Internationalization

Moot Courts

Moot Courts are simulations of trials, where students have the opportunity to represent one of the parties in a hypothetical litigation process under question.

The main objective of a Moot Court is to prepare students for persuasive advocacy within an academic environment. In these competitions, students develop various types of skills such as oratory, teamwork, time management, management under pressure and research. In addition, it is an exercise that leads to the deepening of knowledge related to the competition while also enriching the students’ curriculum, and an excellent way of promoting contact and support between students and teachers.

NOVA School of Law participates in and organizes a number of Moot Court competitions, being without doubt the Portuguese Law School with the best results, both nationally and internationally.

National Moot Courts

National Moot Court of International Public Law

Organized in partnership by the Portuguese Society for International Law, the Students’ Union of the NOVA School of Law and Vieira de Almeida & Associados, this Moot Court consists of a simulation of a hypothetical case between two states before the International Court of Justice. It brings together up to eight teams of law schools from all over the country.

Portuguese Moot Court of Competition Law

The Portuguese Moot Court of Competition Law is a joint initiative of the NOVA School of Law and the School of Law of the University of Lisbon, organized in collaboration with the Competition, Regulatory and Supervisory Court. The competition is also sponsored by the law firm Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva e Associados through the Miguel Galvão Teles Institute. The cases in this simulation focus on competition law issues and the teams only discuss the case through oral arguments.

Tax Moot Court

The Tax Moot Court is a pioneering competition organized by PwC, dating from its first edition in May 2019. This competition aims at a debate on tax law issues. Eight teams as well as a collective of 4 Judges, 3 Jury members and 11 participants, attended the 2019 event. The NOVA School of Law was the great winner of this first Edition.

International Moot Courts

Europa Law Moot Court

Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot

Telders International Law Moot Court Competition

Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court 

John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition

This Moot Court competition aims to simulate the dispute settlement method of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Teams prepare their resolution of the fictitious case, which will be analyzed by trade law experts and WTO representatives; in an activity inviting students to produce written submissions but also to discuss the fictitious case orally. The competition is organized in regional rounds, which normally consist of 5 qualifiers. The best teams from around the world have the opportunity to participate in a final oral round, which takes place in Geneva. It is carried out by ELSA International, the largest organization of young Law students at European level.