Success of the III ICADE Campus on Justice and Debate

The III ICADE Campus on Justice and Debate, a pioneering initiative in our country, organised by the faculty of Law (Comillas ICADE), brought together 42 students between the ages of 15 and 17 who, over five days, drafted laws on sensitive issues such as the environment, public security and political parties, in a simulation of a parliamentary chamber. They were guided by some of the faculty’s most distinguished students, who acted as mentors in this first approach to the legal world.

The dean of the faculty of Law, Abel Veiga, who inaugurated the campus, asked them not to forget, but promote “the spirit of the Transition, where the common good was on everyone’s mind”. Advice that the attendees tried to follow as they put forward their initiatives on issues as complex as international relations, national defence or even sex education in schools. Advice that the attendees tried to follow throughout the intense sessions in which they simulated a parliamentary chamber.

Elena Arroyo, who has just finished the Dual Degree Program in Law and International Relations (E-5), said that this activity is exciting “both for teachers, willing to guide and learn, and for those who, in their final years of high school, are either looking for guidance for their university studies, or have inspiring and useful ideas”. For her part, Clara Torrente, who hasc completed the Dual Degree Program in Business Analytics and Law (E-3 Analytics), emphasises that this activity puts into practice public speaking, negotiation and teamwork skills that are necessary nowadays. Álvaro Ramos, who next year will start his fourth year of Business Administration and Management and Law (E-3), highlights mainly “the will to acquire knowledge” shown by the participants.

For Francisco Valiente, lecturer of Constitutional Law, promoter and director of the campus, this type of activities show that “we should not make it easier for young people, but interesting”. Highlights that those students have come not only from Madrid, but from all over the country: Seville, Cadiz, the Basque Country and even the Canary Islands. For Valiente, one of the great virtues of this project is that “the protagonists are undoubtedly the students: they do not come to a course or a seminar, but to become players in a simulation in which their decisions will have consequences”. From his point of view, this initiative “helps to discover legal vocations but, mostly, it is a service that the faculty of Law provides to society, training so many people”.

At the closing ceremony, the director of the Center for Legal Innovation in Law (CID-ICADE), Antonio Alonso Timón, thanked everyone for their effort, highlighting the merit of those who, in the middle of the summer holidays, choose to continue their training, and talked about the commitment of ICADE to this project “which has given results for three years”. Alonso predicts that “it will have a long life, as it is not only interesting and necessary, but also entertaining”.