VTZ Sponsor of the All-American Round of the John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition
Our partners, Adrián Vázquez and Emilio Arteaga, will once again participate as panelists in the All-American Round during the 21st edition of the John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition on World Trade Organization (WTO) Law.
As part of its 50th anniversary, VTZ proudly announces that it will be one of the official sponsors of this great international university competition. In this edition, Adrián Vazquez and Emilio Arteaga will evaluate written submissions and oral arguments of the participating teams.
VTZ will be Sponsor of the All-American Round of the WTO Moot Court
Reaffirming its commitment to the training of future international trade
experts, VTZ is pleased to announce that this year it will be a sponsor of the
John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition to support the organization of the
All-American Round. This regional round will take place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico from March
15th – 19th, 2023.
VTZ in the Moot Court OMC
Some of our members have a close and long-standing relationship with WTO Moot Court.
Adrian Vázquez
Since 2017, Adrián Vázquez has served as a panelist in this competition at both the All-American Round and the Final Round in Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to the pandemic, Adrián Vázquez traveled to Colombia, the United States and Switzerland to serve as a panelist.
Emilio Arteaga
Emilio Arteaga will also participate for the third time as a panelist in the WTO Moot Court. In the previous edition, our Jr. Partner was a panelist in the preliminary rounds of the Final Round in Geneva, Switzerland, participating virtually.
Likewise, Emilio Arteaga participated in the WTO Moot Court as an assistant coach when he studied his master’s degree at Maastricht University in the 2014-2015 edition. At that time, the Maastricht University team won the European Regional Round, managing to qualify for the Final Round in Geneva and reaching the quarterfinals.
Gilberto Mejía
Our youngest member at VTZ, Gilberto Mejía, represented the Universidad National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in the 2022 edition of the WTO Moot Court before joining our firm. At VTZ we believe that it is necessary to provide real support to the future stars to ensure the development of tomorrow’s professionals.
Topics of this year's WTO Moot Court
This edition of the John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition looks promising. This year’s hypothetical case is titled «Versania – Vaccine Seizure in Transit» and addresses a controversy arising from the seizure and destruction of vaccines for COVID-19.
The hypothetical case invites students to study, analyze, and argue why these actions are consistent or inconsistent with the following agreements or documents:
- The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement);
- The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
- The Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement on COVID-19 Vaccines.
What does the WTO Moot Court consist of?
The John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition is a prestigious university
competition involving the simulation of a trade dispute before the WTO dispute
settlement system. This competition is organized by the European
Law Students Association (ELSA)
with the technical support of the WTO and numerous sponsors.
Each year, dozens of students from around the world form teams to represent their universities and analyze a hypothetical case on an international trade dispute involving two fictitious States. All teams present their written submissions and oral arguments for both the claimant and respondent States before a panel composed of international trade experts.
In addition to our partners Adrián Vázquez and Emilio Arteaga, some experts who have been in charge of evaluating the oral rounds in previous editions are former members of the WTO Appellate Body, such as Jennifer Hillman, and ambassadors, such as Santiago Wills, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the WTO.
What is the format of the WTO Moot Court?
The John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition consists of two stages: Regional Rounds and a Final Round. In the regional rounds, each team faces other universities in the same geographical area in preliminary rounds, semifinals, and finals. This year, the regional rounds will be as follows:
- Western Asia and Oceania Round (February 25th to March 1st, 2023)
- South Asia and Middle East Round (March 3rd to 7th, 2023).
- African Regional Round (March 8th to 12th,2023).
- All-American Round (March 15th to 19th, 2023).
- First European Regional Round (April 12th to 16th, 2023).
- Second European Regional Round (April 19th to 23rd, 2023).
The 4 best teams from each of the regional rounds participate in the Final Round. In other words, the world’s 24 most outstanding teams face each other in preliminary rounds, semifinal rounds, and the grand final. This stage takes place at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Need more information?
VTZ is a firm specialized in International Trade and Customs with extensive experiences advising companies in export and import procedures, as well as complying with tariff and non-tariff restrictions to trade.
