On Friday, March 25, 2022, the 5th-grade students who won the second prize in the school contest, “the right to children’s happiness,” visited the Nice courthouse. This visit, along with tickets for the Nice carnival, was offered to them.
They won this prize thanks to a video about rights and happiness.
The children arrived at the courthouse at 9:30 AM and were welcomed by the municipal councilor sub-delegated to the council of family rights and duties, Marie-Pierre Lazard, who described their video as “very original, informative, and understandable.”
The children took their places in a courtroom and had the opportunity to listen to Ms. Pascale Dorion, president of the Nice judicial court, and Mr. Pierre Fiori, the sub-delegated advisor for citizenship in schools. For nearly an hour, and with the help of several speakers, the children were explained the composition of a court, that of a courtroom, the role of a lawyer’s gown and its history, as well as the role each person plays during a hearing.
Following this, the students played an improvised skit with about ten participants, with Master Adrien Verrier, the head of the bar association, acting as the session’s president.
The instructions were:
“Let’s imagine we are gathered in this courtroom because one of you was in the stadium locker room, and one of your classmates took a video and posted it on the social media platform TikTok.”
After this moment in the shoes of a judge, a lawyer, a clerk, or a prosecutor, the students were able to ask questions, particularly about the training required to work in justice professions, as well as about the oath that a lawyer or a magistrate must take.
To reward them for their second place in the contest and their involvement, the municipal councilor presented them with a certificate of achievement, one by one.
After receiving their achievement certificates, the tour continued in the main building of the courthouse, where the students were able to discover the location of the criminal courtrooms open to the public, but only for adults. They then got a close-up view of a plaque celebrating the inauguration of the new courthouse by the Minister of Justice Élisabeth Guigou in 2000, as well as a plaque paying tribute to Master Myriam Bellazouz, a victim of the July 14, 2016, attacks on the Promenade des Anglais.
Farah Said, a student, told us: “This visit made me want to become a lawyer.”
Her classmates, along with her, all learned things during this visit, and many are now interested in careers related to the world of justice.
“This visit is enriching for them; it allows them to discover the world of justice but also to sharpen their sense of citizenship.”
– Marie Pierre Lazard
The visit concluded with a group photo on the courthouse forecourt.
KABA Kadiatou
