Debate Motions 2012-2013

2012

September

Red Sea Open Eilat, Israel, September 2-6

R1 This house, as Germany, would immediately cease all reparations to the State of Israel
R2 THW incentivize employers to hire non-college graduates
R3 THBT decisions on the legalisation, banning, or limiting of substances, including, but not limited to narcotics, tobacco & alcohol should be left to panels of experts rather than to elected representatives
R4 THW require any journalist working for a print,TV or radio news organization to have a government.-issued license
R5 THW force anyone suspected of being a 'stolen child' [under the Argentinian military junta 1976-1983] to undergo DNA testing to establish whether they are indeed stolen children and then make the results public
R6 THW require all isolated religious communities (eg. Hasidic Jews, Jehova's Witnesses) to give all 18-year-olds a 'Rumspringa' [Amish tradition of sending off 18-y.-olds to live in outside world for 1 year, after which they may chose to return or not]
Semi THBT all Government Policy Should Follow the Strict Logic of Maximizing Total Happiness
Final THBT the State of Israel should immediately and publicly end all attempts to capture or kill Nazi war criminals

Roosevelt Academy Open (RA Open), Middelburg, the Netherlands, September 21-22

R1: THW abolish referenda
R2: THW not allow immigrants with illiberal values, such as homophobia, to settle in the country
R3: THW vote for Obama
R4: THBT western countries should criminalize depictions of the Prophet Muhammed
R5: THBT sport's governing bodies, such as IOC and FIFA, should allow performance enhancing pharmaceuticals
Semi: THB the EU should not pay rural subsidies
Final: THW not use prison to punish non-violent offenders

DDG Master’s Cup 2012, Eisenach, Germany, September 29-30 (translated from German)

R1: THB in the right of bodily integrity of children
R2: THW out homosexual football players (or forcibly out those it knows about)
R3: THW abolish the Beamtenstatus (i.e. a body of exceptions to the laws governing all citizens of the state granted to some categories of civil servants)
R4: TH chooses immortality
Semi: TH declares the war on drugs a failure
Final: THBT it is (fully) sufficient to combat the symptoms

October

Open de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal, October 5-7 (translated from Portuguese)

R1: THW prohibit the grievance of religious beliefs
R2: THW defend that universities give preference to disadvantaged students
R3: THBT illegal downloading is not criminal
R4: THW allow private companies to resort to openly discriminatory hiring practices
Semi: THW recognise the independence of Catalunia
Final: THB in revolution as a solution to the country’s problems

Edinburgh Cup, Edinburgh, Scotland, October 6-7

R1: THBT the State should pay for university education
R2: THW abolish all hate crime laws and instead prosecute according to criminal law
R3: THS eco-terrorism
R4: THBT the identity of the artist should be obscured from those who buy and display the art (approximation)
R5: THW financially incentivize drug and alcohol addicts not to have children
Semi: THBT in the event of a Syrian border attack on Turkey, NATO should come to the aid of Turkey
Final: TH welcomes the demise of religion

Alternative Open, Glasgow, Scotland, October 13

R1: THW ban memory erasing technology (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
R2: THBT it is legitimate for Replicants to destroy any and all means of replicant production (Bladerunner)
R3: THW establish an independent 'prawn' state (District 9)
R4: something about clones being happier if they didn't know they were clones. (Never Let Me Go)
Final: THW give the 4-5-6 the 10% of children from the bottom of the league tables (Or, THW implement PLEB) (Torchwood: Children of the Earth)

UCL President’s Cup, London, England, October 13

R1: THBT adults who are not on the organ donor list should not be eligible to receive organ transplants
R2: THBT players who are found to have racially abused their fellow competitors should be banned for life
R3: THW ban the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him)
R4: THW prefer US Presidential candidates to be selected exclusively by party elites
Final: THBT the LGBT Movement Should Not Out Homosexual Politicians That Publicly Profess Homophobic Views

Dutch Debate Masters, Nyenrode, Breukelen, Netherlands, October 20 (translated from Dutch)

R1: THW abolish ethical checks on social science experiments
R2: THBT Turkey should intervene militarily in Syria
R3: THW set a maximum amount to be spent on health care per QUALY (Quality Adjusted Life Year)
Final: THBT the judges in Supreme Court should be elected directly by the American people

Gutenberg Cup, Mainz, Germany, October 20-21 (translated from German)

R1: Should Robin be allowed to drive the Batmobil too?
R2: Does Snowhite need only one Dwarf?
R3: Do we need a women’s quota in prison?
Semi: Do we need an ECO-label for organs?
Final: Should the Dönertier be placed under environmental protection?

SOAS IV, London, England, October 20-21

R1: TH regrets the criminalisation of squatting.
R2: THW allow high-ranked army officials, when in agreement, to reverse decisions made by democratic governments regarding military missions.
R3: THW fund research into the existence of a violent gene.
R4: THB that LGBTQI activism in countries with strong anti-gay policies does more harm than good.
R5: THW abolish all term-limits on the service of elected heads of state.
Open Quarter: THB it is legitimate for states to deny residence or asylum to immigrants who openly contradict their predominant values.
Open Semi: You are the British government. You have full guarantee that SAS (special air service) can enter the prison which currently holds the Pussy Riot Girls in Russia and you can remove them safely. THW enter Russia and remove the Pussy Riot Girls from their cells.
ESL Semi: THW not allow members of the royal family to serve in active combat.
ESL Final: THB that European States should end all funding for the arts until everyone lives above the national poverty level.
Open Final: THB the state should actively prosecute sexist and misogynist remarks..

Bogwall (SSDC Novices), Durham, England, October 20

R1: THW legalise polygamy
R2: THW financially incentivise voting
R3: THBT the West should impose sanctions on Israel until it disbands its nuclear programme and relinquishes control of all nuclear weapons
R4: THW ban protests at any event connected to a military funeral
Semi: TH supports Scottish independence
Final: THW out closeted LGBT public figures

Namda Novices, Manchester, England, October 27

R1: THW, ban national football teams who fans use racist or homophobic chants, from international competition
R2: THW require local councils to provide sufficient plots for gypsies in spite of local opposition.
R3: THW allow law enforcement agencies to monitor the phones, emails, internet activity and text messages of anyone who has been convicted of a crime linked to organised crime (as opposed to a hypothetical status quo where permission is granted on a case by case basis, where a judge must approve it based on evidence that the person is currently committing a crime)
R4: THW force clinically obese children to attend residential weight loss and education camps during the summer holidays
Semi: THBT western nations should launch pre-emptive air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities
Final: THBT in order for full gender equality to be achieved, all images designed to even slightly sexually attract or arouse the viewer must be banned

UCD Novice IV, Dublin, Ireland, October 25

R1: THBT the right to bear arms is the right to be free
R2: THBT the world would be a better place if nobody believed in God
R3: THW ban private healthcare and replace it with a comprehensive public system
Semi: THB corrupt, benevolent and capable dictatorship is preferable to corrupt and inept democracy
Final: Context Slide:

- It is the near future

- There is no discernable technological difference from today

- It has been discovered that 0.1% of the world’s population (60 million people) have developed the ability to read the thoughts of those in their immediate proximity. These people are called “psychics”

- “Psychics” can control their ability and choose not to read minds.

- A drug has been developed which suppresses their ability to ever read thoughts. However this drug also causes severe depression.

Motion:

THW Require the Public Registration of All Psychics and the Suppression of their Abilities with Drugs

UCD Vice-President’s Cup, Dublin, Ireland, October 27-28

R1: THW allow people in developing countries to sell themselves into slavery
R2: THW require artists to obtain permission from the subject/muse of a work of art prior to its release
R3: THW give the ECB a veto over all national budgets within the Eurozone
R4: As a Parent, THIW Raise its Child Gender Neutral
R5: THBT it is not the role of a Government to reduce the relative poverty of its citizens
Semi: THBT the state should, were possible, teach children in their vernacular language
Final: THBT the UCI should establish a truth and reconciliation commission to deal with doping in cycling

Imperial Open, London, England, October 27

R1: THBT the West should support a power-sharing deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban
R2: THBT Latin American countries should use private military contractors to police high crime areas
R3: THBT the feminist movement should renounce the title of "Feminism"
R4: THBT in order to be eligible for public funding, art must be subject to a double-blind test, in which it is judged anonymously by an art critic, and by members of the public against the work of a 5-year-old

November

UCU Open, Utrecht, Netherlands, November 2-3

R1: THW Remove All UEFA's Limits on Football Club Spending (which includes transfer and salaries).
R2: THBT the European Union should guarantee membership to regions of member states that secede from their parent state.
R3: THW fund hymen reconstruction.
R4: TH Regrets the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.
R5: THBT MGM Film Studios should cast a woman as the next James Bond.
Semi: THBT Japanese Leaders are justified in honouring the Yasukuni War Shrines.
Final: You are a Liberal leaning journalist covering the White House, you have received exclusive and indisputable evidence that during his college years Barack Obama had an active gay sexual life, THW Publish the Story.

Newcastle IV, Newcastle, England, November 2

R1: THBT the media should not report on a terrorist attack immediately after the event
R2: THW introduce irreversible laws to be programmed into robots
R3: THW take charitable status away from religious institutions that do not teach comprehensive sexual education
R4: THBT it is legitimate for nations to destabilise the governments that are complicit in the production of hardcore narcotics
Final: THBT state education should purposely undermine the normal gender roles

Durham IV, Durham, England, November 3-4

R1: THW ban male circumcision for Under 18s, except for medical reasons.
R2: TH wants the USA to lead a Coalition of the Willing to intervene militarily in Syria.
R3: THBT developed countries should not retaliate to protectionist measures by developing countries.
R4: THW publicly shame persons found guilty of committing hate speech.
R5: THBT Britain should seek issue based coalitions rather than a further integration into the EU.
Semi: "Context: A pill has been developed which, if taken during pregnancy will ensure the birth of straight children. At no point can it be determined if the child would otherwise have been straight or gay.

Motion: This House would allow prospective mothers to take the pill."

Novice Final: This House would ban extremist political parties.
Final: This House would support the partition of nation-states along their ethnic lines.

