The International Human Rights Oratory Competition (6th edition) took place in Antwerp from October 9-11, 2025.
After preliminary rounds, 12 young lawyers from 7 countries entered the competition.
The theme of the first day of the competition, consisting of 10-minute presentations, was: “Is the UN capable of developing an effective strategy to address the current level of migration?” After the first day, I listened. The jury, composed of Artur Wierzbicki, Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the FBE (Poland), Professor Sara Chandler (Great Britain), and Fatima Oraibi (Belgium), selected the final four.
On the second day, the finalists faced off in a verbal battle of arguments on the topic: “A person can break the law in defense of human rights.”
The finalists were divided into two groups, supporters and opponents of this thesis. Each group had the opportunity to present their arguments for 10 minutes. They also answered questions from the presenters.
The jury selected the winner and three other finalists in the following order:
- Matteo CARLONI (Lucca BAR/Italy),
- Jean-Philippe Espallagas (Nice BAR/France),
- Giacomo Melotti (Verona BAR/Italy),
- Diana Pop (Cluj BAR/Romania).
The Jury also expressed its gratitude to the Dean of the Antwerp Bar, as the Chamber hosting the participants of this event.
The 7th edition of the Competition is scheduled for 2026 in Cologne, Germany.
