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A total of 81 universities representing 33 WTO members and observers participated in regional rounds held from February to May 2021. The top 26 teams from the regional rounds qualified for the final round. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the regional rounds and the final oral round took place virtually.

After four days of competition among the best in the world, four teams qualified for the semi-finals: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), Los Andes University (Colombia), Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva (Switzerland) and University of Colombo (Sri Lanka).

The winning team, from the University of Colombo, was composed of Ms Saheli Wikramanayake, Ms Adithya Ramanitharan, Mr Avishka Jayaweera and Mr Sandun Batagoda. They also won the prize for the best respondent’s written submission, and Ms Wikramanayake was awarded the best orator of the Grand Final. The University of Ottawa Faculty of Law (Canada) won the prize for the best overall written submissions.

Winners of individual and team awards received prizes from the WTO and from the competition's academic supporters — Georgetown University (United States), the World Trade Institute (Switzerland) and the European Public Law Organization (Greece). WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala sent a video address to all the participants.

The John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition is a simulated hearing under the rules of the WTO dispute settlement system involving exchanges of written submissions and adversarial hearings before panelists on international trade law issues. The competition is organized by the European Law Students' Association (ELSA) with the technical support of the WTO.

As part of the competition, teams prepare and analyse a fictitious case and present their arguments both as a complainant and as respondent in front of a panel that consists of international trade law experts. This year the case, “Budica — Measures relating to the importation and marketing of nutrition food bars” was authored by Gustavo Guarín-Duque (Universidad Externado, Colombia), Julián Becerra-Sánchez, (Universidad Externado) and Sara Lucía Dangón-Novoa, (Universidad de los Andes, Colombia). The case addressed issues regarding the balance between international trade liberalization and protection of public health.

The WTO has been a technical supporter of the competition since its inception in 2002. The John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition is an example of the WTO's broad support for capacity building. This year, WTO staff members participated virtually as panelists for written submissions and oral pleadings and advised ELSA on the logistical and academic aspects of running the competition.

For more information about the John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition, visit its website here or its LinkedIn page here.

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View the video message of Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the closing ceremony here.

The final round of the 19th edition of the John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition on WTO Law.

The runner-up, Belgium’s Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

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