Our Tools

Mock Trials

One of the unique tools to get youth to implement the values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are Mock Trials on pre-determined cases on moral questions which provoke a discussion, thought and implementation of the material studied. In the mock trials, the young students are divided into teams and research and prepare the case, escorted by top law firms and university faculties of law, to finally conduct a trial in front of thousands of their peers. The trials are always presided by actual professional judges and expert witnesses, with actors playing key figures in the case. The activity is then adapted to become a standard part of the curriculum in educational systems and duplicated locally, thus reaching tens of thousands more. 

As an example, the mock trial which the Forum held in 2016 dealt with the Right to Life vs. Freedom of Expression. It took place in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in front of 500 representatives of the young leadership in Israel, and its panel of judges included two judges from the European Court for Human Rights and a former President of the Israeli Supreme Court. The youth teams (prosecution and defense) were composed of 20 Israeli and 20 German high school students. This trial sparked a series of events, lectures and activities reaching schools all over Israel, illuminating subjects such as the limits of Freedom of Speech and the balance between interests.