Welsh Novices, Aberystwyth, Wales, November 3

R1: THW not allow anybody under the age of 18 to leave school without first having passed all of their exams
R2: THW institute gender and racial quotas in all government cabinets
R3: THW only intervene in arab uprisings if guaranteed preferential economic agreements in return
R4: THW Make it a criminal offence to know of a crime and not report it
Final: THBT pieces of major social legislation, notably gay marriage, should be passed only by referendum

Oxford IV, Oxford, England, November 9-10

R1: THBT Google, YouTube, & social media websites should remove content which it deems to insult religions
R2: THB the ANC should nationalize all mines
R3: THBT Western governments should buy the freedom of slaves
R4: THBT the Greek military should suspend democratic government until economic recovery
R5: THBT companies should not take public stance in gay right issues
Quarter: THBT Emily's list should fund pro-choice male candidates
ESL Semi: THB governments should actively discourage consumerist lifestyles
Semi: THBT States should forcibly reverse the transmigration policies of their former dictators
ESL Final: THW give extra votes to youths over the age of 18
Final: THB in the right to bear arms

Vienna Freshers, Vienna, Austria, November 10-11

R1: THW ban smoking entirely
R2: THBT there should be obligatory equal parental leave for women and men
R3: THW prosecute violent fouls as criminal assault
R4: THBT testing on animals is immoral
Final: THBT state funded space programs are a waste of tax payers' money

UK Debate Challenge, York, England, November 9-11

R1: THW abolish all political parties
R2: THW allow workers to sell employment rights back to their employers
R3: THBT the right to decide the timing and manner of one's death is a fundamental component of liberty
R4: THBT the Myanmar NLD should actively support a pro-democracy campaign of civil disobedience
R5: THW remove immunity from prosecution from holders of high political office
Semi: THBT the works of hip hop legends such as Tupac Shakur, the Wu Tang Clan and JayZ should be taught in schools
Final: THBT the capitalist system is incompatible with a just society

ESCP Debating Open, Paris, France, November 10

R1: THBT states in the developing world should invest in sex tourism
R2: THW allow all doping in professional sports
Final: THW choose immortality over the opportunity to have children

Open de Debates da Sociedade de Debates da Universidade de Coimbra (SDUC), Coimbra, Portugal, November 10-11

R1: TH supports lifting the celibacy of the Catholic Church
R2: THW ban the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, from adopting children
R3: THW require all Portuguese to spend 25 € per month on local products
R4: THBT all children should have location chips
Semi: THBT Wikipedia should be put on the UNESCO World Heritage list
Final: TH defends that austerity is the solution to the (economic) crisis

Brno Open, Brno, Slovakia, November 10-11

R1: THW adopt life sentences without parole.
R2: THW not read fairytales which contain gender stereotypes to children.
R3: THW grant tax cuts to large foreign investors.
R4: THW cancel permanent membership and veto power in the UN Security Council.
Semi: THBT all regionally concentrated ethnic minorities should be granted territorial autonomy.
Final: THBT the European Union should open its borders for immigrants from third world countries.

Cambridge IV, Cambridge, England, November 17-18

R1: The state should pay a living wage to stay at home parents
R2: Infoslide: There are strong allegations that the Rwandan government of Paul Kagame is funding anti-govenment rebel fighters in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The rebels are ethnically Tutsi and have caused mass violence in the DRC. Several countries have decided to freeze budgetary assistance to Rwanda. Others have chosen not to, claiming that aid has been used effectively to develop Rwanda.Motion: THB all donor countries should freeze aid to Rwanda
R3: THW hold the senior executives of major banks and rating agencies criminally liable for the actions of their companies that led to the Global Financial Crisis
R4: THBT democratic reform is more important than economic growth for China
R5: THBT prosecutors should never offer reduced sentences in exchange for testifying against others
Quarters: TH regrets the rise of 24 hour news culture
Semi: THBT all companies should be at least 75% owned by their workforce, in equal shares
ESL Final: THBT that Japan should not abandon nuclear power
Final: THBT Egypt should provide a military security guarantee against the invasion of Gaza

Iasi BP Open, Iasi, Romania, November 18-19 (translated)

R1: THW not make state health care available to smokers
R2: TH regrets the influence of computer games on the next generation
R3: THW ban pornography
R4: THBT the European Union should open its borders to all immigrants
Final: THW give all animals capable of respecting all citizen obligations equal rights to humans

John Smith Memorial Mace, Irish Leg, Round 1, November 20-December 8

Heat 1, 2, 3: THW create a permanent seat for the Travelling Community in the Dáil.
Heat 4, 5, 6: THW create a constituency for the Irish abroad.
Heat 7, 8, 9: THW allow Asylum Seekers to work.
Heat 10, 11, 12: THW compel parents to take equal paternity and maternity leave.
Heat 13, 14, 15: THW require the unemployed to participate in community work to be eligible for social welfare.
Heat 16, 17, 18: THW re-introduce the punishment of banishment for serious crimes.
Heat 19, 20, 21: THW grant the police the ability to stop and search without reasonable suspicion in designated areas and times.
Heat 22, 23, 24: THB the US Federal Government should continue to enforce the national prohibition on drugs in states which legalise the personal use of cannabis.

IDAS tournament, Ljubljana, Slovenia, November 23-25

R1: THBT access to the internet is a human right
R2: THW penalise politicians who break pre-election pledges
R3: THB that online activism is counterproductive
R4: TH regrets the rapid expansion of online education
R5: TH supports censorship of pornography on the internet
R6: THBT in the era of the Internet we should adopt a global hate speech law
Semi: THBT hacktivism is a legitimate tool of protest against multinational corporations
Final: THBT an unregulated Internet does more harm than good

John Smith Memorial Mace England Leg, London, England, November 24-25

R1: THW Abolish National School Curriculums
R2: THBT in Times of High Unemployment, Governments Should Remove all Minimum Standard Regulations in the Labour Market
R3: THB India should not allow Tesco or Walmart into their national market
R4: THW Punish Parents when Their Children Bully Others at School
R5: TH Regrets the Rise of the Career Politician
Semi: THBT, where resources are scare, minority campaign groups should fund minority art, literature and films rather than funding lobbying for legislative change
Final: THB that the Press Cannot be Trusted to Regulate Itself :

Cicero Debattoernooi, Tilburg, Netherlands, November 24 (translated)

R1: THW force universities to create stricter entrance requirements, even if this would lead to fewer students
R2: THW ban the publication of any photographic and film material that portrays crime suspects
R3: TH, being a teenager, would not open a Facebook account
R4: THW force schools to offer students intensive interaction with different worldviews
R5: THW allow the Supreme Court to reject laws if they contradict the constitution (this is not SQ in the Netherlands)
Semi: THW grant the ECB the right to limit member country’s sovereign debt
Final: THW subsidise genetical modification on humans

Zeit Debatte Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, November 23-24 (translated)

R1: Should prisoners temporarily lose their right to vote?
R2: Should punishment for use of doping be subject to a statute of limitation?
R3: Should people who are in a relationship with an enemy of the constitution (Verfassungsfeinden) be considered enemies of the constitution too?
R4: Should people have the right to erase/block the autocomplete for their names in search engines?
R5: Should James Bond retire?
Semi: Should citizens be forced to borrow money to the state in times of crisis? (Should it become mandatory for citizens)
Final: Should corporate sponsorship of dangerous (life-threatening) sports and stunts?

Lund Debate Challenge, Lund, Sweden, November 23-24

R1: THW decriminalize incest between consenting adults
R2: THB enterprises and charities are more effective for development than official development assistance (ODAs)
R3: THW collect DNA of every newborn child in order to prevent and solve future crimes
Semi: THW refuse American statehood to Puerto Rico
Final: THW forbid universities from accepting donations earmarked for the pseudo-sciences

Münster Ironman, Münster, Germany, November 30 - December 1 (translated)

R1: THBT separate sports competitions for women harm the feminist cause
R2: THW set up Christian mission schools in Pakistan
R3: THW ban transport of persons and goods by beaming
R4: THW not want a German Europe
Final: THW set up brothels in military bases abroad

BGU IV, Beer Sheva, Israel, November 30 - December 1

R1: TH supports a preference for mothers in custody trials
R2: THW grant high ranking army officers the right to veto government decisions regarding security
R3: THW abolish intellectual property rights over music
R4: THW abolish mandatory retirement age
R5: TH prefers a strong dictatorship to a weak democracy
Final:THBT Marx would have approved of the internet

Cork IV, Cork, Ireland, November 30 - December 1

R1: THW require prospective parents to obtain parenting licences prior to having children
R2:
R3: THW require all news media to graphically depict under-reported armed conflicts
R4: THBT the EU should suspend the membership rights of countries if they elect extremist parties to government (for example, Greece's Golden Dawn or the UK's British National Party)
R5: THB artists should not set out to sympathetically portray characters who hold morally repugnant world views
Semi: Context slide: (abbr.) Blind voting means voters indicating a series of preferences of policies, these preferences are only later matched to respective parties. Motion: THW introduce blind voting in national elections
Novice final: THW ban all medical procedures intended to change an individual's racial appearance
Final: THB the ICC should open an investigation on war crimes in Palestine

IDEA Debate@Europe final event, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, November 28 - December 1

R1 THBT the European Union should ban art, including literature or film, that directly insults any religion
R2 THBT the EU should oblige its member states to include positive references to LGBT individuals and issues in their high school textbooks
R3 THBT the European Union should guarantee membership to regions of existing EU member states, such as Catalonia or Scotland, that secede
R4 THB that Europe should weaken its austerity measures to guarantee its citizens greater social support
Final THW ban far-right parties from competing in elections in European countries

Moscow Open, Moscow, Russia, November 30 - December 2

R1: THBT citizens have no moral obligation to obey laws which they personally believe may be unjust
R2: TH supports direct elections of governors in Russia
R3: THW only allow pornography produced and directed by Women
R4: THBT consumer electronics firms should not be allowed to patent technologies which are not essential to the working of their product
R5: TH, as Germany, would leave the EU
Semi: THW remove all special legal privileges from religious organisations
Final: THBT Russia should immediately withdraw all support from the Assad regime

December

Nikolausturnier, Münster, Germany, December 1 - 2 (translated)

R1: THW force insurance companies to have equal insurance premiums for men and women
R2: THW give the members of every political party the right to determine the voting behaviour of their deputies
R3: THW offer Maria its own bed
Final: THW make all the proceeds that a professors earns with their books and other academic work available to their universities

King’s College IV, London, England, December 1

R1: THBT Bert and Ernie should get married
R2: TH regrets the 2001 Afghanistan invasion
R3: (infoslide explaining that in 10 years it will be possible to send a manned mission to Mars but they won't be able to return alive) THBT NASA should fund suicide missions to Mars
R4: THBT Governments should not assist in the rebuilding of disaster prone areas
Final: THBT feminist christians should leave the Church of England

