PAX Moot 2019
In 2019, the 7th edition of the Pax Moot Competition was organised. It marked the 50th anniversary of EU Private International Law and was named after one of its 'founding fathers', Paul Jenard, who served as the Rapporteur of the 1968 Brussels Convention.
Participating teams
Eleven teams from eight different countries took part in the written and oral rounds of the competition. The following teams took part: Sciences Po (France); Università degli Studi di Milano (Italy); Paris Dauphine University (France); Hidayatullah National Law University (India); National Research University Higher School of Economics (Russia); University of Heidelberg (Germany); University of Antwerp (Belgium); Erasmus University Rotterdam (The Netherlands); Pantheon-Sorbonne University (France); Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” (Bulgaria); Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium).
Competition in The Hague
In the course of April 2019, independent experts evaluated the written submissions of the participating teams. The oral rounds of the moot court competition took place in The Hague on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 May 2019. About twenty experts in the area of private international contributed their time and expertise to the event by evaluating the pleading skills of the teams.
The event started with a welcome reception the evening before. On Friday and Saturday morning, the competition took place at Sorghvliet Gymnasium, located next to the Asser Institute. On Friday, there were five general rounds. All eleven teams pleaded four times, twice as claimant and twice as respondent. At the end of the day, four teams were invited to go to the semi-final rounds: Sciences Po (France); University of Heidelberg (Germany); University of Antwerp (Belgium); Paris Dauphine University. The semi-final rounds took place on Saturday morning, after which two teams went to the final rounds: University of Heidelberg (Germany); University of Antwerp (Belgium). On Saturday afternoon, the final round took place at a venue with great symbolism for the evolution of private international law, the Hague Peace Palace. Here, Mr Hans van Loon, former Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, offered a reception to all participants to mark the conclusion of the 2019 round.
The winner of the written memorials was the University of Sorbonne. The overall winner of the 2019 edition was the team representing the University of Antwerp.
More information
The Case and Rules and Procedures can be found here:
More information can be found on the website of the Pax Competition, here.