- Team France 2 wins the 2017 THEMIS Competition grand finals!
- Team Poland 1 as second place and Team Czech Republic in third place.
- THEMIS continues to help develop the skills of Europe's future magistrates.
Congratulations to Team France 2, the winners of the 2017 THEMIS Competition! Constance Marecheau, Michael Da Lozzo and Guillaume Ghislain, accompanied by team coach Sylvie de Framond, won the honour for the team's outstanding performance at the THEMIS finals held in Bucharest, 13-16 November 2017.
In second place was Team Poland 1, represented by Katarzyna Pyrc, Sylwia Wierzchowska and Zaneta Zasko along with team coach Barbara Augustyniak.
In third place was Team Czech Republic, represented by Ondrejka Kocichova, Katerina Studecka and Tereza Tupa along with team coach Pavel Prazak.
Team Italy 1 was given a special jury award for outstanding communication skills and organisation.
In all, eight teams representing the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy and Poland took part in the finals, and the performance of all the teams was exceptional.
Bringing together future magistrates
The THEMIS Competition brings together future magistrates from different EU countries at a time when they are undergoing entry-level training and enables them to share common values, exchange new experiences and discuss areas of common interest.
Team France 2 – the winners!
The THEMIS Competition provides an ideal forum in which to discuss EU and international law subjects, promote exchanges and experiences between participants, increase knowledge, encourage critical thinking and foster professional networks.
Debate and discussion
This year’s THEMIS Competition began with the time-limited exercise of the writing of a legal paper based topic dealing with the right to a fair trial (Art 47 EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and Art 6 ECHR). The subsequent sessions over the next two days saw pairs of teams, each team adopting an opposing view to the issue, engage in debate and discussions and an exchange of new experiences.
As with each year, the debates were of an exceptionally high level. The jury made special note of the great talent shown by all of the teams. The teams put on very solid performances, providing good references to case law, giving excellent oral presentations and written papers, displaying critical thinking and providing good argumentation. The teams also showed their abilities to anticipate solutions and furthermore to provide innovative solutions.
Common spirit within the EU
A member of Team Greece poignantly highlighted the value of the Themis Competition: “This competition is a great and unique chance to meet with other European colleagues, exchange opinions on common legal issues and establish professional and social relationships as well for the future. It is a great chance to present your ideas and discuss in a European forum, which is very important for enforcing cooperation and a common spirit within the EU.”
Dedicated jury
EJTN warmly thanks the hard-working jury members who assessed the participants’ written papers, presided over the debates and deliberated each team’s performance. The dedicated jury members were Professor Francoise Tulkens, former Vice-President and former Judge elected in respect of Belgium to the European Court of Human Rights, Antonio Zarate Conde, Public Prosecutor at the Ministerio Publico in Madrid, Ana Medarska-Lazova, HELP Project Officer at the human Rights National Implementation Division, Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law, Council of Europe, and Dr. Corneliu Birsan, Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest.
EJTN further thanks the director of Romania’s National Institute of Magistracy Judge Cristina Rotaru-Radu for her warm welcome, as well as the supporting staff for hosting the event and for the many practical arrangements.
EJTN proudly supports the decade-old and highly acclaimed THEMIS Competition, which continues to provide a genuine skills-enhancing experience for future EU magistrates.
About THEMIS
The main aim of the THEMIS project is to bring together future magistrates from different European countries at a time when they are undergoing entry level training to enable them to share common values and to exchange new experiences and discuss new perspectives in areas of common interest.
The project also aims to develop abilities related to the future profession of the participants, such as communication skills, debating abilities, critical and analytical thinking, logical reasoning and proper legal writing. Furthermore, THEMIS is intended to foster the development of professional contacts, experiences and relationships between both the entry-level trainees in magistracy and their teaching staff.