Irish Times Debates, Second Round, Ireland, December 4-8

Heat 1: TH welcomes the government’s proposed fat tax
Heat 2: TH regrets the demise of the Green Party
Heat 3: THB Enda deserved his place on the cover of TIME
Heat 4: THW abolish the minimum wage
Heat 5: THB the diaspora should b‘The Gathering’
Heat 6: THW not negotiate with Hamas
Heat 7: THB it can no longer support the ‘Barclays Premier League’
Heat 8: THB feminism has run its course in Ireland

Bristol IV, Bristol, England, December 7-8

R1: THS state-provision of cosmetic surgery and surgical enhancements
R2: THBT South Korea should provide unconditional humanitarian aid and assistance to North Korea
R3: THW allow victims of miscarriages of justice to sue expert witnesses for incompetence

R4: THW subsidise feminist pornography
R5: THW fabricate evidence in order to create the impression that historical national heroes had been gay
Semi: THS the creation of a Black Players' Union in the English Premier League
Final: TH regrets the popular veneration of Che Guevara

Lancaster IV, Lancaster, England, December 8

R1: THBT the expansion in the proportion of the population attending university has done more harm than good
R2: THW punish poachers of endangered species in the same way as murderers
R3: THBT developing countries should ban non citizens from purchasing real estate
R4: THBT MGM studios should cast a woman as the next Bond
R5: (Info Slide) THBT the United States Should fund Madrassas in Pakistan
Semi: THBT the Mexican government should offer immunity for economic crimes to drug cartels in exchange for not targeting the police, military or civilians
Final: THS the reappropriation of the word 'nigger

Tilbury House IV, Cologne, Germany, December 7-9

R1: THW only release prisoners if they are rehabilitated
R2: THBT slacktivism has harmed activism more than it has benefited it
R3: TH supports a technocratic government in times of dire financial crisis
R4: THW ban all lobbyist activity
R5: THBT matchmaking is a better system than dating
Semi: THW allow parents to sell their babies
Final: THBT a society in which charity and donations are prevalent is preferable to a society with a state run welfare system

Baden-Württemberg, Heidelberg, Germany, December 8 (translated)

R1: Should people who have lived a healthy life be given preferential access to donated organs?
R2: Should we establish worker participation (unternehmerische Mitbestimmung) in corporations in all of Europe?
R3: Should public television give all sexual variations (sexuellen Spielarten) proportionally equal representation?
Final: Should the UN make the knowledge of how to build an atomic weapon available upon request?

SSE Riga & LMT IV, Riga, Latvia, December 8

R1: THW ban sports, where the main purpose is to inflict pain (e.g. boxing, martial arts)
R2: THBT the state should fund the identity change, including changing their legal name and physical appearance, of infamous prisoners upon their release
R3: THBT Western countries should offer to immediately cancel all debts owed by any authoritarian country upon its transition to democracy
R4: THBT the gay rights movement should campaign for the abolition of marriage, rather than marriage equality
R5: THW ban all political polls before any election
SF: THW make the use of conscripts in active combat a war crime
F: THBT from kindergarten onwards all education should be gender neutral

The English Cup, Herzliya, Israel, December 9

R1: THW ban homeschooling
R2: TH, which is the US, would stop the use of armed military drones in pakistan
R3: THW offer financial incentives for bringing in elusive criminals
Semi: THW require all companies to publish salaries to the entire public
Final: THW obligate newly formed states that were formed through violent resistance to pay reparations for harms and casualties which were caused by their struggle

Centrale Open, Paris, France, December 14-15

R1: THBT all criminal trials should be decided by a jury verdict
R2: THW allow employers to offer a contract to their female employees giving up their right to become pregnant.
R3: This House believes that governments should end all direct international aid, and donate money to Non Governmental Organizations (e.g. Oxfam, Médicins Sans Frontièrs) instead
R4 (info slide): Bylines are blurbs at the start of articles that specify the name and position of the author. For instance: “Boris Johnson, Mayor of London”. Motion:THW remove bylines from individual newspaper articles
R5 (info slide): In a hypothetical situation, the 75% tax rate of Hollande has worked to give the French government more money . It is so big, the French have paid off the deficit and can spend it instead on tackling the issue of the Banlieues: socio-economically deprived largely migrant communities on the outskirts of Paris. Motion: THW rather spend the money on subsidised housing and living costs for migrants in the centre of Paris than investment in the Banlieues
Semi: TH, as a draftee, would dodge the draft
Final (info slide):The Twin Towers were a recognizable part of the famous New York skyline. On the 11th of September on 2001 they were destroyed by a terrorist attack. In 2011 the New York City Office commissioned the building of the Freedom Tower on Ground Zero. Motion: THW have instead rebuilt the world trade centre to original specifications, but one floor higher

IDEA European Cup, London, England, December 15

R1: THBT all professional football clubs should be majority owned by their supporters
R2: THW ban children from participating in religious activities
R3: THBT emerging democracies should ban the election of close family members of current or previous office-holders
Final (info slide approximation): the Greek left wing party Syriza has promised to renegotiate the current bailout, and turn back a number of austerity measures, such as lowering of pension and welfare benefits. Motion: As a Greek voter, THW vote for Syriza

Birmingham IV, Birmingham, England, December 14-15

R1: THBT the state should subsidise news media outlets
R2: THBT the government of the DRC should hire private military companies to defeat rebels in North and South Kivu
R3: TH supports citizen-initiated referendums*
R4: THBT the Japanese government should renounce pacifism and rearm
R5: TH supports the legalisation of the production, sale, purchase and consumption of All recreational drugs
Semi-Final: THW alter World Trade Organisation rules to allow poor countries to erect protectionist barriers against rich countries
Final: THW, as the UK, give up its nuclear arsenal

World Universities Debating Championships, Berlin, Germany, December 27-January 4

R1: THW create public housing for the poor in wealthy areas
R2: THBT Japan should acquire nuclear weapons
R3: THW only imprison individuals who pose a direct and continuing threat to society
R4: THBT International development institutions (such as the World Bank) should not finance natural resource extraction projects in corrupt states
R5: THBT self described progressive males of dominant ethnicities are morally obliged to refrain from taking positions of responsibility where there is a qualified alternative candidate from a historically disadvantaged group who would otherwise receive the post
R6: THW legally permit soldiers to refuse to participate in military actions or missions on the basis of conscience
R7: THBT European Union nations should forgive Greece’s sovereign debt
R8: THBT countries with booming populations should allocate every adult a single tradable permit to have a child
R9: THW ban political parties and require all candidates for national public office to seek election as independents

EFL Quarters: THBT publicly funded universities should be required to reduce enrolment in degree programs within their university that have statistically poor employment outcomes
EFL Semis: THBT policies that may have significant environmental consequences should be subject to a veto by a 'supreme court' of scientific experts
EFL Final: TH welcomes the decline of the USA as the sole global super power.

ESL Quarters: THBT publicly funded universities should be required to reduce enrolment in degree programs within their university that have statistically poor employment outcomes (same as EFL Quarters)
ESL Semis: THBT the feminist movement should actively promote norms of stable monogamous relationships
ESL Final: THBT representative democracies with large numbers of foreigners living in their territory (on a temporary or permanent basis) should create specific seats to represent them in parliament.

Open Partial Double Octos: THBT universities should never prohibit research or teaching on the grounds of sexist, racist or otherwise discriminatory implications
Open Octos: THBT the US should cut off military aid to Egypt
Open Quarters: THW ban all advertising of consumer goods and services
Open Semis: TBHT the WTO should never allow nations to place export restrictions on food, rare-earth metals, and other non-oil commodities
Open Final: THW not allow religious communities to expel members on the basis of views or actions that contradict doctrinal teachings

2013

January

Zeit Debatte Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany, January 12-13 (translated)

R1: Do we need to abolish public broadcasting?
R2: Should doping be allowed in professional sport (Leistungssport)?
R3: Should throw our principles away (over board)?
R4: Do we need schocking pictures of the slaughter and processing of meat and sausage products?
R5: To hell with extortionate rent prices: do we need housing socialism?
Semi: Should we give up on climate protection?
Final: Should large infrastructural projects be subject to democratic control?

Nottingham Trent IV, Nottingham, England, January 12

R1: THBT all components of the welfare state should be means tested
R2: THBT feminists should support the death penalty for crimes of severe sexual assault in countries with extreme gender inequality
R3: (Info Slide) THW ban the practice and use of all alternative therapies
R4 TH, as the USA, no longer supports the right to bear arms
Semi: THW not teach vocational subjects at universities
Final: THW compel HIV infected people to disclose their HIV status to their sexual partners

Regents’ IV, London, England, January 13

R1: THB the west should not recruit doctors from the developing world
R2: THB student unions should not campaign on geo-political issues
R3: THW ban religious based rehabilitation programs, regardless of how effective they may be
R4: THW hold a referendum on the death penalty.
Final: TH regrets the existence of mankind

Kingsmill Moore Invitational, Trinity, Dublin, Ireland, January 24

R1: THBT social disgust is a sufficient justification for censoring art
R2: THW federalise the European Union
R3: THBT the state should never negotiate with hostage takers
Final:

French Debating Association Tournament, first leg, France, January 24-February 28

Pool A1: THW rather die before they get old.
Pool D1: THBT books are obsolete
Pool D2: THBT it is better to learn than to be taught
Pool B1: THBT we should not let our schooling interfere with our education
Pool A2: THBT we are clever enough to engineer our doom but not to prevent it.
Pool C1: THBT Art is the highest achievement of humanity.
Pool D3: THBT true friends stab you in the front.
Pool B2: THBT technology is killing our work ethic
Pool C2: THBT change is not progress
Pool D4: THBT peace depends on fear
Pool B3: THBT we should strive for immortality
Pool A3: THBT limitation nurtures creativity
Pool C3: THBT life is nasty, brutish and short
Pool A4: THBT peace is only an illusion
Pool B4: THW sooner befriend an evil genius than a dull hero
Pool C4: THBT uncle Sam is not a member of the family
Pool D5: THBT banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than armies

Trinity IV, Dublin, Ireland, January 25-26

R1: THW not prosecute victims of domestic violence for crimes committed as a result of their abuse
R2: THBT the marketing strategies of Western NGOs have hindered the development of the global South
R3: THW ban the teaching of Romeo and Juliet in schools
R4: THB the campaign for marriage equality is a waste of the gay community's resources
R5: THW hold Islam accountable for the actions of Islamists
Quarter: THBT allowing women on front lines is a victory for feminism
Semi and ESL Final: TH as an Israeli Arab would boycott Israeli elections
Final: THW restrict media coverage of school shootings

Rotterdam BP toernooi, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, January 26 (translated)

R1: TH, being the US, would oblige the Amish to send their children to public high schools
R2: THW ban meat consumption
R3: THW ban cosmetic/plastic surgery aimed to change racial features
R4: THW introduce corporal punishment
Semi: THW abolish the UN Security Council
Final: THW make abortion mandatory in cases of severe medical conditions that lead to short and painful lives

Beginner Tournament Mainz (DCJG), Mainz, Germany, January 26 (translated)

R1: Should the government leader at federal and state level be directly elected?
R2: Should employees of energy and transport companies be banned from striking?
R3: Should Bilbo stay home?
Final: Should we create a public newspaper?

