A total of 25 students from 12 countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Germany, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Greece, Turkey, Brazil, Thailand and Iran) took part in the summer school, which focussed on issues such as whether animals have legal rights and, if so, who can represent them in court. Participants were also given a comprehensive overview of animal law as a legal discipline and were able to familiarise themselves with the various theories of animal law. Furthermore, the students had the opportunity to defend their animal clients as lawyers in a moot court in front of a professional jury (the moot court was organised in cooperation with the World Moot on International Law and Animal Rights).

The Summer School was organised by Dr Eva Bernet Kempers (postdoctoral researcher in Animal Law at the University of Antwerp and Junior Research Associate at the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law). 

In addition to various international guest lecturers such as Alice Di Concetto (European Institute for Animal Law & Policy), Dr Sean Butler and Dr Raffael Fasel (both from the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law), TIR Managing Director Dr Gieri Bolliger also took part in the event as a speaker. In his presentation ‘The Role of Organisations in the Future of Animal Rights’, he focused on the status of animal protection law in Switzerland and the aims and approach of TIR.

The seminar was a great success from the point of view of both the organisers and the participants. TIR congratulates Dr Eva Kempers on the exciting and well-balanced programme and is happy that the field of animal law is also gaining in importance at an international level. We wish the Animal Rights Law Summer School in Antwerp continued success for the future!