Celebrating mooting successes at Edinburgh Law School 2024/2025

Mooting is a vital part of the academic and extracurricular life at Edinburgh Law School, offering students unparalleled opportunities to develop their skills in legal research, written and oral advocacy, and teamwork. The 2024/2025 academic year has been filled with impressive achievements and dedicated participation in various international moot court competitions. Here's a look at the highlights:

Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot

Our team achieved a remarkable top-64 placement out of 392 international teams at the 32nd annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna, marking one of Edinburgh's strongest performances in over a decade. The Vis Moot focuses on international commercial arbitration and cross-border sales law. This year's successful team was a diverse group of six participants: Hailey Craig (Graduate Entry LLB), Megan Freeman (Medical Law and Ethics LLM), Baraj Singh Kohli (LLB Hons), Alexander Limper (International Relations and International Law MA), Robert Sizer (Diploma in Professional Legal Practice) and Keziah Thomas (Commercial Law LLM). Their success was significantly aided by their two coaches: Jonas von Lilienfeld-Toal (Commercial Law LLM) and Sofia Kurochka (LLM alumna). Beyond their team success, Robert Sizer was individually recognized with an Honourable Mention for the Martin Domke Award, identifying him among the best oral advocates of the competition. The team extended their sincere appreciation to sponsors Morton Fraser MacRoberts LLP, the Scottish Arbitration Centre, and the Faculty of Advocates for their invaluable support, which was crucial to their success. 

Read more about it here.

Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

From 21-23 February, the Edinburgh Law School Jessup Team competed in the UK National Rounds of the Jessup Competition at Lincoln’s Inn, London. This prestigious competition simulates a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice. The 2024/2025 team comprised five dedicated participants: Bianca Acquaviva (LLB Hons), Hannah Zsófia van Loo (Human Rights LLM), Aleksandra Sinelshchikova (LLB Hons), Chiwon Yi (International Law LLM), and Toby Watrobski (LLB Hons). They were expertly coached by: Dongjoon Lee (PhD candidate) and two LLM students, Wurie Bah and Keito Mizuno. Together, they worked tirelessly throughout the academic year to prepare for the rigorous competition, tackling contentious issues of international law.

Day of Crisis

The Edinburgh Law School team secured multiple awards at the 2025 Day of Crisis Competition, including the top award for Best Team overall, as well as the prize for Best Written Submissions. They also achieved second place in the Negotiation category and third in the Initial Statement category. This was a particularly notable achievement as it marked the very first time a team from the University of Edinburgh participated in this unique competition. The Day of Crisis, launched by The Hague Academy of International Law, immerses participants in a high-pressure, 24-hour simulation of multiple international crises, emphasizing negotiation and diplomacy. The highly successful self-organized team consisted of five International Law LLM students: Hannah Kroker, Shefali Maini, Jan Mais, Keito Mizuno, and Marie Moens. The team and the Law School are particularly thankful to Jacquelyn MacLennan for her ongoing support. 

Read more about the team’s experience here.

Monroe E. Price Media Law Moot

The Edinburgh Law School once more participated in the Monroe E. Price Media Law Moot Court Competition, organized by the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at the University of Oxford.  The moot invites students to engage critically with contemporary questions at the intersection of media, technology, and human rights. The team consisted of five participants:  Giulia Cancellaro (International Relations and International Law MA Hons), Celeste Popoff (Human Rights LLM), Sanjri Rakesh Misri (Criminal Law and Criminal Justice LLM), Sundaresan Sivadas (Innovation, Technology and the Law LLM), and Marcus Tambling (LLB Hons) and was once again coached by Senior Lecturer Dr Paolo Cavaliere. In the Europe Regional Rounds hosted in Paris, Celeste Popoff won the Best Oralist award, a remarkable individual achievement in a highly competitive field.

Comparative Law in Action

The Edinburgh Law School team participated in the Comparative Law in Action competition, hosted by IE Law School in Madrid  on the weekend of 25 April. This unique competition this year blended technology, law, policy and international diplomacy issues in the context of two music artists in dispute over copyright in AI generated music in a Eurovision Song Contest (alike) setting.  This year's team consisted of three Innovation, Technology and the Law LLM students: Wurie Bah, Carolin Rachor and Nirajan Wagle, as well as two IP Law LLM students:  Navyaa Shukla and Tanya Singh. The team was coordinated by Professor Burkhard Schafer, with support from Hermione Hague who travelled to Madrid with the team.  The team benefited from expert led seminars and presentation and storytelling development sessions and Wurie, Carolin and Nirajan delivered our client presentation and answered client questions. This was also an invaluable opportunity to make connections as well as gain from the cultural experiences generously supported by IE University.

Interested in mooting in 2025/2026? Or supporting our teams?

The successes of the 2024/2025 mooting season reflect the talent, hard work, and collaborative spirit of our students, coaches, and alumni. We are proud of what our teams have achieved and excited to build on that momentum in the year ahead.

If you are an Edinburgh Law School student looking to sharpen your advocacy skills and take part in one of our international competitions, we warmly encourage you to get involved. Equally, if you are a legal professional or academic interested in coaching, judging practice rounds, running a workshop, or exploring other ways to support our programme, we would love to hear from you.

Mooting at Edinburgh would not be possible without the generous support of our alumni and the broader legal community, both in Scotland and across the UK. Your experience, time, and insight are invaluable to our students, and we are always looking to expand these connections.

To express your interest or learn more, please contact Agata Daszko our Mooting Coordinator, at agata.daszko@ed.ac.uk.

 We look forward to another ambitious and inspiring year of mooting!