York IV, York, England, January 26

R1: THBT student societies and newspapers should have a 'no platform' policy for extremist political figures
R2: TH, as Tottenham Hotspur, would ban fans found chanting 'Yid Army'
R3: THBT parents, where concerned, should install spyware to monitor their children's online activity and communications
R4: THW ban religious proselytising and faith-based rehabilitation programmes in prisons
Semi: THBT states should place constitutional limits on regressive taxation policies
Final: TH regrets the societal acceptance of promiscuity

John Smith Memorial Mace, Irish Leg, Round 2, January 28-February 7

Heat 1: THW criminalise doping in sport
Heat 2: THW ban any technology that can delete or alter a person's memory
Heat 3: A pill exists that ensures "moral behaviour", THW ban the morality pill.
Heat 4: THB that abortion referendums should be open to women voters only
Heat 5: THB countries should cease trying to prevent climate change and focus resources on preparing for its consequences.
Heat 6: THB social media companies have a duty to prevent far-right or hate groups from using their platforms.
Heat 7: TH supports a Palestinian right of return.
Heat 8: THBT former colonial powers should never intervene militarily or economically in favour of one side in a civil war or rebellion in a former colony.

February

Inner Temple IV, London, England, February 1-2

R1: THW abolish trial by jury
R2: THBT, when and where gay marriage is legal, religious institutions should be compelled to conduct gay wedding ceremonies
R3: THBT all policy on drugs, alcohol, tobacco and other controlled substances should be made by expert scientific panels and not elected officials
R4: THBT the Arab Spring has been bad for Egypt
R5: THW punish illegal tax avoidance (evasion) by the deprivation of citizenship
Semi: THBT it is impossible to be a pro-life feminist
FInal: TH regrets that Lance Armstrong got caught

Irish Times Semi-Finals, Ireland, February 1-5

Semi A: THW introduce graduate tax
Semi B: THW ban tobacco
Semi C: THB freedom of speech should never be curtailed

Warwick IV, Warwick, England, February 2

R1: THW stop all efforts to cease the international drug trade and put all funding into education and rehab
R2 TH, as a progressive, would oppose the awarding of hosting rights for major international sporting competitions to 'Unprogressive' countries
R3 THBT Advocates for Trans* people should not campaign within the feminist movement
R4 THBT opposition movements in countries with repressive regimes should never use violent tactics
Semi: TH (As the EU) would make development aid conditional upon developing countries using it for renewable energy generation
Final?

Sciences Po Open, Le Havre, France, February 8-9

R1: THW return all national treasures to their countries of origin, provided they sincerely commit to preserve and display them.
R2: THW end the search for extraterrestrial intelligence
R3: THBT, in the event of an immediate and unprovoked Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, the USA should make a credible pledge to support Israel in any resulting conflict.
R4: THW set maximum rents for residential property in the city of Paris.
R5: THW legalise polygamy
Semi: THBT Pakistan should end all cooperation with America’s War on Terror.
Final: THBT Socrates should not have drunk the hemlock

Österreichischen Debattier Meisterschaft (Austrian Debate Championships), Salzburg, Austria, February 8-10 (translated)

R1: Should we intervene in Mali?
R2: Should the water supply be nationalised all over Europe?
R3: Should Incest be allowed?
R4: Should the possibility to revoke a PhD degree be under a statute of limitation?
R5: Should we, who are technically capable of it, seek contact with extraterrestrials?
Semi: Should we ban the import of goods that were not produced under the social and ecological standards of the EU?
Final: Should we buy armed drones?

The Galway Open - Irish National Law Debates, Galway, Ireland, February 15-16

R1: TH supports the legislation (legalisation?) of sex work
R2: THBT every member of the NRA is morally culpable for the level of gun crime in the US
R3: THBT the government should access private electronic communications to predict and tackle crime
R4: THBT artists from privileged groups should not depict characters from underprivileged groups in their work
R5: THBT the UN should recruit a standing army
Semi: a pill exists to prevent you falling in love, THW take that pill
Final: THW abolish private property

IDEA-DTU, Utrecht, the Netherlands, February 16 (translated)

R1: THW ban the production and consumption of tobacco in the European Union
R2: THW make lying by politicians punishable by law
R3: TH hopes the United Kingdom will leave the European Union
R4: THW not pursue income redistribution beyond poverty reduction (armoedebestrijding, i.e. combatting poverty)
Semi: THW make the punishment for drunk driving equal to manslaughter, even if the driver caused no accident
Final: THW set a public ultimatum: if the next pope does not implement radical reforms, the Roman Catholic church will be disbanded

Edinburgh IV, Edingburgh, Scotland, February 16

R1: THW withdraw all state benefits including healthcare from the voluntarily unemployed
R2: THBT Student Unions should not take an explicit policy on abortion
R3: THB that independent states in the developing world should be allowed to unilaterally opt to become overseas territories of their former colonial powers.
R4: THW ban all individuals who have advocated or used violence in order to further a political cause in a liberal democratic state, from standing for future elections
Final: Context (roughly): During WWI, Wilfred Owen was serving as a British sniper on the frontlines. While on duty his focus falls upon a German soldier showering in the German frontline trench. The German is naked, unarmed and poses no immediate threat to anyone on the British lines but is a legal target. Motion: THW Not Shoot the Naked Soldier

LSE Open, London, England, February 16-17

R1: THBT Western Liberal Democracies should institute bans on their citizens visiting illiberal states whose economies depends on tourism
R2: THW require prospective owners or large shareholders of sport clubs / teams to gain majority support from season ticket holders or other representatives of the fan base to complete their acquisition
R3: THW make conscription a war crime
R4: THW require close relatives of the homeless to pay their welfare costs to the extent that they can afford to do so
R5: THW allocate state funding for the arts exclusively to new and original work, and never to reproductions of ‘great works’ or other old plays, opera, music, films or art
Quarter: THBT the International Criminal Court should focus on indicting and prosecuting larger numbers of middle-to-low ranking suspects for war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide, rather than smaller numbers of high ranking suspects
Semi: This House believes that the civil and criminal legal system has no business considering or regulating behaviour that exclusively occurs in online virtual worlds such as ‘Second Life’
ESL Final: This House would allow pro-life organisations to offer to pay women considering abortions to carry the baby to term (assuming adequate child support services exist)
Final: This House would support policies of ‘ever increasing political union’ – i.e. progressive political integration aimed at the distant goal of federal unification – amongst members of the League of Arab States

John Smith Memorial Mace, Irish Leg, Quarterfinals, February 19-February 25

Quarter 1: THW ban the use of artificial human augmentation, either by surgical or genetic therapy.
Quarter 2: THB that people who attend mass are morally responsible for the actions of the Catholic Church
Quarter 3: THW allow prisoners to choose death over life sentence
Quarter 4: THW ban domestic drones

Irish Times Final, Belfast, Northern-Ireland, February 22

THW emigrate

Manchester IV, Manchester, England, February 23-24

R1: THBT single parents sent to prison should be able to raise their children in prison.
R2: TH, as Israel, would grant exemptions from compulsory military service to all and only those citizens that give up their right to vote.
R3: TH approves of the New York Post's decision to publish the subway photograph 'Doomed'.
R4: TH approves of the USA's policy of extra-judicial killing of terrorists.
R5: THBT at least 50% of the Legislature (Parliament) should be appointed by a socially representative random draw from the general population.
Quarter: THBT states should disband their armed forces and use PMCs as and when necessary
Semi: THBT the unemployed, living in areas of high unemployment and low private investment, should relocate to areas where their employment is more likely in order to keep their benefits.
Final: THBT David Cameron was wrong to offer the British electorate a referendum on EU membership.

Polish Parliamentary Debating Championships, Warsaw, Poland, February 22-24 (translated)

R1: THW officially register Pastafarianism as a religion in Poland.
R2: THW introduce tax cuts for qualified foreigners who want to settle in Poland.
R3: THW supplement Polish Constitution with the civil right of access to the Internet.
R4: THW ban advertising that invoke polishness as a value
Semi: THBT Poland should join the Eurozone as soon as possible
Final: THBT political parties should be subject to anti-monopoly laws

UL Open, Limerick, Ireland, March 1-2

R1: THW allow parents of children with Klüver-Bucy syndrome to sterilise those children
R2: THW make access to museums art exhibitions concerts etc. attractions free for people earning less than a certain wage
R3: THW prohibit films about historical or political events,or those of a biographical nature, unless produced as documentaries
R4: THB former colonial powers should maintain a presence in former colonies,in the interest of benefiting those colonies
R5: THB emphasis on the depiction of the "normal" female body is no more empowerment than equal emphasis on the "perfect" female body
Semi:
Final:

Budapest Open, Budapest, Hungary, March 1-3

Show debate: TH regrets the turn away from socialism
R1: THW create separate state schools for those who are LGBTQ
R2: THBT former colonial powers should never intervene militarily in their former colonies
R3: THBT in order to continue to eat meat individuals should personally slaughter a major meat animal
R4:THW abolish all term limitations for elected officials in high offices
Semi: THW require all isolated religious communities to give all 18-year-olds a Rumspringa
Final: THBT an EU institution should block websites in EU member states that use negative racial/ethnic/religious stereotypes

Glasgow Ancients, Glasgow, Scotland, March 1-2

R1: TH, as the academic and debating communities of the UK, would not invite George Galloway to our public debates
R2: THW ban unpaid internships
R3: THW would ban the use of unarmed domestic surveillance drones
R4: THW assassinate Iranian and North Korean nuclear scientists
R5: THBT governments have no legal or moral obligation to respond with proportionate force to armed attacks on their citizens
Semi: THB the ICC should not issue warrants for suspects during ongoing conflicts
Final: TH regrets the centralisation of organised religion

Nottingham Open, Nottingham, England, March 2-3

R1: THW give more votes to those who live in areas with high levels of political apathy and low voter turnout
R2: THW would allow parents to microchip their children without the child's consent
R3: THW allow individuals to contract out of all basic employment provisions in their contracts (such as health & safety, unfair dismissal etc) in return for compensation.
R4: THW allow individuals to sue religious organisations for compensation for the harmful effects of choices made as a result of adherence to religious doctrine
R5: THW require the creators of artistic works which depict negative stereotypes of disenfranchised groups to give a portion of their profits to those groups
Semi (Info slide): THW Prosecute Irish politicians of the era for failing to take action over the abuses of the Magdalene Laundries.
Final: In a possible near future world, a computer chip has been developed which can painlessly be implanted in the brain, preventing all sexual desire. At the same time, technology has advanced to the point where completely asexual human reproduction is possible. THW prefer that world to this one.

