Students of Queen’s College were the victors of the inaugural UGLS-MCG Inter-School Mooting Competition, held on March 14th, 2024.
This competition, conceived by the University of Guyana Law Society (UGLS), was coordinated jointly with Moot Court Guyana (MCG).
Invitations were extended to Queen’s College, The Bishops’ High School, McKenzie High School, New Amsterdam Secondary, President’s College, and St. Rose’s High to participate in this pioneering event. Unfortunately, The Bishops High School, initially accepting, could not participate due to a scheduling conflict with mock examinations resulting from a change in the competition date.
This selective invitation aimed to assess the event’s feasibility. The positive feedback and exemplary performance by all participants have paved the way for more schools to be invited in subsequent competitions starting in 2025.
Each school submitted a team of three students, assuming the roles of Senior Counsel, Junior Counsel, and Researcher. With an odd number of teams, Queen’s College presented directly to the judges, while the others competed against each other. The moot addressed issues in tort law.
The Queen’s College team, comprising Chanelsia Cameron, Tevin Nedd, and Nathalia Henry, claimed first place after a rigorous contest. The President’s College team, featuring Judah Ferreira, Keniviha Gooding, and Shonjay Mendonca, and the St. Rose’s High School team, with Carolita Warner, Darren Fraser, and Maharani Ferdinand, secured second and third places, respectively.
Although Queen’s College emerged as the competition winners, the Best Advocate Prize was awarded jointly to President’s College and St. Rose’s High School. Additionally, the Best Researcher Prize went to New Amsterdam Multilateral, highlighting the formidable nature of all participating schools regardless of their final standings.
The panel of judges included Chief Justice (retd) Kenneth Benjamin, former Chief Justice of Belize and now Head of the Department of Law at the University of Guyana, alongside Ms. Excellence Dazzel, an attorney-at-law and lecturer in the same department.
UGLS represents students of UG’s Department of Law, while MCG is a student-led organization dedicated to enhancing LL.B. students’ advocacy skills.
Judges, Chief Justice (retd) Justice Benjamin, and Excellence Dazzel, (centre), flanked by the competing schools