AUAF Students Win Spirit Award at 2016 NLIU International Law School Mediation Tournament and Secure Only Invitation to Progress To Worldwide Competition

Defying setbacks, a team of AUAF law students won the Spirit Award at the 2016 NLIU International Law School Mediation Tournament, securing the only invitation to advance further in the worldwide competition.

The three-day competition, held at the National Law Institute University in Bhopal, India, featured 120 international contestants competing in front of 49 judges. Each round, teams both simulated and provided solutions to given cases in under 90 minutes. Teams were judged on the quality of their legal role play and case analysis.

The all-female AUAF delegation, the only one from Afghanistan, consisted of students Najia Mahmodi, Rukhsar Meherzad, and Marmareen Rahmani. AUAF’s student coach was Mohammad Zubair Karimi. The team faced persistent security challenges, delays in academic coursework, and lack of access to research resources in the lead-up to the competition. Moreover, the team had little time to prepare: to Najia, it seemed as if every other contestants “had obtained sufficient training where we . . . were not able to have such training.”

However, the AUAF team, shrugging obstacles off, ended up winning both the Spirit of the Competition Award and the only spot to compete at the next Mediation Tournament, held in Scotland in April 2017.

To the team, the competition results only proved that hard work and determination trumps all. “Our . . . passion for the competition had really proved to be fruitful,” says Najia. The three are already immersing themselves in preparation for the next competition, hoping to represent AUAF well abroad.

AUAF Students Win Spirit Award at 2016 NLIU International Law School Mediation Tournament and Secure Only Invitation to Progress To Worldwide Competition

AUAF Delegation Receiving Their Award at the NLIU International Law School Mediation Tournament

About ALEP: Founded in 2007, the Afghanistan Legal Education Project (ALEP) at Stanford Law School develops innovative legal curricula to help Afghanistan’s universities train the next generation of lawyers and leaders. ALEP is one of the projects under Stanford Law School’s Rule of Law Program. For more on ALEP, see: https://law.stanford.edu/alep

About Rule of Law Program: Established in 1999, the Stanford Law School’s Rule of Law Program is the University’s vehicle for promoting the study and practice of international rule of law and development. The program serves as the scholastic and administrative umbrella for Rule of Law Projects in various countries. For more on the program, see: https://law.stanford.edu/rule-of-law-program/