As global courts confront urgent issues around children’s rights in conflict zones, refugee camps, and digital environments, a new wave of legal talent is stepping up. This year’s Children’s Rights Moot Court Competition (CRM) 2025 highlighted the next generation of advocates shaping the future of international child law.

Hosted by Leiden Law School’s Department of Child Law and Health Law, in partnership with Baker McKenzie, the competition challenged law students from around the world to argue a fictitious but complex case centered on children’s rights in wartime contexts.

The event showcased not only legal skill but deep empathy and understanding of the evolving landscape of children’s rights. The winners of the 2025 competition are:

Winner of the Children’s Rights Moot Court Competition 2025 – O.P. Jindal Global University, India (Team 19)

• Finalist Team – University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa (Team 6)
• Best Memorial for the Applicant – Student Programme of the Inner Temple, UK (Team 36)
• Best Memorial for the Respondent – University of Tehran, Iran (Team 16)
• Best Oral Argument for the Applicant – O.P. Jindal Global University, India (Team 19)
• Best Oral Argument for the Respondent – University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa (Team 6)
• Best Oralist (Preliminary Round Score) – Debora Mihaleva, Plovdiv University, Bulgaria

Angela Vigil, Pro Bono Partner and Executive Director of Global Pro Bono at Baker McKenzie, emphasized the importance of engaging law students early in their careers: “Children’s rights cannot be realized without legal heroes. We hope this competition inspires law students to dedicate their talents, whether as pro bono volunteers or full-time public interest lawyers, to the cause of children’s rights and we hope this competition serves as one way of introducing, strengthening or deepening the commitment of these future heroes to take up this important cause.”

Professor Dr. Ton Liefaard, Leiden Law School added: “The Children’s Rights Moot Court provides law students from around the world the opportunity to engage in a global competition entirely devoted to topical children’s rights issues. It raises awareness among all the participants that children’s rights as a field of international law is critical for the protection of children who find themselves in most difficult and also life-threatening circumstances. And that access to justice for children is pivotal in holding state and non-state actors to account.”

This year’s competition took place entirely online, ensuring accessibility for law students worldwide. The fictitious scenario places children at the center of a legal dispute in a conflict zone, highlighting real-world issues of accountability for grave violations of children’s rights. This year, 31 teams comprising over 110 students from almost 20 countries participated in the competition, which was scheduled over 270 hours with the support of over 200 volunteers globally.

The final rounds were judged by a distinguished panel of international legal experts, including:

Presiding Judge: Leila Zerrougui Former Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict

Judges

Professor Dr. Ann Skelton Former Chair United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child Chair on Children’s Rights in a Sustainable World, Leiden University Benoit Van Keirsbilck Member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child Dr. Fikire Tinsae Birhane Case author Lecturer of Laws and Human Rights, School of Law, Hawassa University, Ethiopia Jaime Trujillo Partner, Baker McKenzie Firm Co-Chair of the Children’s Rights Moot Court 2025

Professor Dr. Ann Skelton, judge and former chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, underscored the urgency of the issue: “This year’s complex problem is set in a war zone, and that was inspired by the fact that in the real world today, we see children at the vortex of armed conflict. There is a lack of accountability for grave violations of children’s rights. That is why the Children’s Rights Moot Court Competition is driving the development of a new generation of children’s rights lawyers with hard skills – to be equipped for a tough world where we need to tenaciously argue for children’s rights.”

The Children’s Rights Moot Court Competition, first launched in 2014 to mark the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, has since grown into a leading platform for training the next generation of children’s rights advocates.

The 2025 CRM takes place against the backdrop of increased legal scrutiny of children’s rights abuses worldwide.