Hello!
We are the team from Charles University Prague that won the CEEMC 2018. We would like to tell you a little about this competition (from the competitors’ perspective) and to describe the wonderful prize which we received as the winning team.
First of all, if you are thinking of applying (which you probably are since you are reading this), just do it! It may seem to be a bit scary and difficult at first, but it’s nothing you won’t be able to handle. And actually, mooting in this competition is really fun!
Our 4-person team worked together to prepare the competition from the time the problem question (moot case) was announced in December 2017. Our preparation involved lots of hard work and some late nights, but it was also great fun and we became really close friends in the process. We also learned a lot of EU law and a lot about structuring and delivering oral arguments in a court room setting.
Dealing with the European Union law at the moot court was a very valuable experience, not only for solving real problems and making practical use of EU law, but also for learning useful English legal vocabulary as well as the process of pleading before a very distinguished bench of judges. The 2018 CEEMC took place in Wroclaw, Poland. The moots took place on Saturday and Sunday and were both challenging and rewarding. Actually, one of the judges in our very first moot was Advocate General Eleanor Sharpston herself. But the most amazing thing about the CEEMC is that there are many awesome lawyers, who are there not only to play the role of the judges, but mainly to give you good advice, to improve your mooting skills and to encourage you. Among them are Advocate Generals (already mentioned Eleanor Sharpston, Michal Bobek), judges of the Tribunal (Jan Passer, Alexander Kornezov, Krystyna Kowalik-Bańczyk) and representatives of the greatest law firms in Europe. Meeting such personalities was very inspiring.
The winning prize was a visit to Cambridge University and London. First, we went to Cambridge for several days and had a chance to get to know the city and the student community. We stayed in University college rooms, went punting and had a guided tour around Cambridge Law Faculty and Pembroke college. We had also a guided tour around Squire Library of the Law Faculty. We got to meet very interesting people from the University of Cambridge, such as Dr. Jennifer Davies from Woolfson college (with whom we had lunch) and Professor Bill Cornish (who invited us to dinner with his wife at their family home).
We then had a very intensive programme in London. We had a tour of Inner Temple and discussions with Jennie Collis Price (EA to Sub-Treasurer), following a discussion with Sub-Treasurer – Chief Executive Officer Greg Dorey. It was just amazing! We could look into the rooms, into the library, the church, we also got a yearbook of the Inner Temple as a present. After that our team had a guided tour of the Supreme Court, which ended with us having a cup of tea with Lord Carnwath, which we considered to be a priceless moment.
This trip was finished with us participating in an Inner Temple advocacy training session. The opportunity to train alongside the UK students, who are about to become barristers, by the best professionals in the country, was unforgettable. We were even given some personal training session by one of the Masters of the Bench at Inner Temple – Master Alastair Hodge – which was fantastic! All in all, we are very thankful for having been a part of this and we want to say a big thanks to all of the organizers, professionals and other teams who participated in the CEEMC It was a truly unforgettable experience.
In the end, we would stress one piece of advice: it does not matter whether you win or not. The experience and knowledge you acquire when preparing for and participating at the moot competition are more than enough reward that no one can ever take away from you.
So good luck!
Winning Team 2018, from Charles University (Prague)