ABC Regional Online, Australia: From The Gold Coast To Geneva: Law Students Take On China in the UN (Photos)

18 November 2003

The legal team working on Ms Zhang's case.
Gold Coast criminal lawyer Chris Nyst initiated the students' involvement in the case.
22-year-old Jodie Warren is the youngest member of the team: "I really enjoy it so it doesn't feel like I'm doing work."
Law student Kathryn Young leapt at the chance to work on the case: "This is a chance to actually do something."

When you enrol in a law degree at uni you know you're

Law student Kathryn Young leapt at the chance to work on the case: "This is a chance to actually do something."

When you enrol in a law degree at uni you know you're in for a hard slog.

You know there'll be a lot of long nights in the library before your legal talents get to see the light of day, let alone a real case.

And when it comes to international human rights law the odds of seeing a real case are even slimmer. Every now and again you hear about human rights cases popping up in the news and they are long and drawn out things. But right now on the Gold Coast a landmark human rights case is on the boil.

And three Griffith University law students are in the thick of it.

For 28-year-old student Kathryn Young, the case has become thoroughly engrossing. "When you find yourself at 10 o'clock on a Friday night going through torture case after torture case and looking at what's acceptable ways to kill people and what's acceptable force...You know, people having their eyes popped out because they were beaten so badly. You just think, 'wow'."

The case relates to the torture of a Chinese woman now living in Sydney. Zhang Cui Ying is one of many Chinese nationals persecuted during the reign of former president Jiang Zemin for their involvement in the spiritual movement Falun Gong. What makes her case unique is that it's the first to be brought by an individual.

The landmark case has attracted the likes of Gold Coast Criminal lawyer Chris Nyst and eminent human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson of "Hypotheticals" fame. It's not everyday a lawyer takes on the UN. Certainly not everyday students get to work on a case that will end up in the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

The uniqueness of the opportunity is not lost on Ms Young. "Oh my God, there's an international human rights case on the Gold Coast. This is a chance to actually do something. And then when I found out what it was - China. Okay, it's China, it's pretty big. And then I found out I'd be working with Chris Nyst who I'd just heard of from the Pauline Hanson case. I thought, 'Wow, this is going to be pretty interesting and exciting'. And then it was like Geoffrey Robertson who I've been a fan of since 10 years now. I know all his 'Hypotheticals' off by heart."

High profile lawyer Chris Nyst has 25 years of experience in criminal law to his name but, even for him, this case represents a career highlight. "These sort of things are unusual for any firm. I mean, you don't go to the United Nations every day. In the course of a career you might only become involved in two or three of these cases."

It was Nyst who initiated the students' involvement in Ms Zhang's case. He says it's a win-win situation. "The students bring some energy and passion to these things. They bring certainly up-to-date research skills and so that's great from a client's point of view. And from the students' point of view, to actually have exposure to the practical side of law and be able to put those skills to work is a fantastic thing."

This is not your average work experience. The students are far from the sidelines. They are integral to the team, their latest task the formulation of a dossier of human rights abuses throughout the world.

At 22, Jodie Warren is the youngest member of team. "The hardest part I've found is once we're given a task to go out and find exactly the parts that are relevant, what we're looking for. There's just so much material out there." But, in contrast to uni assignments, motivation is never a problem when it comes to the Zhang case. "The process is long and it takes a lot of hours but at the same time when you're doing it you know in the back of your mind that it's for a good cause and the work that we do is helping someone."

"It can be difficult. Exams are coming up now so it's hard to try to find the time. For me mostly it's at night time in the library doing research. But I really enjoy it so for me it doesn't feel like I'm doing work."

Ms Young concurs. "The really fun bits are trying to find ways to actually get this case to be prosecuted and something to be done. The really disturbing bits are looking at the pictures of people who've been beaten to death. That hasn't been very fun."

Certainly the lessons learned around the boardroom with Chris Nyst can't be replicated within the four walls of a lecture theatre. Ms Warren articulates perhaps the greatest lesson learned so far. "I've basically learned that there's a big gap between law and practice - especially in the field of international law. What countries say they are going to do when they sign on and ratify treaties is usually a lot different to what they actually do in real life. International law, especially human rights law, is basically just a matter of politics. Sometimes states won't adher to human rights law if it's not politically expedient or politically in their interests."

Ms Young has also noticed a stark contrast between international law and domestic law. "You get really sad sometimes and you get really upset that it is going to take so long. But I've learnt so much about the processes of the UN, how to get something through the ICJ - is it possible on a political level? You know, we've just had the chairman of China out here. That affects everything.

"It's not like going to court where you've got a judge there and a police force to back it up. You're dealing with people on an international stage and it's all politics and people with guns. American can do whatever they want, so can China. So it's been really amazing."

Chris Nyst cannot speak highly enough of the students. "These students are really the best of the best. They have grown enormously. You see a scenario where the students come in a little bit tentative because they really don't know, 'Well, am I going to be of any value here at all?' And when you understand it's like building a house - you just start with one brick and you put another brick on top of it. As they see that process and they understand, 'Well, I can put that brick on top of there,' it helps them to blossom as contributors in the team."

Ms Warren says the case has changed her outlook personally as well as professionally. "I think it's made me appreciate being an Australian. I think sometimes a lot of Australians take for granted the rights and opportunities we have. You just have to look at what's happened to Miss Zhang in China to realise we live in a great country although we have our own problems as well. We just have to appreciate that we won't be hauled off and tortured as is the common practice in some countries."

Ms Young agrees that the Australian society is a great one and praises our democratic system and the role Australia has played in advancing human rights. "We've had some amazing human rights cases where our own domestic legislation has been changed with the whole Toonen case allowing gays in Tasmania."

"It's really good to see that we take the forefront. If we can help and inspire other people to see that you don't have to torture people, you don't have to have oppressive regimes. I mean we have a Falun Gong centre down the road and it's not doing any damage to anyone."


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