The FLD hosted the regional final of the European Law Moot Court

From 5 to 7 February 2026, the Faculty of Law of the Université Catholique de Lille hosted one of the regional finals of the prestigious European Law Moot Court (ELMC), an international moot court competition dedicated to European Union law. Following a first edition organised in 2023, the Faculty of Law once again brought together students, academics and legal professionals for this leading academic competition.

Twelve universities gathered in Lille for this stage of the competition, which combines a written phase (the drafting of a legal brief based on a fictional case) with oral pleadings before a panel of expert judges. The students demonstrated an outstanding level of preparation, strong expertise in European law and excellent oral argumentation skills.

The rounds took place at the Faculty of Law, while the regional final was held at the Palais Rameau. The event was opened by Guillaume Afonso, Sous-Préfet of the Hauts-de-France region, and Sarah Durelle-Marc, Dean of the Faculty of Law. The gala evening was organised at the Lille Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The jury included judges appointed by the ELMC, as well as several locally designated experts, including Aurélien Raccah (Hosting professor – Associate Dean for International Development, Senior Lecturer and Director of the Master’s programme in International and European Law at the Faculty of Law – Université Catholique de Lille), Elsa Bernard (Professor of Public Law and Vice-Dean for Research at the Université de Lille), Célia Challet (Assistant professor at ESPOL – Université Catholique de Lille), Erik Pijnacker-Hordijk (Lawyer), Martin Johansson (Attorney), Ségolène Allègre (Lawyer and FLD alumna), Stefaan Van Den Bogaert (Professor of European law and Director of the Europa Institute at Leiden Law School), Alisa Vekeman (Legal Officer at the European Commission), Sébastien Thomas (Senior Associate in the EU Financial and Competition Law practice of Arendt & Medernach) and Francesco Martucci (Professor of Law at Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas). This regional final was presided over by Judge Petra Škvařilová-Pelzl, President of the Sixth Chamber of the EU General Court.

Coordinated by Gabriela Zeni Martins, Master of the Moot and Project Officer at C3RD, this regional final highlights the Faculty of Law’s international commitment and its active involvement in major European academic competitions. The qualified teams will now continue the competition through to the grand final, which will take place in April at the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg.

Special thanks to Anthony Abi Hanna, Rafael Molina, Diego Rey Hernandez, Sofia Sanchez de Carlos, and Estrella Ornelas Quezada (ELMC Company/Organising Team).