Therefore, building up the respective cases of the complainant and the respondent requires thorough research and plenty of creativity. Likewise, getting ready to defend your case before experts in WTO law demands serious practice as tough, unexpected questions will undoubtedly be asked. Facing the type of criticisms and questions that inevitably arise during an oral pleading taught me to develop a thick skin and not to take things personally. I learned during the EMC2 that, as with problems that arise every day in every job, perseverance, resilience and a positive mind-set are crucial for a successful outcome. Finally, it would be remiss of me not to say a few words in praise of the instrumental role that ELSA has played in launching and organizing this competition over the past 15 years. This moot court has been possible thanks to the hard work and dedication of numerous generations of ELSA students. I believe that the EMC2 is one of the most successful stories
of capacity building in a highly technical area of international law. The number of former EMC2 participants that are now working on WTO law-related fields (as government officials, private practitioners, academics or international civil servants) increases exponentially each year. This is a clear testimony of the positive impact that the EMC2 has had on the field of international economic law and on the professional paths of many students. Bravo ELSA and here’s to many more successful editions of the EMC2!
I thank the organizers of this year's ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO law for kindly inviting me to write this article for the publication celebrating the 15th edition of this competition. I also thank Chibole Wakoli and Claude Chase for their helpful comments on this article.
15 Years of ELSA Moot Court Competition
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