News - The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

8 February 2021

Tamara Aburamadan, Stephanie Mutasa and Mina Radoncic – enrolled in our LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (LLM) – will represent the Geneva Academy at the 2021 Edition of the Jean-Pictet Competition that will take place from 3 to10 April 2021 in Durrës, Albania.

George Dvaladze, former Teaching Assistant at the Geneva Academy and PhD candidate at the Law Faculty of the University of Geneva, is coaching them.

The Jean-Pictet Competition forms an integral part of the LLM. Every year, three students can participate in this leading moot court following a competitive selection process carried out by a Geneva Academy jury.

‘We have this year a very diverse and motivated team, with talented students bringing different legal backgrounds and experiences, which is very enriching for every member of the team and for the team as a whole’ underlines George Dvaladze.

‘As we all want to pursue a career in IHL, we believe that participating in this competition will give us an insight into what awaits us in the future. We wanted to challenge ourselves and broaden our knowledge of IHL through a competition known for its exciting simulations and strong networking opportunities. As the motto of the competition is ‘taking the law out of the books’, we are eager to learn how to apply the knowledge we have gained throughout the year at the Geneva Academy in simulated, real-life situations’ explain Tamara, Stephanie and Mina.

Tamara Aburamadan

Tamara comes from Gaza, Palestine, and spent two years in France before coming to the Geneva Academy, where she obtained her master’s degree in International and European Law from Université Toulouse 1 Capitole. Right before moving to Geneva, she completed an internship with the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) in Paris, where she worked in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) desk.

Before that, Tamara worked for two years in Palestine with different international and local NGOs where she notably documented human rights and humanitarian law violations and helped in providing legal documents to the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor on the Situation in Palestine.

Tamara obtained her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Al-Azhar University in Gaza. She is passionate about international justice and the application of IHL and international human rights law in non-international armed conflicts.

Tamara Aburamadan in the park of the UN in Geneva

Stephanie Mutasa

Coming from Zimbabwe, Stephanie Mutasa holds an LLB (Hons) from the University of Zimbabwe and has a particular interest for IHL and armed non-State actors.

During her studies, she participated in the ICRC All Africa IHL Competition where she won the best speaker prize – a three-month paid internship at the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) in Arusha, Tanzania. Following her internship, the tribunal offered Stephanie a position of Legal Researcher that she left to study at the Geneva Academy.

Mina Radoncic

Mina Radoncic holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Political Science and worked, during her last year of study, as Teaching Associate at the International Law Department of the Faculty.

Mina has a particular interest in IHL and international criminal law and plans to conduct research on the mechanisms for enhancing compliance with IHL. Coming from Belgrade, Serbia, she got exposure to IHL during her studies with participation in moot court competitions in Slovenia and Belarus.

Despite the current situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, preparation for the competition has been, in many ways, similar to previous years with discussions on current international law debates, simulations and other role-playing exercises.

‘The focus of our preparation has been learning how to adapt our approach to different situations. By conducting simulations, we are not only learning how to incorporate our knowledge into different tasks and adapt it to different situations, but we are also learning about and from each other. We work very well as a team, encouraging each other and that has made preparation in the current circumstances less strenuous. A great part of this journey is our unique chance to bond, exchange views and always have multiple perspectives on issues’ underline Tamara, Stephanie and Mina.

‘Of course, this year we had to adapt the format of the selection process and the training by wearing masks, observing social distancing rules and even by moving our meetings online. But we see this dimension as part of the experience. The Jean-Pictet Competition is all about applying the law to the real-life scenarios and humanitarian concerns that arise in current armed conflict. These measures are part of the simulations as much as they are of realities that these exercises seek to replicate’ explains George Dvaladze.