Elsa Moot Court Competition: Final Oral Round 2010

ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO law (EMC²)

The ELSA Moot Court Competition (EMC²) is a simulated hearing in the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement system. Competitor teams represent both the Complainant and Respondent parties to the Case by presenting oral submissions in front of a Panel. EMC² Panels consist of WTO law experts and are referred to as Panellist. The Competition provides students with the opportunity to put theory into practice, thereby complimenting their formal legal education.

The Selection Rounds consists of Oral Rounds and an International Written Round. The Oral Rounds take the form of Regional Rounds, being either ELSA or non-ELSA Regional Rounds. The Regional Round is the round aimed at qualifying teams for the Final Oral Round of the EMC². Finally, also the Written Round of the EMC² serves to select teams for the Final Oral Round where the selection through an Oral Round does not apply.

The EMC² is organised annually by The European Law Students’ Association – ELSA. The EMC² is now in its 8^th consecutive year. The EMC² is recognized as the world’s leading competition on international trade law. The EMC² was launched for the first time in 2003 with 28 teams participating. It is constantly evolving and seeking to further establish itself as one of the most prestigious moot courts in the world. In 2009 for example President Ma of Taiwan opened the EMC² Final Oral Round Conference held in Taipei to formally announce the future Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between Taiwan and China, demonstrating that the EMC² is a prestigious event where historic international trade moments are celebrated.

Every year the competition commences in September and features a total of more than 60 teams composed of approximately 250 students representing around 60 universities and all continents. The Competition itself is structured in two levels. Participating teams from all over the world have to undergo qualification rounds before the Final Oral Round in Santo Domingo – Dominican Republic, through either the ELSA Regional Rounds for Europe or the non ELSA Regional Rounds for Asia, the Pacific, Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the North America. Teams from Africa and other countries that are not allocated to any of the regional rounds will undergo selection through the International Written Round.

During this year’s competition, the ELSA Regional Rounds will be held in Leuven-Belgium and Helsinki-Finland and the non-ELSA Regional Rounds in Australia, Taiwan, Brazil and Canada. The Final Oral Round will take place in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, due to the cooperation between ELSA and El Consejo Latinoamericano de Estudiosos de Derecho Internacional y Comparado (COLADIC) Capitulo República Dominicana (COLADIC-RD).

See also:

Contact:

emc2@coladic-rd.org