The ELSA Moot Court Competition is a simulated WTO dispute involving exchanges of written submissions and adversarial hearings before panelists on international trade law issues. This year teams of interested students from all over the world sent in written submissions of a fictitious case dealing with subsidies for the production of renewable energy equipment and for the purchase of renewable energy, written by Professor Andrew Lang of the London School of Economics.

After the regional rounds in Germany (Passau), Canada (Kingston), Singapore, South Africa (Grahamstown) and Czech Republic (Brno), the best 20 teams came to Geneva to plead in the Final Oral Round. Teams drawn from 16 countries on six continents (Africa, Asia, Australia, North and South America, and Europe) competed against each other at a level similar to what might be seen in an actual WTO dispute. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia, emerged as the winner, with the team from Queen’s University, Canada, the runner-up. Congratulations are also due to the semi-finalists from National Taiwan University, Chinese Taipei, and KU Leuven, Belgium, as well as to all the teams that participated in the event in Geneva.

The competition included students of diverse backgrounds working hard to produce high-quality legal arguments on cutting-edge issues of WTO law. The Final Oral Round is an opportunity for them to meet their fellow students from all over the world but also to see trade law in action and to see all the opportunities available for a career in trade law. It is one of the aims of the competition to encourage and develop the next generation of WTO experts.

The WTO has been a technical sponsor and partner in the ELSA competition on WTO law since its inception 14 years ago. This is an example of the WTO’s broad support for capacity building focusing not just on government officials but also on students and academics who can take WTO law into the future. The WTO sends legal experts on technical assistance missions to act as panelists in the regional rounds. WTO staff members also advise ELSA on the academic aspects of running the competition and are integral in planning the Final Oral Round held in Geneva.

During the week participating students not only competed against the top teams from around the world but met with practitioners in law firms, delegations and the WTO Secretariat. Students were also able to participate in the British Institute on International and Comparative Law’s annual conference on WTO law which was held simultaneously with the moot court.

WTO staff members from several divisions of the Secretariat volunteered in the organization of the event and shared their experiences with young students. Colleagues from the Legal Affairs, Rules, and Council and Trade Negotiations Committee divisions, the Appellate Body Secretariat, and the Office of the Director General assisted in all aspects of the moot court.

It is not only the WTO Secretariat that sees the value in the ELSA moot court on WTO law. Private law firms (Van Bael & Bellis, King & Spalding, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan, Mayer Brown, Sidley Austin, Steptoe & Johnson, and Whtie & Case),  the Society for International Economic Law (SIEL), and the World Trade Institute all made contributions towards sponsoring the global competition. Furthermore the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Akin Gump, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and the Advisory Centre on WTO Law (ACWL), along with several local sponsors, all made significant contributions towards the smooth running of the African Round. Academic institutions provided support by offering prizes to the winning teams (the World Trade Institute, the Graduate Institute and IELPO at the University of Barcelona) and by hosting the preliminary rounds of the finals (the Graduate Institute). The entire trade law community embraces the value of this competition.

The Grand Final took place on Saturday 11 June with a Final Bench of distinguished panelists chaired by Appellate Body member Ricardo Ramirez-Hernandez. Deputy Director-General Karl Brauner served as the Master of Ceremonies and handed out the prizes. The winning team was announced by Aegyoung Jung, Legal Advisor to the Director-General.