The entire competition process provides law students a unique opportunity to exercise and develop their analytical skills and to increase their capacity to produce written legal briefs. Also, it gives them a chance to plead cases before some of the Europe’s highest-profile judges, gain and improve their practical knowledge of the cases and the rules and procedures of the ECtHR.

Moot Court Competition is aiming to improve knowledge of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and its case law among students and judges in the Western Balkans through implementation of its 5 stages:

1. Introduction workshop for university teams participating at the Regional Moot Court Competition.

In the beginning of the preparatory phase for the Regional Moot Court Competition, 100 law students from 12 participating clubs participate in a one-day workshop implemented by Civil Rights Defenders’ consultant working on the Moot Court Competition. The workshop provides them useful information in relation to the hypothetical case, rules of procedures, written briefs and the upcoming competition.

2. Regional Moot Court Competition.

At the Regional Moot Court Competition 12 teams compete, 10 of which are always the same, while the remaining two are joined via qualifying competitions (Futura and Albanian Moot Court). In the beginning of the preparatory phase, a hypothetical case is drafted by Civil Rights Defenders’ Legal Department. The hypothetical case focuses on human rights issue relevant for the region. It is provided to the competing clubs approximately two months before the oral stage of the competition. In this stage students analyse the hypothetical case, write briefs as both, an applicants and responding state; and prepare for the oral stage of the competition. When clubs prepare their written briefs, they are submitted to Legal Department for grading.

At the oral pleading stage, which takes place in person at a Court, clubs compete before the panel of judges. These panels consist of actual and former ECtHR judges, as well as judges from local courts. The composition of the panels has also contributed to capacity-building of Western Balkan judges, since they have an opportunity to learn from the ECtHR judges while being on the same panel. Civil Rights Defenders has developed strong relations with the judges from the institutions in the region, both through Moot Court Competition and other relevant projects, making the participation of the judges in the Moot Court Competition a certainty. The participating judges are coming from the most prominent judiciary institutions, such as the European Court of Human Rights, High Judicial Councils, Constitutional and Supreme Courts, Offices of the State Agent before the ECtHR, etc.

3. Futura Moot Court Competition (currently not taking place).

Futura Competition was introduced as a result of increased interest in the Regional Moot Court Competition, as a tool to qualify one team (as the 11th team out of 12). The procedure and stages of the Futura Competition are similar to the ones used at the Regional Moot Court Competition. They differ only in the number of participating teams, since at the Futura Competition usually six teams compete. The winner of the Futura Competition earns their place at the Regional Moot Court Competition, which takes place in the following year.

4. Albanian Moot Court Competition.

Albanian Moot Court Competition was also introduced as a result of increased interest in the Regional Moot Court Competition, as a tool to qualify one team (as the 12th team out of 12). The procedure and stages of the Albanian Moot Court Competition are similar to the ones used at the Regional Moot Court Competition; they differ only in the number of participating teams – at the Albanian Moot Court Competition usually six to eight teams compete. The winner of the Albanian Competition earns their place at the Regional Moot Court Competition, which takes place in the following year. The Albanian competition is organised by Civil Rights Defenders’ local office in Tirana, with a local expert-consultant.

5. Trans-European Moot Court Competition Finals in Strasbourg.

The Trans-European Moot Court Finals are held in Strasbourg, at the European Court of Human Rights, among the winning teams of Regional Moot Court Competition and Nordic Moot Court Competition (not organised by Civil Rights Defenders). The Grand Finals don’t include drafting written briefs, only the oral stage. The oral pleading is in English language, unlike the Regional Moot Court Competition and Futura Competition, during which students can speak their native languages with translation to English being provided.

2023 marks the 10th anniversary of organising Trans-European Moot Court Finals.