryna Medvedieva, of the Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University Institute of International Relations, is also actively involved in the round preparations. The Institute of International Relations is hosting the competition.

Stetson’s IEMCC, now in its 19th year, provides student advocates with an opportunity to litigate legal environmental issue that cross national borders. Students participating in this year’s competition will address the issue of shark finning and trade restrictions. A team from University of California, Hastings College of Law won the competition in April 2014.

Student teams will participate in regional rounds of Stetson University’s IEMCC around the world in East Asia and Southeast Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, India, Ireland, and Latin and North America.

For details of this year’s competition, visit https://www2.stetson.edu/law/international/iemcc/.

Visit https://www.facebook.com/StetsonUkraine for details on Ukraine rounds of Stetson’s IEMCC.

by Brandi Palmer