
Room W. Centre William Rapard, ©WTO
The ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law (EMC2) is a student-organized competition designed to enhance knowledge of international trade law and WTO dispute settlement procedures. ELSA is especially dedicated to enhance capacity for meaningful engagement in multilateral trade in the long term.
ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law (EMC2)
The European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) is an international, independent, non-political, non-profit organization run by and for students and young lawyers since 1981. The EMC2 is one of the flagship activities of ELSA since 2002.
The main aim of the Competition is to assist countries in developing their technical legal capacity by preparing the next generation of trade lawyers and negotiators. With technical support from the WTO, the Competition has grown to become the only global moot court competition on WTO Law.
Participants from around the world send in written submissions, for the complainant and respondent, in a fictitious case. After sending their submissions, all the teams are given the opportunity to present oral arguments in front of panels which consist of WTO and trade law experts. Winning teams from five Regional Rounds (two European Rounds; an Asia-Pacific Round; an All-American Round; and for the last three years, an African Round) compete against each other in the Final Oral Round held in Geneva, Switzerland at the WTO headquarters.

The African Regional Round of EMC2
The African Regional Round was held for the first time in 2013, and has since grown in terms of participation and support of universities in the region. The organizers welcome donations and other forms of support in order to encourage and sustain the active participation of universities in the region.
Who has participated?
In the first ever Africa Regional Round held in 2013, 7 teams from 6 different countries participated. In 2015, 8 teams from 5 countries participated: Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. Two of these teams also included nationals from Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2016, 10 teams competed from various African countries, including: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and South Africa. In 2017, teams from Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Liberia, Lesotho, and Uganda participated. This year, teams from 10 different countries (Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Uganda) will participate, with Nigeria, Tunisia and Zimbabwe joining the competition for the first time.
How to get involved?
Your valued contribution will help ELSA International in supporting the participation of students in the region at the African Regional Round and the final Oral Round in Geneva in June. Donation instructions can be found at > emc2.elsa.org/partners/ (Please indicate Support for the African Teams as donation purpose)
ICTSD as a sponsor
The goal of ICTSD is to advance sustainable development through trade-related policy making. ICTSD strives to ultimately strengthen developing countries’ legal capacity.
Since 2014, ICTSD has been providing institutional support to the African Round of EMC2 as a sponsor. ICTSD considers the Competition as one of the keys to having a pool of young talents in the field and in turn further the legal capacity in the region.
Participant's testimony
“Taking part in this competition opened my eyes to a whole new world with possibilities I had never even contemplated. The moot gave me insight into the world of WTO dispute resolution and actually got me interested in pursuing this as a career option. The moot fueled my desire to one day be among the few international trade law specialist lawyers in Africa.”
Diana Rufaro Machingaidze, participant 2014/2015
The 2017-2018 Round
25 April – 29 April 2018
Strathmore University, Nairobi
EMC2, African Round > emc2.elsa.org
The Hosting University
Strathmore University participated in last year’s African Regional Rounds of the EMC2 with success. This participation has resulted in increased academic interest among students and faculty at the university, and incentivized students to enhance their capacities in this field through further study or relevant career path. The Strathmore Law School has decided to host the African Regional Round in order to contribute to this important capacity building initiative, which has already created enormous opportunities for learning and personal growth among African students. Strathmore Law School (SLS) is one of the constituent schools of Strathmore University (SU), a leading non-profit private university in Kenya, which aims at serving the Kenyan society to the best of its ability. SU holds a peerless reputation for quality in academic and professional education as well as personal formation.