John Smith Memorial Mace, Ireland semi finals, Dublin, Ireland, March 5 and March 6

Semi 1: TH regrets the rise of globalisation
Semi 2: THBT individualism has failed us

French Debating Association Semi Finals, Paris, France, March 7 and March 14

Semi 1: THBT youth is wasted on the young
Semi 2: THBT you can't plan the future by the past

Vienna IV, Vienna, Austria, March 8-10

R1: THBT juries should only include individuals that are from the same socio-economic class as the defendant
R2: TH, in hindsight, would still have fought the 2003 war in Iraq
R3: THW, as an atheist, join an atheist church (definition: an atheist church is a congregation of non-religious people, who engage in singing, lectures and other activities. It also promotes the Manifesto for Atheists, which lists atheist virtues)
R4: THBT school children in the UK should be taught that their country engaged in war crimes
R5: TH, as the heir to any European throne, would refuse to become a monarch
R6: THBT women are morally justified in lying about their past experiences, abilities and future family plans at a job interview or application
Semi: You are an emigrant from a poor and collapsing unnamed country. You are offered full and immediate citizenship from the United States and the European Union. The offers are the only two options you have and are mutually exclusive. You do not know where you will live in either Union. Your native and only language is not spoken in either. Motion: THW emigrate to the European Union.
Final: THW hold a referendum among all churchgoing Catholics to elect the new Pope rather than having Cardinals elect him

Leeds Open, Leeds, England, March 9-10

R1: THW require internet users to disclose their identities
R2: On the 10th Anniversary, TH does not regret the decision to invade Iraq.
R3: TH, as the board of Zenit St. Petersburg, would preference players with Slavic ethnicity, in order to respect the wishes of the fans
R4: THBT Conservative MPs should not have been given a free vote on the Marriage (same sex couples) Bill
R5: THW require individuals to donate 75% of their annual income above £1 million to charity
Novice Final: THW sentence repeat offenders to life imprisonment
Semi: In post-conflict societies, THBT that justice is better served by TRCs (Truth and Reconciliation Committees) than by prosecution of perpetrators of attrocities other than the leaders
Final: TH regrets the acceptance of Atheism in the form promoted by Richard Dawkins in The God Delusion

Southampton Open, Southampton, England, March 9

R1: THW put a high minimum price on meat.
R2: THBT schools should teach sex positive sex education (ie techniques for sexual gratification) in secondary schools.
R3: TH regrets the rise of Marxism in Latin America
R4: THW make the next James Bond gay
Final: THBT Israel should give East Jerusalem to the Palestinians

UCL IV, London, England, March 16

R1: THW legalise the private sale of organs
R2: TH, as a feminist parent, would deliberately undermine its child's gender.
R3: TH welcomes the creation of strong forms of artificial intelligence
R4: THB that it is morally permissible to target civilians in times of war
Semi: THBT American politicians should not use the language of American Exceptionalism
Final: TH Regrets the rise of Reality Television

John Smith Memorial Irish Mace Grand Final, Dublin, Ireland, March 16

THW not have children

Czech and Slovak Championships, Bratislava, Slovakia, March 16-17 (translated)

R1: THW reinstitute the Czecho-Slovak federation.
R2: THW send top teachers to weakest schools.
R3: THW constitutionally cap the government deficit at 3% of GDP.
R4: THW ban pornography.
Semi: THW let Iran develop nuclear weapons.
Final: THW enable directly elected heads of state to, at their own initiative, dismiss government cabinets or their individual members.

VUAS Debate Tournament, Valmiera, Latvia, March 16-17

R1: THW make the Internet a public good
R2: THW prohibit underaged from entering religious organizations
R3: THW ban professors/teachers from communicating with students/schoolchildren in social networks
R4: THW allow the use of negative competitor image in advertisement
R5: THW include debating into school curriculum
Semi final: THW allow to participate in general election only those people with IQ above a certain level
Final: THBT the government should be blamed for slow economic growth

Bucharest Universities Debating Cup, Bucharest, Romania, March 16-17 (translated)

R1: THBT the Romanian state should cut all ties to all churches
R2: THW abolish the institution of the criminal record
R3: In a run-off for the Romanian Presidency, HW rather vote for Gigi Becali than Corneliu Vadim Tudor (Romanian extremist politicians)
R4: THW fight for the reunification of Romania with the Republic of Moldova
R5: Given easily accessible technology to choose the sex of a future child, THW give financial stimulants to parents that choose to have girls
Novice final: THW ban the popular vote in talent shows:
Semi: THW pardon Bashar al-Assad for all his crimes in exchange for him stepping down from power
Final: THBT in times of economic recession, European states, don't spend enough

Berlin-Brandenburgischen-Meisterschaften (Championships), Berlin, Germany, March 16 (translated)

R1: Should corporations be forced, in case of layoffs, to always lay off those workers with the best chances on the labour market?
R2: Should the prosecution and defence in criminal cases no longer be able to make deals?
R3: Should a word, that one group feels is discriminating, no longer be used by that same group either?
R4: Should secret services produce pictures of despots that change their reputation and distribute those in the countries of these despots?
Final: Should a state be excluded from the EU when its politics go against the basic values of the EU?

Royal Holloway Open, London, England, March 17

Open motions picked by one of the teams in each debate round:

R1: THW ban teenagers from using Facebook
R1: THW choose immortality over fertility
R1: THBT Simba should not go back
R1: THBT Bilbo should have killed Gollum when he had the chance
R1: THBT all politicians should be celibate
R1: THW ban advertising
R1: THBT charity is immoral
R1: THW kill its best friend when s/he is about to become a zombie
R2: THW build a second Deathstar
R2: THBT children under 18 with close relatives who are victims of FGM should not be allowed to travel outside the EU
R2: THW ban Google Glasses
R2: THW discourage people with genetic diseases from having children and prioritise them in terms of adoption
R2: THW replace juries with panels of philosophers who will decide cases purely on utilitarian grounds
R2: THW not give aliens the vote (aliens live alongside humans 1 year from now)
R2: THB feminists should oppose capitalism
R2: THBT the feminist movement should oppose the banning of the burqa
R3: THBT the Pope Francis should make an ex-cathedra statement to the effect that all Catholics must support socialism
R3: THW give the Roma a homeland
R3: THW build a deathstar
R3: As an omipotent, omniscient god, THW smite people who commit serious crimes and who we know will feel no remorse
R3: THW bring back public corporal punishment for smaller crimes
R3: THW make higher education free
R3: THW abolish the speaker tab
R3: THW fully replace agriculture and fishing with stem cell production to produce food
R4: THW require priests to report confessions that lead to criminal convictions
R4: You are an Israeli nuclear submarine commander. You learn that Israel has been wiped out by an iranian nuclear strike. THW return Fire
R4: THW link Job Seekers Allowance to previous income
R4: THW not become a superhero
R4: THW encourage replacing human body parts with advanced robotic counterparts
R4: THW build 500,000 social homes in the London Greenbelt
R4: THW wipe the memories of those convicted very serious crimes and replace them with more positive memories
R4: THW require universities to increase funding for classics and deprioritise funding for popular culture choices
Final: In world that has eradicated racism, THW prefer that people were/were not able to recognise differences in physical appearance

Feminism and Gender Tournament, Israel, March 21 (translated)

R1: THW ban marriage.
R2: TH, which is a woman, would not make any cosmetic changes to her appearance, including but not limited to makeup, shaving, and plastic surgeries .
R3: THW ban all presentations of the 10th commandment in all Israeli School systems.
Final: TH, which is a female debater, would participate in next year's Glasgow Ancients.

Leiden Open, Leiden, Netherlands, March 22-23

R1: THW criminalize gang membership.
R2: THBT adoption agencies should seek to place children in families with a similar culture to that of their biological parents.
R3: THW require re-ratification of all international treaties, including the EU, by popular referenda every decade.
R4: THBT the international community should treat espionage as a justification for military retaliation.
R5: THBT the news media should also represent the criminal’s point of view when reporting on criminal convictions.
Semi and Novice Final: THBT the LGBT rights movement should abandon the ‘born this way’ campaign. (Info: ‘Some people believe that they were born LGBT, some LGBT people believe that it is a choice that they made. Currently, the LGBT movement uses being ‘Born this way’ as a way of legitimising equal rights.’)
Final: In times of war, THBT relatives of civilians killed by the military occupation, should be able to sue the soldiers responsible for their relative’s death in civilian court.

