Law students participated in a mock court hearing
At the West Ukrainian National University, as part of the courses ‘Comparative Civil Procedure’ and ‘Private International Law,’ third-year students majoring in International Law organised a mock trial based on a civil case involving the determination of the place of residence of a minor who had been transported from the Federal Republic of Germany to Ukraine.
During the hearing, the key stages of the civil proceedings were reconstructed, including the opening of the court session, the identification of the participants and the examination of the case; the presentation and use of evidence; the cross-examination of witnesses and representatives of child welfare services from both countries; the court debates; and the delivery of the judgment.
The students took on the roles of judge and court clerk, representatives of the plaintiff and defendant, witnesses, and specialists from child welfare services from Ukraine and Germany.
The court decision was made in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine and the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Invited experts provided professional recommendations and evaluated the work of the participants: lawyer Petro Cherevatyi and retired judge, associate professor of international and European law Tetiana Babkova.
We sincerely thank all participants for their inspiring work, realistic reproduction of the court proceedings and deep understanding of law enforcement practice. This is another vivid example of practice-oriented training at the Law Faculty of WUNU.