The Competition

Since the academic year 2012/2013, ELSA International, in cooperation with the Council of Europe, organizes a Europe-wide moot court competition for law students on the European Convention of Human Rights, which simulates the individual complaint mechanism of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

What is a Moot Court?
A moot court simulates court proceedings in which students have to deal with imaginary cases touching upon different legal fields, which hypothetically have been brought before a respective judicial organ. Such competitions are usually divided into a written and an oral round.
The participants apply their theoretical knowledge in a particular area by applying it on a practical case. Furthermore, they gain the ability to draft written pleadings addressed to a court or some other judicial body, representing a party to the proceedings and advocating their legal position. In addition, the students should acquire methods of presentation and improve their oral persuasiveness through an active trial practice.
It is the aim of this activity to offer the students a chance to apply their knowledge practically already during their studies and in this way gather experiences for their future professional life.

The Helga Pedersen Moot Court Competition (HPMCC)
The HPMCC offers students the unique possibility of gaining practical experience in the area of the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its judicial body, the ECtHR. The organizers publish a case based on imaginary circumstances and which has been hypothetically brought before the ECtHR. This case builds the basis for the students’ work.
During the first part of the competition, the participating teams have to submit two written arguments – one representing the applicant and one representing the respondent, i.e. the concerned state – by which they have to convince the selection committee of their legal knowledge. Of all the submissions only the best 20 teams are invited to the final oral round at the ECtHR in Strasbourg/France. There the teams are competing against each other and have to plead convincingly before a jury of experts. The prize for the winning team is a traineeship of one month at the ECtHR, for the best orator a traineeship at the Council of Europe Liaison Office with the European Union in Brussels, as well as further prizes and awards for the teams ranked 2nd and 3rd and the best written submissions.