Zeit Debatte Marburg, Marburg, Germany, March 22-24 (translated)

R1: THW allow the use of bounty hunters
R2: THBT Cuba should prioritise the implementation of capitalism over the implementation of democracy
R3: THW not give out separate art prizes (like the Oscars) for men and women
R4: THBT patriotism is a virtue
R5: THB in a human right to suicide
Semi: THW abolish all limits on the heights of buildings
Final: THW abolish all anonymity for sperm donation

Irish National Maidens, Limerick, Ireland, March 22-24

THB the pope should be elected by all members of the Catholic Church
THW introduce ethnic and gender quotas for film and television programs
THW not grant amnesty to people who commit atrocities in conflicts
THW allow soldiers to volunteer for experimental genetic and physical modifications
THW prosecute the perpetrators of domestic violence without the victim's consent
Semi: THW die for a cause
Final: THBT celebrating housewives impedes the feminist movement

Zalgiris Cup, Vilnius, Lithuania, March 22-24

R1: THW give only temporary marriage lines
R2: THW require all isolated religious communities (eg. Hasidic Jews, Jehova's Witnesses) to give all 18-year-olds a 'Rumspringa' [Amish tradition of sending off 18-y.-olds to live in outside world for 1 year, after which they may chose to return or not]
R3: THBT South Korea should have nuclear weapon
R4: THW make companies pay taxes equal to their influence on the environment
R5: THW allow police to provoke citizens for committing crimes
Semi: THW give citizens negative votes on general elections
Final: THBT organized religion causes more harm than good

Exeter Open, Exeter, England, March 23

R1: THBT Western liberal democracies should ban unpaid internships
R2: TH supports the decision to stop British development aid to India
R3: THBT states should never protect dying languages
R4: THBT the use of violence can be legitimate in political protest
Final: TH supports the creation of a feminist political party

Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) IV, Vilnius, Lithuania, March 23-24

R1: THW require all social networks that offer services to minors to offer parents full unlimited access to their children's accounts
R2: THBT the entire European Union should adopt the ban on communist symbols
R3: THBT Lithuania should recognise Polish as an official language in municipalities with significant populations of ethnic Poles
R4: TH, which is China, would cease all political and economic support to North Korea
R5: THW force employers to allow their employees to work from home whenever physically possible
Semifinal: THW allow the deliberate targeting of civilians in war, where it would significantly reduce casualties in the long term
Final: TH, as Cyprus, would ask Russia for its bailout

Estonian BP Championships, Tallinn, Estonia, March 23-24 (translated)

R1: THW arm Syrian rebels
R2: THBT the state should support home ownership
R3: THBT the International Olympic Committee should ban all athletes who express hostile views towards racial, ethnic or sexual minorities from participating
R4: THW stop funding all space programs
R5: THBT parents have a moral obligation not to consume alcohol
Semi: THBT that extraordinary taxation of saving deposits in times of crisis is justified
Final: THBT people should only be allowed to work in state or local government agencies for a maximum of 5 years

French Debating Association, Final, Paris, France, March 25

This House Still Believes in "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"

Kent IV, Kent, England, March 30

R1: THBT all corporations should become workers' co-operatives.
R2: THW require the consent of the subjects before publishing photographs of celebrities
R3: THBT feminists should support free markets in the developing world/
R4: Infoslide: TH is a juror in trial of leader of large community of first and second gen immigrants. Leader is accused of ABH. TH is certain beyond any reasonable doubt that the community leader is guilty of the crime.TH is also sure beyond reasonable doubt that a guilty verdict would cause riots in the defendant's community. Motion: THW vote to acquit and attempt to persuade other jurors to do the same
Semi:
Final:

Heriot Watt Open, Edinburgh, Scotland, March 30

Round 1: THBT the salaries and the continuation of employment of teachers should be dependent on the academic performance of their students
Round 2: THBT: The international community should support a one-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict
Round 3: THW: Ban Political Opinion Polls
Round 4: Infoslide: From 1918, the labour party’s constitution declared that the Labour party would strive: “to secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange and the best attainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service” (clause 4, part 4)Clause 4 as a whole was the symbol of the Labour Party’s commitment to “public ownership” and the Party’s principled opposition to market capitalism. Clause 4 was abolished under the leadership of Tony Blair at a special party conference in Easter 1995. Motion: THBT the Labour party should not have revoked Clause 4
Final: THBT the Democratic Party should give up their attempts to regulate firearms and openly seek the complete abolition of firearms (approximate wording)

St Petersburg Debating Open, Saint Petersburg, Russia, March 29-31

R1: THBT parents of underaged children should not drink alcohol
R2: THW set up brothels in military bases
R3: THW Make US military aid to Israel dependent on Israel accepting the two-state solution
R4: THW force state officials to keep all their financial assets in domestic banks
R5: THBT police officers should pose as children on social networking sites to entrap paedophiles
Semi: THW ban all individuals who have advocated or used violence in order to further a political cause in emerging democratic states, from standing for future elections
Final: THBT the state has no responsibility in protecting intellectual property rights

DCU Open, Dublin, Ireland, April 5-6

R1: THW allow individuals to opt out of employment provisions relating to health and safety in return for increased pay
R2: THW allow sex offenders to choose to undergo castration in return for a considerably shorter sentence
R3: THW ban serving military generals from talking to the media
R4: THBT children in the West Bank should be educated in integrated schools (integrated school is one where students sit in the same classroom and share all facilities irrespective of background (including religion, culture or ethnicity))
R5: THBT in reducing its budget deficit, Ireland should prioritise cutting welfare to an absolute minimum rather than increasing taxes and cutting services
Semi: TH,as the US Republican Party,would end the use of primaries to select their presidential nominee
Final: TH supports Belfast City Council's decision to restrict the flying of the Union Jack outside Belfast City Hall

Paris Open, Paris, France, April 6-7

R1: TH, as commissioner Gordon, would never use the bat signal.
R2: TH, as the French Parliament, would not have recognised the Armenian Genocide
R3: THW choose a comprehensive education system where the only selection process is geographical location and NOT intelligence, ability or talent
R4: TH welcomes the anglicization of the French language
Semi and ESL final: It is 1945. THW create a Jewish state in Western Europe instead of the Middle East
Final: Given the technology, THW, as a genius, use this technology to reduce its intelligence to become “normal”

Transatlantic Debating Championships, Paris, France, April 10-11

Semi 1: THBT French millionaires should escape to England
Semi 2: THB America has no culture
Semi 3: THB France should be more German
Final: THB Germany should let Europe die

Estonian Open, Tartu, Estonia, April 12-13

R1: THW provide the disabled access to sex workers as part of national health care
R2: THW pay mercenaries to assassinate Kim Jong-un.
R3: THBT governments should actively discourage consumerist lifestyles
R4: TH regrets the EU Troika’s reliance on mainly austerity measures as a solution for at risk Eurozone economies.
R5: THW make failure to render reasonable assistance to a person in distress a criminal offence.
Semi: THBT feminist organisations should not use nudity as a tactic for pursuing their aims
Final: TH Regrets the strong social norms in favour of lifelong monogamy.

HSE Open, Moscow, Russia, April 13-14

R1: THW legally bind children to take care of their parents once the parents reach old age.
R2: This house would erect a memorial statue for President Ronald Reagan in the red Square.
R3: TH, as a feminist, would marry a closeted homosexual in order to help him keep his sexual identity secret.
R4: THW, as Russia, offer all Western European millionaires a low tax asylum and full Citizenship in the Russian federation.
R5: THW abolish NATO
Semi: THBT the state should never ever fund the arts or cultural activities.
Final. You are a member of the Pussy Riots. You are presented with a fail safe plan to runaway from prison and start a relatively comfortable life in the west. THW stay in prison.

Potsdam Puls Punk, Potsdam, Germany, April 12-14 (translated)

R1:Should we teach beggars profitable street arts?
R2: Should HIV-infected people be forced to take a pill that would kill them within three days?
R3: Should the state give up on shrinking villages?
R4:Should sexual acts with robots be banned, as soon as these are physically comparable to human beings?
R5: Should people with more children be allowed to enter retirement earlier?
Semi: Should scientific writings be freely available?
Should the internet be closed on Sundays?

UTAD Debate changing Europe round, Vila Real, Portugal, April 17

R1: THW give a higher child subsidies to couples composed by persons from different Member States of the EU.
R2: THBT the Common Agricultural Policy harmed the national agricultures.

Coimbra Debate changing Europe round, Coimbra, Portugal, April 17

R1: THW give a higher child subsidies to couples composed by persons from different Member States of the EU.
R2: THW make mandatory that all European treaties would be submitted to a referendum under only one electoral cycle.

Nordic Debating Championships, Helsinki, Finland, April 19-21

R1: THW criminalise adultery
R2: THW have a standing policy of conducting air strikes on government buildings of states which are implicated in the massacre of their own citizens
R3: THW set up an online voting system for citizens to directly choose the distribution of a specified portion of the national budget
R4:THW offer terminally ill patients the option of a cash grant if they forgo treatment and consent to early euthanasia
R5: THW make development aid conditional on recipient states adopting a one-child policy
Semi: THW ban the publication of images of terrorist atrocities
Final: THW impose a tax on men to reduce the gender pay gap

John Smith Memorial Mace International Final, Edinburgh, Scotland, April 20

This House Would Make the Use of Unmanned Military Attack Vehicles a War Crime

Dutch National Championships, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, April 20 (translated)

R1: THW ban all beauty pageants
R2: THW abolish all exceptions to the military draft on the basis of religion, sexual orientation or gender in democratic countries that have a compulsory military draft
R3: THW abolish the statute of limitations for serious crimes
R4: THW use military force to destroy North Korea’s nuclear facilities
R5: Infoslide: Greek state debts accumulate to 350 billion Euros at the moment, this is unmanageable/harmful for the economy, European economic norms deem debts at about half this amount as manageable/healthy. Rich Greeks own a total of 600 billion Euros. Motion: THW bring the Greek debt back to healthy European standards by a one-off wealth taxation of Greek’s rich.
Quarter: Infoslide: Older employees are considered too expensive during economic crises, their salary is set by a combination of collective labour agreements between employer unions and labour unions through the setting of both sector minimum wages and sector increases in wages. Motion: THBT Dutch labour unions should agree to a structural decrease in pay for older employees
Semi: Infoslide: Criminals are (sometimes) offered a second chance after serving their sentence. They are given a new identity, old records are wiped and they are sometimes offered plastic surgery. Motion: THW offer all citizens, upon request, a second chance
Final: After a military intervention to bring down a dictator, THW put a new dictator in place who is the best possible candidate

Hull Open, Hull, England, April 20

R1: THW ban industrial action in time of economic recession
R2: THW ban all media (such as music, films and video games) which glorify misogyny
R3: THW end the use of armed drones in counter-terrorism operations
R4: THBT in emerging democracies with a history of female oppression, women should be granted two votes
Final: THBT western governments should cease all diplomatic,economic and military ties with the Bahrain government and support the opposition movement

German Regional Championships South, Austria and Switzerland, Ingolstadt, Germany, April 20-21

R1: Should exile be reinstated as a form of punishment?
R2: Should we abolish all family (welfare) benefits in exchange for a one-off children premium of 100.000 Euros?
R3: Should all Members of Parliament be selected, not through elections, but through a lottery from among all citizens?
Semi: Should journalists hand the Offshore-Leaks data to the competent authorities?
Final: Should same-sex couples receive full adoption rights?

German Regional Championships North-East, Jena, Germany, April 20-21

R1: Should we allow the police to use racial profiling?
R2: Should we put a limit to the time parties can be in parliament?
R3: Should selfishness be proscribed?
R4: It is 1952. Should the Bundersrepublik Deutschland agree to the Stalin-Note?
Semi: Should the country grant bravery medals to drone soldiers?
Final: Should same-sex couples receive full adoption rights?

