2 N.B. students only Canadians to compete in 2025 human rights, law competition in Switzerland

Two New Brunswick students are on their way to Switzerland to compete in the Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition.

The St. Thomas University pair are one of only 24 teams competing in the in-person rounds at the event in Switzerland and the only team from Canada. 

Jazmyne Lebel of Quispamsis and Sydney Gallibois of Fredericton leave on Saturday for the competition in Geneva.  

"I was very excited and proud of Sydney and I for all our hard work and dedication," said Lebel.

The Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition has university students from around the world argue a hypothetical human rights case before international tribunals and human rights experts. 

The top 24 teams include a handful of teams from India, a few teams from Kenya, and one team each from the United States and the United Kingdom, among others.

According to St. Thomas University, it is the only undergraduate school to compete in international moot court competitions against law students already in law school.

"It feels like a really big honour because of how many schools compete internationally and how varied everyone's background is," said Gallibois.

"Since it's a lot of law students competing, we're up against people that really know their stuff. 

"So all of our dedication, hard work … we feel that much more proud of it."

Gallibois said the process began at the end of January when a "fact pattern" was released, which she said is essentially a fake case. She said they wrote two legal briefs to represent each side and were then accepted into the top 50 teams.

They then competed in oral arguments four times during a week-long period.

The two have since been practicing for the in-person rounds.

Lebel said it's also been interesting to learn about the different legal systems, since the two have mainly competed using American and Canadian law until now. 

"You find similarities in all these different legal systems, but also, different countries may approach the same problems in different ways," said Lebel.

Lebel said all of the work has been worth it because it's preparation for law school, which they both want to attend after their undergraduate programs.

Gallibois agrees. For her, the dedication is paying off. 

"The case may be fake and hypothetical, but the experience we gain from it isn't, and it's something that we can apply to our future endeavour of being advocates for people," she said.

"It's definitely going to be rewarding in the end."