ELSA International would proudly like to present the partners of the Helga Pedersen Moot Court Competition. Our cooperation is inevitable for the project itself and mutually very beneficial. The competition provides a unique channel for reaching a wide audience of law students, for being in touch with students with a strong human rights interest as well as an opportunity to contribute to the realisation of a project with a significant impact on the way future lawyers understand and apply the European Convention on Human Rights. To discover the advantages of supporting a worldwide event for law students, please contact the Vice President in charge of Competitions of ELSA International at helgapedersen@elsa.org or just scroll down and fill in the online contact form.
Partners
INTRODUCTION
The Council of Europe is a regional intergovernmental organisation which promotes human rights, democracy and the rule of law in its 47 member states. The organisation advocates freedom of expression and of the media, freedom of assembly, equality, and the protection of minorities. It has launched campaigns on issues such as child protection, online hate speech, and the rights of the Roma, Europe’s largest minority. The Council of Europe helps member states fight corruption and terrorism and undertake necessary judicial reforms. Its group of constitutional experts, known as the Venice Commission, offers legal advice to countries throughout the world.
The Council of Europe promotes human rights through international conventions, such as the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and the Convention on Cybercrime. It monitors member states’ progress in these areas and makes recommendations through independent expert monitoring bodies.
Due to our vision “A just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity”, ELSA has a strong commitment to Human Rights and to promoting social responsibility of law students and young lawyers. Together with our Human Rights Partner – the Council of Europe, ELSA has, in addition to the Human Rights Moot Court Competition, taken several initiatives to promote Human Rights awareness among our target audience.
European Human Rights Association (EHRA) was founded by a group of young legal professionals committed to bringing their professional knowledge and the experience gained working at the European Court of Human Rights, to improve the effectiveness of the system.
Through its Europe-wide network of legal experts, the Association develops and delivers tailor-made training for contracting States’ judicial and legal communities, provides awareness-raising activities and carries out research and other knowledge assignments.
In partnership with the users of its services, EHRA helps disseminate the knowledge needed to promote respect for human rights at home and to minimise mistaken or abusive recourse to the Court. In so doing, EHRA undertakes to play its part in promoting universal access to justice.
The European Court of Human Rights is an international court set up in 1959. It rules on individual or State applications alleging violations of the civil and political rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights. Since 1998 it has sat as a full-time court and individuals can apply to it directly.
In almost fifty years the Court has delivered more than 10,000 judgments. These are binding on the countries concerned and have led governments to alter their legislation and administrative practice in a wide range of areas. The Court’s case-law makes the Convention a powerful living instrument for meeting new challenges and consolidating the rule of law and democracy in Europe.
The Court is based in Strasbourg, in the Human Rights Building designed by the British architect Richard Rogers in 1994 – a building whose image is known worldwide. From here, the Court monitors respect for the human rights of 800 million Europeans in the 47 Council of Europe member States that have ratified the Convention.
Strasbourg is the capital and largest city of the Grand Est region of France. It is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. Strasbourg is the seat of several European institutions, such as the Council of Europe (with its European Court of Human Rights, its European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and its European Audiovisual Observatory) and the Eurocorps, as well as the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman of the European Union. The city is also the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine and the International Institute of Human Rights.
PARTNERS OF THE 13TH HPMCC
The 13th Edition of the Helga Pedersen Moot Court Competition was held in Strasbourg between 19-23 May 2025. We express our thanks to all the Partners for supporting the Final Oral Round of the 13th Edition which will take place in Strasbourg.
