Moot Court

The Short Advanced Programme (SAP) on the “Moot Court” on European Values, aims to familiarise the learners with the existing mechanisms for upholding the values of the EU. In this sense, the development of a European citizenship based on the European Values is the main objective of this SAP.
The specific objectives aim to develop the skills of the learners when dealing the judicial guarantee of the EU values. The proposed method of a “Moot Court” is a relevant mechanism for facilitating the achievement of these objectives. Naturally, this method is more easily accessible to participants trained in the legal field, which will professionally benefit from this SAP as it may be a criterion for the selection, but participants from all areas may benefit from this training and may contribute decisively to its success.
The fulfilling of other objectives may be also met during the preparation phases of the “Moot Court” - the organisation of the teams, the choice of the topics and the definition of the overall rules of procedure will help develop the skills of teamwork, as it will increase the sensitivity of all participants to the needs of other European participants.

The Short Advanced Programme (SAP) Moot Court on EU Values is part of the EU Values Awareness programmes within the RUN-EU Work Package 5 – EMIC. Its goal is to enhance understanding of the mechanisms that safeguard EU values, using the Moot Court format as an engaging teaching method.

While there are many ways to promote EU values, the legal instruments examined in the Moot Court are a particularly essential means of doing so. EU legislation is built upon the values enshrined in the Union’s founding Treaties. These Treaties, together with other legal acts, have long served as a cornerstone of EU integration. Moreover, the rulings of the European Court of Justice have played a pivotal role in advancing integration—primarily economic—grounded in robust democratic principles.

This SAP is jointly coordinated by the Polytechnic University of Cávado and Ave (IPCA) and the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences (NHL STENDEN) and will offer an in-person week in IPCA, Campus do IPCA, Barcelos, Portugal.

The fulfilling of the objectives of this SAP is expected to lead the participants to a more active citizenship based on the European values, more skilled in the use of the available mechanisms, namely judicial, for upholding these values. It is also expected that the participants will be more skilled professionals when called upon the need to defend the European values. The participants will also be more sensitive to the needs, the reasoning and the working of participants from different countries in the EU.