UWI Cave Hill wins CCJ law competition
Published:Saturday | March 22, 2025 | 1:53 PM
The Faculty of Law at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill campus, beat seven other regional law schools and faculties to win the 2025 Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) International Law Moot on Friday.
It's the second win for the Barbados-based faculty, which previously secured the title in 2012.
In addition to the top prize, Cave Hill was named best academic institution.
The victorious team, comprising third-year students Deborah Bryan, Alala Moore, and Khyle Harrisingh, impressed the judging panel with their “extremely well-prepared” arguments. Their advisor was Dr Antonius Hippolyte.
The prestigious competition draws future legal professionals from across the Caribbean to present their arguments before a panel of CCJ judges in the court’s original jurisdiction. This jurisdiction involves the application and interpretation of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which governs the Caribbean Community.
The teams were tasked with arguing a hypothetical case involving a breach of the RTC related to a CARICOM member state's recruitment and procurement policy favoring its own citizens in the petroleum sector.
At the closing ceremony, outgoing CCJ justice Andrew Burgess, who also chairs the Law Moot Committee, described the competition as an "investment in the future attorneys of the region."
In addition to the Cave Hill faculty's success, other top performers were recognised.
Alexia Trim of the UWI St Augustine campus in Trinidad and Tobago was awarded the Sir Henry Forde Prize for best oralist, while the Eugene Dupuch Law School from The Bahamas received the Justice Jacob Wit Prize for best written submission.
The competition, held annually, saw participation from the Anton de Kom University of Suriname, Hugh Wooding Law School from Trinidad and Tobago, Norman Manley Law School from Jamaica, and UWI campuses in Cave Hill, Mona, and St Augustine, as well as the University of Guyana.
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