Kenyan law students beat Harvard to win top moot court competition in Geneva

Three law students from Kenya’s prestigious Strathmore University School of Law have had a good run against students from Harvard University in the final Jackson Moot Court competitions in Geneva, Switzerland, winning the competition for the first time.

The John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition which has been organized on an annual basis since 2002 is currently the only global student competition on WTO law. The Competition has been instrumental in fostering awareness and in-depth study of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its dispute settlement system in law schools in many parts of the world.

This makes the Kenyan team the first African team to make it to the finals.

Sharing the news with the world, Dean of the Strathmore Law School, Luis Franceschi, shared a tweet that said, “@StrathmoreLaw met @Harvard in the final of the 17th John H. Jackson Moot Court on WTO Law today in Geneva. It was the 1st time an African team made it to the finals. @StrathmoreLaw won the Moot! Congrats great team! Kenya! @StrathU@wto@JAHillmanGULaw@IALSnet@dailynation“

@StrathmoreLaw met @Harvard in the final of the 17th John H. Jackson Moot Court on WTO Law today in Geneva. It was the 1st time an African team made it to the finals. @StrathmoreLaw won the Moot! ?? Congrats great team! Kenya! @StrathU @wto @JAHillmanGULaw @IALSnet @dailynation pic.twitter.com/yRI4L1YxB0

— Luis Franceschi (@lgfranceschi) June 8, 2019

Mishael Wambua, Kandalla Maleehah, and Catherine Penda led the first African team to make it that far, as well as the first African team to win the competition.

The competition which is organized by the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) includes a simulated proceeding that is based on the dispute settlement system of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

This year, students from 90 law schools across the continent took part.

The competition opens in September of every year with the release of the case, followed by regional rounds in Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Americas. The best 20 teams worldwide at the individual rounds qualify to participate in the Final Oral Round, which is held in Geneva.