Created in 2000, the John H. Jackson (formerly ELSA) Moot Court Competition is a simulated hearing based on the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) dispute settlement system, requiring students to prepare written and oral arguments for two sides of a fictional WTO case involving a trade dispute.

The team, which includes Frenkchris Timotius Sinay, Gang Zhang (second years, Master in International Law), Minyi Hou (first year, Master in International Affairs) and Sebastian Pantin Urdaneta (first year, Master in International Relations/Political Science), competed in Brno, Czech Republic from 2-6 March 2020 against universities from all over Europe to earn a spot in the Moot Court’s Final Oral Round.

Coached by Ana Sofia Coelho Correia and Marios Tokas, supervised by Panagiotis Kyriakou, and supported academically by Professor of International Law Joost Pauwelyn, the team comes from a long line of successes: they won the global championship in both 2012 and 2018.  

“A fantastic achievement”, said Professor Pauwelyn. “Coming in first place in the regional rounds is increasingly difficult. The competition is fierce, but the Graduate Institute is blessed with a first class and wonderfully diverse student team as well as coaches who spent countless hours on this venture completely pro bono. Congratulations!"  

In addition to the team’s first place win, team member Minyi Hou won “Best Oralist” for her performance in the semi-final round.

"In addition to learning the law itself, the Moot Court provided a stimulating opportunity to engage with policy and practical matters that are presently shaping the world of trade", noted the team members. 

From 23-28 June 2020, the top 20-25 qualifying teams will travel to Geneva for the Moot Court’s Final Oral Round, with the Preliminary Round to be held at the Graduate Institute and the Semi-final and Final at WTO’s headquarters.

These rounds will be moved to an online format if measures undertaken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are still in effect. 

Pictured, from left to right: Frenkchris Timotius Sinay (2nd year Master in International Law), Ana Sofia Coelho Correia (2nd year Master in International Law ), Sebastian Pantin Urdaneta (1st year Master in International Relations/Political Science), Panagiotis Kyriakou (3rd year PhD in International Law), Minyi Hou (1st year Master in International Affairs), Marios Tokas (1st year Master in International Law), Gang Zhang (2nd year Master in International Law).