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Dr Susana Muñoz, Moot Court Coordinator, opened the evening by reflecting on the season as a whole — “the paths walked, the paths ahead” — as well as the competitions entered, the skills developed and the commitment shown by all those involved. She underlined that moot court is more than a competition: “It is a journey of learning and transformation.”

The Cassin team, the cassinistes, worked on questions at the intersection of environmental protection with individual freedoms and human rights — issues of major importance for contemporary societies that will continue to shape legal and political debates for years to come.

The team — consisting of students Élise Lacourt and Filipe Neiva, coached by Doctoral Researchers Léa Schumacker, Vitória Fernandes Antunes Dias, and Erriketi Tla da Silva — made strong progress over the course of the year, developing their pleading skills and growing in confidence when responding to questions under pressure.

The ELMC team addressed a broad set of EU law questions, covering the protection of minors on digital platforms, the horizontal direct effect of certain provisions of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, data protection, representative consumer actions, third-party litigation funding and free movement of capital.

After a demanding written phase, the team prepared their oral pleadings under tight time pressure, marking one of the most intensive ELMC journeys yet for a Uni.lu team.

The Price MC team competed in the Europe Rounds in Paris, engaging with highly topical and complex issues concerning surveillance technologies, freedom of expression, journalism and national security.

Coaches and Doctoral Researchers Donatella Casaburo and Lisa Haro highlighted that students Ciara Gannon, Luana Garofoli, Ermioni Karkaletsi and Tom Vollbracht developed strong cohesion over the course of the year, both as advocates and as a truly integrated team.

The MLMC team worked on a case concerning the responsibility and liability of non-governmental corporate actors for space activities — an area of law with still-evolving boundaries. After a challenging drafting phase, students Beyza Eravci and Magali Wagner competed in Poznań, Poland, securing an excellent 8th place out of 24 teams.

Both students showed clear progress in their pleadings, steadily gaining confidence throughout the oral rounds and bringing precision and a strong grounding in public international law to their arguments. They were coached by Postdoctoral Researcher Gabrielle Leterre and Uni.lu MLMC alumna Theodora Liameti.

The ICCMCC team is still in competition. Coached by Doctoral Researcher Eirini Botza, students Thaïs-Aïda Gautry, Olivia Kolle, Rui Jorge Martins Reis and Anna Shevchenko will travel to The Hague in June to compete in the Final Rounds. Their preparation has been characterised by solid legal research, clear argumentation and strong team dynamics.

The coordinator also thanked the coaches, the supervisors — Professors Jörg Gerkrath, Eleftheria Neframi, Niovi Vavoula, Mark D. Cole, Mahulena Hofmann and Silvia Alegrezza — as well as the many colleagues, practitioners, experts, alumni and former moot court participants who contributed their time and expertise. Their guidance, rigour and support were central to the students’ advancement.

Beyond competitive results, the ceremony placed particular emphasis on the formative dimension of the Uni.lu Moot Court Programme. Through structured participation in international competitions, students developed key advocacy skills, including legal reasoning, teamwork, adaptability and oral argumentation, while navigating complex and uncertain legal problems.