Zimbabwe students scoop international awards for moot court
U.S. Law Review
A history-making team of Zimbabwean high school students that became world and European moot court competition champions has been widely praised in a country where the education system is beset by poor funding, lack of materials and teachers’ strikes.
The 11-member Zimbabwean team of nine girls and two boys aged between 14 and 18 and drawn from different schools was crowned world champions last month after winning the International High School Moot Court competition held online at the end of May. A team from New York City came second in the competition where participants used fictional cases to simulate proceedings in the International Criminal Court pre-trial chambers.
Zimbabwe now has also been crowned champions of Europe after beating The Netherlands in the finals of the European Moot Competition for high school students on July 3. It was Zimbabwe’s first time competing in both prestigious events.
Organizers of the European competition were so impressed with Zimbabwe’s performance at the International High School Moot Court competition that they invited the team to be the first-ever African country to enter their competition, said team captain Ruvimbo Simbi.
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The premium processing fee will increase to $1,410, a 14.92 percent increase (after rounding) from the current fee of $1,225. This increase, which is done in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, represents the percentage change in inflation since the fee was last increased in 2010 based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers.
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Premium processing is an optional service that is currently authorized for certain petitioners filing Forms I-129 or I-140. The system allows petitioners to request 15-day processing of certain employment-based immigration benefit requests if they pay an extra fee. The premium processing fee is paid in addition to the base filing fee and any other applicable fees, which cannot be waived.