Brno – Students of law from 12 European universities are testing their skills in a simulated court trial in the courtrooms of Brno’s courts. From Thursday to Sunday, Brno hosts the regional final of the European Law Moot Court, a prestigious competition in the field of European Union law. Its aim is to prepare students for practice, as the CTK learned from the organizers.
Each year, up to one hundred teams consisting of three or four students sign up. They receive the assignment in September and have several months to work on it. At the end of November, they submit written pleadings based on which 48 teams qualify for the oral phase. It consists of four regional finals, each with 12 teams competing. The first regional final, attended by students from Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, and Sweden, is being held in Brno for the first time this year. The Faculty of Law of Masaryk University organizes it in cooperation with the Supreme Administrative Court (NSS) and the Constitutional Court.
“I support any form of cooperation between the academic sphere and legal practice, as the mutual connection of these areas contributes not only to the development of students but also to the strengthening of the values on which our society is built,” said NSS chairman Karel Šimka. Other regional finals will take place in Helsinki, Barcelona, and Lyon. Winners will participate in the worldwide final at the Court of Justice in Luxembourg in April.
The case this time concerns private enforcement of competition law, the independence and impartiality of national competition authorities, and also whether food manufacturers are obliged to indicate only the country of origin of their raw materials, or also whether the given territory is, for example, disputed or occupied.
Students present their arguments in English and French for both sides of the dispute, listened to by professionals from different countries and areas of legal practice. “To some extent, it can even be more difficult than in practice, because simultaneous translation takes place before the real EU Court of Justice. Moreover, judges do not enter into the main oral statements,” said NSS spokeswoman Sylva Dostálová. (February 7)