German Regional Championships West, Iserlohn, Germany, April 20-21

R1: Should we abolish the balancing of federal budgets (Länderfinanzausgleich)?
R2: Should the candidate for Chancellor of a party be elected by all party members?
R3: Do we need the meatfree Monday?
R4: Should Germany disarm completely?
Semi: Should the special status of churches under labour law be abolished?
Final: Should same-sex couples receive full adoption rights?

SdDUP Debate changing Europe round 1, Porto, Portugal, April 23

TH aplaudes that the representatives of the Member States on the European Council and on European Parliament adopt as criteria for decisions what is best for the citizens of their own countries and not what is best for the European citizens.
TH (as the EU) would offer visas for residence to all immigrants and their families that have proven to have found means of subsistence.

Jacobs Open, Bremen, Germany, April 26-28

R1: THW remove all "sin taxes"
R2: TH, as US President, would grant Chinese Christian refugees asylum
R3: THBT Governments should fund and public display of art which viscerally portrays the suffering of victims created by state policies/actions (eg war, failure to go to war, poverty at home and abroad)
R4: THW only allow election campaigns to be funded by a fixed budget provided by the state
R5: TH, as the gay community, regrets the rise of Grindr in western liberal democracies
Semi: In the event of a terrorist attack by radical Islamists, THW fabricate evidence (which wouldn't be found out to be untrue) that the attack was committed by someone from the dominant (religious/ethnic) group in that society
Final: TH, as 2 atheist parents, raising their child in a homogeneous religious rural community (e.g. in Texas) would raise their child to be religious

Open de Minho, Guimarães, Portugal, April 26-28

R?: THW exhibit the Ten Commandments in all public schools of the EU.
R?: THW aplaude that the Member States of the EU would participate in the Olympics under only one flag.

Split Open, Split, Croatia, April 26-28

R1: In cases of politically motivated terrorist attacks, THW ban the press from disclosing any information regarding the name, background or the political motivation of the attackers
R2: You are a single woman in her twenties. Sleeping with your boss would probably significantly advance your career. THW do it.
R3: THW force elected politicians and their families to use only public health and education services.
R4: THBT any form of conscription is a war crime
R5: THB Croatia should stop all special treatment of the Catholic religion.
Final: Assuming the existence of the Biblical God, THW never praise him

Cambridge Invitational, Cambridge, England, April 28

R1: THW prosecute (in western courts) anyone who buys people out of slavery in the developing world
R2: THB that the Church of England should not allow the singing of Jerusalem in its services
R3: THW require that all marginal increases in funding for healthcare technology be spent on whatever NICE believes most cost effectively maximises Quality Adjusted Life Years.
Final: THW create: 1) an obligation on western powers to militarily intervene in conflicts where chemical weapons are being used (regardless of UN approval), and 2) a right if major humanitarian organisations to sue governments for failure to fulfil this obligation

Kyiv Open, Kiev, Ukraine, May 4-5

R1: THBT racial profiling is a legitimate tool in fighting crime
R2: THW prohibit the military from embedding journalists
R3: THBT all state funding of the art should be allocated to artists through a random and equal lottery
R4: THW introduce a statute of limitation on murder
R5: THB the US should unilaterally intervene in Syria
Semi: THBT police force should have quotas of proportional representation of races
Final: THW forgive the group of young people who blew up a monument of Stalin in Ukraine.

Oxford Women’s Open, Oxford, England, May 10-11

R1: THW ban religious preachers in the public sphere
R2: THBT the USA should give South Korea independent control of a nuclear arsenal
R3: TH, as a professional female athlete, would not pose in a sexualised manner for magazines and commercials
R4: In areas where hostage taking is a tactic, THW require soldiers to kill squad mates who are about to be captured
R5: THW subsidise art that glorifies the working class
Semi:
Final:

Denny Crane, Belgrade, Serbia, May 10-12 (translated)

R1 : THW require all politicians who are running for election to do a test of general knowledge whose results would then be made public
R2 : THW require from companies to share their annual profit to all employees
R3 : THW abolish gender categories for the awards in culture
R4 : THW not punish offenders for non-violent crimes with prison sentence
R5 : Humanity has found an alien species of an unknown level of technological development. Motion: THW not make first contact with an alien
Semi: THBT on October 5th blood should have been spilled
Final: THW censor art that desecrates religious symbols

Zeit Debatte Aachen, Aachen, Germany, May 10-12 (translated)

R1: THW make organ donations after death mandatory
R2: THW not export any weapons out of the EU
R3: THW replace the three-tiered education system with one common high school (with infoslide)
R4: THW check all Doctorate theses of living persons for plagiarism
R5: THW welcome a UK exit out of the EU
Semi: THW ban alternative medicine
Final: THW not have introduced a common European currency

Stockholm IV, Stockholm, Sweden, May 10-12

R1: THW completely abolish all subsidies and preferential treatment to the farming industry in the EU
R2: You are a poor 19-year old woman living in a former Soviet state. You have little education, no obvious career prospects, and few opportunities for economic advancement in your own country. THW register as a mail order bride
R3: TH, which is the EU, would sue any individual who speaks untrue of or defames the European Union
R4: TH as Israel would immediately intervene in Syria
R5: THBT billionaires have a moral obligation to donate their money to the US government instead of charities
Semi: You are Arnold Schwarzenegger, You are presented a script in which you are asked to portray a SS Nazi Officer who is presented in a positive humane light. THW take on the role
Final: THBT the EU should adopt the formation of a constitutional anti-theistic atheist society as one of its declared goals (Infoslides: The current stated goal of the european union, as stipulated in the treaty of rome, is an "ever closer union" Anti-theistic atheism society is a society that while still allowing religions to exist,more than just being secular actively seeks to eliminate religion from state institutions, laws and actively promotes atheism to the general public

Kalliope Debattoernooi, Groningen, Netherlands, May 11-12 (translated)

R1: THW make membership of a political party mandatory

R2: TH celebrates (approves of) the existence of religion
R3: THW pay male teachers in primary school more than female teachers
R4: TH regrets the founding of the state of Israel
R5: THW ban media from publishing graphic depictions of terrorist attacks
Semi: THW ban private companies from choosing political positions and promoting them
Final: THW make fathers responsible for children, in financial and other terms, only if they have given explicit permission for their birth

Belgrade Open, Belgrade, Serbia, May 17-19

R1: THBT Djokar Tsarnev, the Boston Marathon bomber, should be given the death penalty
R2: THW take the children of Roma who live traditional lifestyles into state care

R3: THW reverse austerity measures in Europe
R4: THW allow voters to dismiss their government during its term through citizen initiated referenda
R5: THBT EU should offer Middle Eastern and North African states membership in exchange for successful democratic transformation
Semi: Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is the process of making a three-dimensional solid object of almost any shape from a downloadable design. Currently, they can be used to create shoes, electronic devises, guns and even houses. In future, their uses are likely to grow. Motion: THW ban the sale of 3D printers to households
Final: THW replace the national sport teams of Ex-Yugoslavian republics with new unified teams

Brüder Grimm Cup, Marburg, Germany, May 19-20 (translated)

R1: Should self-incriminating reports for tax evasion no longer lead to amnesty/ower punishment?
R2: Should Members of Parliaments be allowed to have family members as employees?
R3: Should works of art no longer be restored?
R4: Should genetic testing right after birth be made mandatory?
Semi: Should Telecommunications providers be required by law to ensure net neutrality?
Final: Should there be a quota for young people in top political offices?

History Tournament, Marburg, Germany, May 27 (translated)

R1: TH is Martin Luther. THW not publish the Theses
R2: During WWII: THBT the Western Allies should under no circumstances cooperate with Stalin
R3: In the middle of the 19th century: THW stop export of food products from Ireland until the Great Famine ends
Final: TH is Gandhi. THW declare war on the English occupation

Deutschsprachige Debattiermeisterschaft, Munchen, Germany, May 30 - June 2

R1: Should bullfighting be forbidden?
R2: Should teams be excluded from sports matches when one of their team members has taken doping?
R3: Seed companies seek out strong-yielding plants and sterilise the seeds. The plants cannot produce fertile seeds and the companies protect their license rights. Motion: Should plant sterilisation be banned?
R4: Assume the technical possibility of a manned flight to Mars, without the possibility to survive there on a long-term basis, or to return: Should we send a manned spacecraft to Mars?
R5: Germany has about 1.3 million so-called Austocker: employees whose work salaries lie below the poverty level and who therefore receive additional unemployment benefits from the state (Kombilohn) Motion: Should we abolish adding to wages until the income reaches the poverty line?
R6: After a civil war, should the ethnic groups involved be separated, even through forced resettlement?
Octofinal: Should commuter allowances be abolished?
Quarterfinal: Servicemen and women are equal before the law in the Armed Forces. In practice, women are not used on the frontline (as special commandos for example). Motion: should women be employed in the frontline?
Semi final: Should prisoners on hungerstrike be forcefed?
Final: When the Bundestag votes on matters of conscience, the members can vote without party discipline. Should the People decide on matters of conscience instead of the Parliament?

Riga Debate Academy, Riga, Latvia, May 31-June 2

R1: THW remove the right to vote upon retirement
R2: THBT the targeting of religious sites is a legitimate tool of war
R3: THW make fines relative to wealth
R4: TH, as a Russian-speaking Latvian, would not vote for a Russian party in Latvian elections.
Final: THW require couples that intend to enter into official partnerships to be informed of their partners full genetic profile and other health issues

Bristol Open, Bristol, England, June 8

R1: THW prosecute attempted murder and murder as the same crime
R2: THBT the disappearance of marriage from society will be more beneficial for LGBT individuals than their inclusion in it
R3: THBT the USA should fund Private Military Companies (PMCs) to fight the war on drugs in Mexico
R4: TH regrets the use of extreme tactics by feminist groups in countries with poor equalities records (like Femen, Pussy Riot and their supporters)
Final: Where a suitable job is available in an individual's country of origin, THW require anyone wishing to emigrate to first repay the state the cost of any government services they have received to that point.

GDPPC Open, Budapest, Hungary, June 21-23

R1: THBT tech companies should never share user information with governments.
R2: In fighting prostitution, THW criminalize only the demand.
R3: THBT Stark Industries should have open-sourced the Iron man suit.
R4: THBT IMF should pay reparations to Greece.
R5: THBT The New York Post shouldn't have published the photo (edit: showing a man about to be overrun by a metro and die)
Semi: THW restart the Esperanto project.
Final: THBT offenders with drug dependency should be sent into treatment rather than to prison.

