China WTO Moot Court Competition is the only moot court competition hosted by the Ministry of Commerce (Ministry of Commerce) in China. It uses English as the language of competition to simulate the expert group procedure under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. It urges College law students to master the use and application of WTO rules, and promote the training and selection of WTO negotiation and dispute resolution talents.

This event was first organized by the European Association of Legal Students (ELSA) in 2001 (see http://elsamootcourt.elsa.org for details). In the case of international trade law experts, the participants simulated the representatives of WTO members and related topics, employing the WTO law for analysis and debate. Internationally renowned scholars, WTO practitioners and other judges serve as judges, asking questions and scoring both sides of the simulation debate. At present, this competition from Europe has expanded to a global scale, with players from six major regions including Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. The judges of the China Regional Competition are composed of the directors of the Ministry of Commerce, the professors of international economic law from various well-known universities, and the senior partners of foreign-related law firms. It is an important platform for the Chinese legal profession to select outstanding talents for international trade law.

The content of the competition consists of two main items: (1) the disputes for the discussion of the requirements of the competition, writing the pleadings of both the complaining party and the respondent in English; (2) on the basis of the views held by the two parties, the players will appear on the spot. Statement (full simulation of the WTO expert group procedure).

Since 2012, China WTO Moot Court Competition has been held for five times. The number of participating teams has increased year by year and the competition has become increasingly fierce. Each competition has invoked good social repercussions. In 2013, Wuhan University Law School and WTO College were invited by the organizers to form a team for the first time. Under the joint efforts of the participating team members and the instructors, they entered the quarterfinals. Since 2014, the Wuhan University team has won the first prize for three consecutive years. In 2016, the Wuhan University team entered the semi-finals with the total score of the elimination tournament, and finally won the runner-up, and won the best memo (the respondent), the best guidance and the three best debater awards.

This year, according to the rules of the competition, it is proposed to select 4-6 participants. This selection will select the oral contestants and research team members respectively, and those who intend to participate can apply freely.

Students who apply for the selection must meet the following requirements:

1. Law school undergraduate students (grade 3 or above), master's degree students from Wuhan University China Institute of Ocean and Boundary Institute, Wuhan University Institute for international Studies or students from related professions;

2. Have basic knowledge of WTO law (see https://www.wto.org/);

3. Have good oral and written English skills;

4. Have a certain ability to read and retrieve English materials and cases;

 5. Have good teamwork skills;

 6. There will be sufficient time for competition preparation from the end of September to mid-December.

 For those who are interested in attending, please send the following materials to whuelsa@163.com by 11:00 pm on September 20th:

 1. Registration form;

 2. An English essay (300-600 words) with the theme of “How to Apply GATT 1994 Article 20”.

 The interview time and place will be notified by SMS, and the interview content will be oral.