Broadly understood Human Rights are the inalienable right of each of us. Unfortunately, the modern world shows how much we have to fight for them in order to be faithful to fundamental rights (the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as a set of fundamental human rights and civic duties, adopted and signed on December 7, 2000, during the summit of the European Council in Nice).
Since the founding of the United Nations, equality between men and women has been one of the most fundamental guarantees of human rights. Adopted in 1945, the Charter of the United Nations has as one of its goals “the affirmation of faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms “without regard to race, sex, language or religion.”
In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted. It also proclaimed the equal entitlement of women and men to the rights contained therein, “without any distinction whatsoever”, it was intended for all, both men and women.
And this fact became the reason for this Competition
On September 15, 2022, I had the honor to welcome, on behalf of the Jury, all Participants and Competitors to the 4th edition of the “International Human Rights Oratory Competition for Young Lawyers and Law Students FBE”, a competition in the field of human rights addressed to young lawyers and law students from Europe up to 35 years of age. age.
On behalf of the Rotterdam Bar Association, the Dean of the Bar, Mr. Peter Hanenberg, delivered a welcome speech.
It is obvious how important an issue human rights are in today’s world, especially in our times. How much attention each of us must devote to this issue and how much remains to be done.
The Federation of European Bars (FBE) and the Bar Association in Rotterdam (Netherlands), under the patronage of the District Chamber of Legal Advisors in Poznań (Poland), invited young people to spread these values as part of the Competition. The competition was also an opportunity to practice oratorical skills and meet other students and practitioners.
Many young lawyers and law students responded to the invitation.
After the preliminary eliminations carried out by the Competition Jury, the best from the individual Chambers: Verona, Gdańsk, South London, Westminster & Holborn, Amsterdam, The Hague, Bilbao, Kraków, Geneva, Madrid, Warsaw, Rotterdam and Wrocław – sent their representatives.
The participants’ struggles were assessed by an international jury composed of:
- Att. Prof. Sara Chandler, London
- Att. Monique Stengel, Paris
- Att. Izaskun Aziparte, Bilabo
- Att. Fatima Oraibi, Antwerp
- Att. Artur Wierzbicki, Poznań (Chairman of the Jury).
Topic of the first day of the Competition was the same for all participants:
“The situation of women’s rights in the modern world”
Each participant’s speech had to be an original source of information, they could freely organize their speeches, there was no imposed format. However, the Participant’s speech could not exceed 10 minutes.
At the end of the first day of the Competition, the final four were selected: Clara Gehner (Geneva), Siri Shugeini (Westminster & Holborn), Radosław Tyburski (Gdańsk) and Nizar Cano (Westminster & Holborn).
On the second day, the finalists faced the topic:
“Should the state regulate the area of ‘sex workers’?”
YES? or not?”
With a slightly changed formula of presentations (a battle in randomly selected pairs), as a result of the Jury’s thorough deliberation and unanimity, the winning three were selected:
1. Mr. RADOSŁAW TYBURSKI (Gdańsk) – 1st place
2. Mrs. SIRI SHUGEINI (Westminster & Holborn) – 2nd place
3. Mrs. NIZAR CANO (Westminster & Holborn) – 3rd place.
CONGRATULATIONS!
The next edition of this permanent European event was an excellent opportunity to practice the oratorical skills of young lawyers and law students and to exchange experiences in this group.
We would also like to thank Rotterdam Bar and everyone who helped us organize this Competition, especially our colleagues and friends, especially Mr. Peter Hanenberg for inviting us and hosting us.
The next, fifth edition is planned for next year (i.e. 2024) in September.
Artur Wierzbicki, Att. at Law
Chairman of the FBE Human Rights Committee
Chairman of the Jury
FBE HRC_IV International Oratory HR Competition_Rotterdam September 2023_FBE website
