The City Law School, City St George’s, University of London has won the Grand Final of the European Law Moot Court Competition (ELMC) in Luxembourg, securing the title for the first time in almost ten years (read up on the last time City triumphed here back in 2017….).

Following a competitive selection process in October 2025, four GDL students were chosen from more than 40 candidates across the GDL and Bar Course. Selection was based on a paper sift and written assessment conducted by coach Samuel Willis (barrister at 11KBW) and Professor Panos Koutrakos. The successful candidates were Alice Grant, Florian Hamel Cooke, James Hughes, and Josh O’Connell.

Between October and November, the team prepared two 30-page written submissions under the supervision of Samuel Willis. The submissions addressed a fictional EU law dispute involving a consumer NGO bringing a class action against a dating application. The case concerned automated age restrictions leading to the deletion of minors’ accounts, as well as the unlawful sale of sensitive user data. It raised complex issues in EU law relating to fundamental rights, data protection, and litigation funding.

Out of more than 90 participating teams, 48 advanced to four regional finals held in Lille, Bratislava, Bucharest, and Budapest.

The City team flew to Bratislava and competed with teams from all over Europe with Alice acting as Advocate General, Florian as legal counsel, James as Defendant and Josh as Applicant.

Each round of the regional finals involved two teams – one representing the Applicant and the other the Defendant – each supported by a legal counsel, competing against another university, alongside an Advocate General or Commission Agent tasked with presenting the institutional perspective on the legal issues at hand.

The City team won the Bratislava regional final against the College of Europe as Applicant and Defendant, qualifying for the Grand Final held on 17 April before the Court of Justice of the European Union, alongside three other teams.

The final stage took place over several days in Luxembourg and included events with the local Bar Association, as well as a hearing before the Court. The semi-final round featured two sessions, with City competing in a particularly strong line-up: the College of Europe acting as Advocate General, the University of Luxembourg as Commission Agent on home ground, and City, appearing as Defendants, facing a highly specialised team from Maastricht University.

Following an intense semi-final, with James appearing as oralist and Florian as legal counsel for the Defendant, supported by the rest of the team, the judges – comprising a judge from the Court of Justice and a judge from the General Court – considered the result too close to call. Exercising their discretion, they ordered that this semi-final be replayed as the Grand Final, with the teams switching sides. City would therefore face Maastricht University once again, this time acting as Applicants.

In the final, Josh presented the Applicant’s position, facing the team comprised of EU law masters students and before 5 judges of the Court of Justice and the General Court. However, in the decisive rebuttal stage, with support from Florian and James acting as legal counsels, he delivered a remarkable performance. Responding to sustained judicial intervention, he drew on both Luxembourg and Strasbourg case law, navigating between key authorities and inviting the judges to adopt an incremental approach. His advocacy ultimately shifted the balance of the case, persuading the judges to adopt the Applicants’ position.

The performance demonstrated that advocacy is not limited to technical mastery of legal authorities, but also involves engaging with judicial concerns, offering practical reasoning, and meeting the court’s hesitations with persuasive clarity.

City St George’s, University of London, was ultimately announced as the winner against Maastricht University, in a result celebrated with tears, hugs, and even a few dance moves inspired by moments shared throughout the competition (Ed note: we need to know more about the dance moves!).

Florian Hamel Cooke reflected on the experience:

“This has been one of the hardest and most stimulating challenges we have faced academically, and we have grown immensely from it. From grappling with evolving areas of EU law at an early stage of the GDL to preparing submissions and live rebuttals during pleadings, we have developed strong skills in both oral and written advocacy that will be invaluable in our professional careers.”

He added: “On a personal note, it has been an incredible team experience, from late-night discussions in Bratislava and Luxembourg to warming up for hearings to the rhythm of ‘The Final Countdown’ by Europe. It has created lasting friendships.”

The team also expressed their gratitude to their coach, Samuel Willis, who is retiring from the role this year, as well as to Professor Koutrakos and his colleagues at Monckton Chambers, Christopher Vajda KC and Daniel Beard KC. They further thanked Niall Coghlan, a former coach of the City team that won in 2017; Vetle Seierstadof the Norwegian Human Rights Institution; Hicham Kaddoumof Hogan Lovells Paris; City competitors from previous years; Dr Tietie Zhangand Samantha MacNamara as well as others members of the university staff involved in the competition’s logistics.

Reflecting more broadly, Florian highlighted two key takeaways from the competition:

“It proved the importance of studying EU law for aspiring English barristers, particularly in light of retained EU law and the requirements of cross-border advisory work following the withdrawal agreement” but also “the value of having to argue both sides of a case provided a unique intellectual exercise encouraging nuance and critical engagement with opposing positions. This exercise fosters a deeper understanding of competing perspectives and is fundamental to the proper functioning of the rule of law.”

The team strongly encourages City students to take part in this uniquely challenging and rewarding experience.