Berlin IV, Berlin, Germany, June 21-23

R1: THW forbid the Supreme Court to annul legislation.
R2: THW ban fortune-telling for profit.
R3: As an emerging nation, THW allow the manufacture and sale of generic drugs even in cases where patents or international treaties are infringed.
R4: THW give security services total and unrestricted access to citizens’ data on social media and webmail services.
Semi: THW introduce an immediate democracy. (Information slide: Immediate democracy is a method in which citizens can change their vote at any time. The number of MPs given to each party is allocated on a daily basis and represents the current support percentage of the population. In this system there are no elections, but the number of MPs from each party can change every day.)
Final: THW support popular uprisings against dictators even in cases they are lead by Islamist extremist.

Elbe Open, Magdeburg, Germany, June 22-23 (translated)

R1: THW grant patients the full right to inspect records of their own treatment from psychotherapists
R2: THB the continuing European Central Bank Policy of low interest rate focus is wrong
R3: TH does not want a society in which people are immortal
R4: THW force theatres that are funded by public money to allow the public to determine its programming
Semi: THW remove the 5% election threshold for Islamic parties in all parliamentary elections
Final: THW promote pornography that challenges gender cliches

Essex IV, Essex, England, June 29

R1: TH supports the use of child labour in the developing world.
R2: THBT Beyonce is good for feminism.
R3: THBT community vigilante groups have been a force for good in the fight against gangs and gang crime in Mexico.
R4: TH regrets the rise and dominance of Facebook (and other social media sites like Twitter) in Western liberal democracies
Final: THBT the African Union should refuse to cooperate with the ICC and instead pursue their own means of justice.

Vienna Mini, Vienna, Austria, June 28-29

R1: THW privatise healthcare
R2: THBT that Australia should replace its current flag with the aboriginal one
R3: THW eliminate standardised testing for university admission
R4: THBT Pixar's next animated motion picture should have a same-sex couple as protagonists
Final: As Quadriga, THW not have retracted Putin's award (info)

ULU Westminster IV, England, July 6-7

R1: THBT Greece should ban the Golden Dawn party.
R2: THW force universities to make all their lectures available for free online
R3: TH regrets the rise of mega-rich football clubs (such as Chelsea, Manchester City, PSG, Monaco, Anzhi M. etc)
R4: THBT Barack Hussein Obama should call off the prosecution of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden
R5: THW give extra votes to young adults
Final: THW offer EU membership to Middle Eastern and North African states that achieve successful democratic transition

English Open, Israel, July 7

R1: THW ban international adoption
R2: Info Slide - State capitalism is an economic model in which companies are privately owned and compete in a free market of consumers, yet the state often intervenes by investing heavily in favored firms, forcing managerial changes, and making other decisions aimed at stabilizing and strengthening the economy. Famous state-capitalist nations include Singapore, China and Russia. Motion: TH supports state capitalism over liberal capitalism.
R3: Info Slide - The US is currently involved in major nation building projects in Afghanistian, including funding and support of democratic institutions, empowerment of local leaders and investment in education. Motion: THBT The US should continue its nation building efforts after it has left Afghanistan militarily.
R4: Info slide - In recent decades, many educational institutions have instructed their teachers that bullying is a result of low self-esteem and other personal problems. Motion: THBT educators should abandon the "pitiful bully" approach
Final: THBT citizens should be more worried about Google and Facebook's access to their data, than the governments' access

Mix Team (pro-am tournament), Belgrade, Serbia, July 7-8 (translated)

R1 : THW introduce special schools for LGBTQI.
R2: THB that overthrowing Mohamed Morsi was a mistake.
R3: THW legally permit soldiers to refuse to participate in military actions or missions on the basis of conscience
R4: THW introduce inheritance tax of 100%
Semi: THW provide parents access to their children profiles on social networks
Final: THW privatise all education

Imperial No Notes Open, London, England, July 13

R1: THBT in areas where there is a high level of drug-related crime, that laws surrounding the sale and use of drugs should not be enforced.
R2: TH, as a parent in a western liberal democracy, would teach its child to respect authority.
R3: THBT comedians should not use racist, sexist, or homophobic language, even for the purposes of satire.
R4: TH, as Prometheus, would snub mankind
Final: as a promising young graduate, you are offered two jobs. One with a charity that you would enjoy working for ("First Teach"), with reasonable pay. The other with a large multinational firm (DelcentureMG) that provides higher pay, and better long term career prospects. Motion: THW sell out to the man.

Frischlingscup, Tübingen, Germany, July 13 (translated)

R1: Do we need mandatory voting?
R2: Should modes of energy production that significantly alter the Umweltnieschen (surrounding/environment?) be banned?
R3: Should there no longer be a possibility of early release in case of life sentences?
Final: Should we decide to categorically deny foreign missions for our army?

Earlsfort Open, Dublin, Ireland, July 20

R1: THW require all welfare recipients to take drug tests, and if they fail, cut off all monetary benefits and replace with non-monetary benefits such as food/clothing vouchers
R2: THBT post-conflict societies should set a history curriculum that emphasises the wrongs done by their own community during that conflict
R3: THBT juries should be of the same demographic as the accused and victim in each case
R4: THBT the overthrow of Egypt's President, Mohammed Morsi, is a setback to the goals of the Arab Spring
R5: THW hold companies to a higher ethical standard than the law imposes on them
Semi: Presuming the technology existed to alter people's sexual orientation, THW make that technology available on the national health service
Final: TH, as President Obama, would grant a presidential pardon to Edward Snowden

Campeonato Mundial Universitario de Debate en Español (CMUDE or Worlds in Spanish), Madrid, Spain, July 24-30 (translated)

R1: THW punish parents for the crimes their minor children commit
R2: THW give the death penalty to government officials that engage in acts of corruption
R3: TH regrets welfare policies promoted by Eurozone countries currently immersed in a debt crisis
R4: THW pay poor people to not have children
R5: THW prohibit in financial settlements lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies
R6: THW allow organ donation only to those individuals who are donors
R7: THW help/support snitches (informants, informers)
R8: THBT developing countries should nationalise companies that extract their national resources
R9: TH supports media censorship during times of political crisis
Quarter: TH regrets that Brazil is the host of the football World Cup 2014
Semi: TH would eliminate the Catholic Church on a global level (the Church’s global governing level?)
Final: TH repents of the Spanish colonisation of Latin America

Patras Open, Patras, Greece, July 26-29

R1: THW ban the Golden Dawn
R2: THBT the state should not give religious institutions any financial benefits
R3: THBT the United Kingdom should abolish its monarchy
R4: TH regrets Disney's continuation of the Star Wars film saga
R5: THW abolish national sports teams
Semi: THBT the City of Thessaloniki should name one of its major avenues after Kemal Atatürk
Final: TH as Socrates would not have drunk the hemlock

Bodden Cup, Greifswald, Germany, July 27-28 (translated)

R1: THW grant prisoners their right to vote back as soon as they are released
R2: THW support separatist movements in the EU
R3: THW employ asylum seekers as porters in train stations
R4: TH, which is Brazil, regrets its bid for hosting the 2014 World Cup
R5: THW abolish the separation period (Trennungsfristen) for marriages - (i.e. create quick ends to marriage?)
Semi: THW limit the amount for new leases to a maximum of 10% above the local rent index
Final: TH welcomes medical progress that enables women to have children after the menopause

Heart of Europe British Parliamentary Debate track, Olomouc, Czech Republic, July 29-August 1

R1: THW legalize prostitution.
R2: THBT immigration from developing countries should be made illegal.
R3: THBT abortions are morally justifiable.
R4: THW not cooperate with international financial institutions.
R5: THBT national states should not support minority cultures to the detriment of the majority culture.
Final: THBT free sharing of copyrighted information should be tolerated.

SOAS Open, London, England, August 3

R1: THBT the LGBT movement should oppose gay bars that ban entrance to straight customers
R2: THBT the government should subsidise private home ownership
R3: THBT in the event of Scotland voting for independence in 2014, the governmental authorities of the North of England should petition the Scottish government for membership of the new Scottish state
R4: THBT the Church of England should not take official stances on social, political and economic issues not directly related to items of doctrine
Final: THBT the Norwegian Nobel Prize commitee should retrospectively remove Barrack Obama's peace prize

SOAS invitational, London, England, August 4

R1: THBT new democracies should prevent revolutionary leaders from standing for elected office
R2: THBT increased female participation in violent sports (such as boxing) is good for women
R3: THBT the WTO should allow developing countries to impose tariffs on developed countries
R4: THBT the USA should pay $1 trillion in war reparations to North Korea
Final: THW give the public the power, via referendum, to pardon whistleblowers.

DAPDI, Rotterdam, Netherlands, August 8-9

R1: THW legalise assisted suicide for any reason.
R2: THBT politicians have a right to a private life.
R3: THW require corporations which operate in both the developed and developing worlds to apply the same labour rights to both.
R4: TH, as a woman, would sleep her way to the top.
R5: THW invade North Korea.
Semi: This House believes that the media, including but not limited to journalists and photographers, have a duty to portray racist public figures in a negative light.
Final: This House, given the technology, would allow medical procedures which endow human beings with superpowers

Manchester EUDC, Manchester, England, August 18-23

R1:THW ban video games in which the player engages in brutal and immoral violence in a realistic setting
R2: THW require international development aid budgets to be approved by popular referenda
R3: TH, as the Muslim Brotherhood, would sincerely offer to cease resistance, participate in elections and respect a liberal constitution
R4: THW permit government agencies to conduct automated surveillance without court authorisation
R5: THBT Israel should allow members of the Jewish diaspora to vote in elections
R6: TH applauds the rise of songs by female pop artists that glorify assertive female sexuality. For example: Nothing on, I strut around; I do it big, I shut it down; I wonder if you’ll be able to handle me; Rita Ora – R.I.P
R7: THBT it is in China’s strategic interest to cease all non-humanitarian assistance to North-Korea until it verifiably ends its nuclear programme
R8: THBT Barack Obama should not have granted legal immunity to officials who ordered the use of torture
R9: THW provide welfare in the form of basic goods and services rather than cash payments
ESL Quarter: THBT men should consistently call out and correct chauvinistic claims by colleagues and co-workers
Open Quarter: THBT African countries should adopt English as the principle language of instruction
ESL Semi: THBT environmental agencies should start a campaign of sabotage and destruction against major pollution companies
Open Semi: TH regrets that Western Media demonised Islamist Terrorists rather than portraying them as criminals with legitimate grievances
ESL Final: THBT the state should not fund any works of art or performances that the average citizen would not recognize as having artistic merit
Open Final: THW give more votes to citizens according to their performance on a current affairs test