Announcements

School of Law: New global achievements in the International Air Law Moot Court Competition

School of Law: New global achievements in the International Air Law Moot Court Competition

It is with great pleasure that we announce the remarkable success of the Athens Law School team at the Leiden-Sarin Air Law Moot Court Competition 2025, which took place in Athens from April 25 to 27, 2025. The team secured 3rd place globally in the oral pleadings and 4th place in the overall ranking. It is worth mentioning that 2025 marked the first time the competition was hosted and co-organized by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, which gave this year’s event added significance for our Institution.

The competition, held annually by the Sarin Memorial Legal Aid Foundation (India), in collaboration with the International Institute of Air and Space Law of Leiden University (The Netherlands), took place for the 16th time this year. Once again, it gave participants the opportunity to deepen their understanding of Public International Law—and specifically International Air Law—through the practical development of pleas-in-law in a simulated court setting.

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This year’s case focused on critical legal issues concerning fair competition and environmental obligations in the field of international civil aviation. At the core of the dispute was the differential pricing of sustainable aviation fuels by the Respondent against the Applicant’s air carriers, possibly representing a violation of the 2022 Air Transport Agreement between the Parties and the 1944 Chicago Convention.  The main challenges involved were: the interpretation of competition clauses, the analysis of environmental commitments based on the Standards and Recommended Practices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), as well as the determination of jurisdiction over dispute settlement, both by the ICAO Council and through dispute settlement mechanisms. The case is available at: https://www.airlawmootcourt.com

The University of Athens’ School of Law has already established an impressive track record in the Leiden-Sarin Air Law Moot Court Competition: In 2015, the team won the best memorial (Respondent) award and finished third in the best oral arguments (Respondent). In 2017, it ranked first in the world for the best memorials (Respondent), reaffirming in 2018 its top position in the same category.

This year’s team consisted of the undergraduate students Paraskevi Kalognomou, Ioannis Gouzeas, and Simeon Palaiochorlidis, under the guidance Dr G. Kyriakopoulos, Associate Professor of International Law and Alternate Dean of the University of Athens’ School of Law. Postgraduate student Maria-Angeliki Gerasimou, who participated as a team member in 2022 and a coach in 2023, actively supported the team.

It is important to note that the reviewers-judges gave the Greek students outstanding feedback on their performance, praising, in particular, the breadth and strength of their pleas-in-law and their in-depth knowledge of the international and space law.

This unrivalled distinction of the University of Athens’ School of Law, which has maintained a consistent presence at the highest level of the Leiden-Sarin Air Law Moot Court Competition (an arduous academic process, requiring exhaustive and thorough study of complex issues of public international law and air law), proves once again the exceptional potential of Greek students, their passion for research and learning, as well as the particularly high comparative position they hold among their peers worldwide.

At this point, we would like to extend our warmest thanks to the Rector of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Professor Gerasimos Siasos, as well as to the University’s Administration Council, for their continuous and substantial support throughout the organization and conduct of the competition. Their invaluable assistance and unwavering commitment played a crucial role in the outstanding success of both the team and the overall event, greatly enhancing its impact and prestige.

Memorandum of Understanding between NKUA and Henan University (China)

Memorandum of Understanding between NKUA and Henan University (China)

On July 16, 2025, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and Henan University. The agreement was signed in Zhengzhou, China, by Professor Sophia Papaioannou, Vice Rector for Academic, International Affairs and Extroversion, on behalf of NKUA, and Professor Zhang Ligang, Vice President of Henan University. This […]

The “MOVE AS YOU ARE” Program – Project is co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ program in the field of Sports

The “MOVE AS YOU ARE” Program – Project is co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ program in the field of Sports

Globally, the Child Eye Health organization estimates that at least 450 million children have vision conditions requiring treatment, and 90 million children live with some form of vision loss. In Europe, the European Blind Union (EBU) (https://www.euroblind.org/) estimates that 30 million people are visually impaired. These figures highlight the significant scale of the problem and […]

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens ranks first in Greece and Cyprus – Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings 2025 and US News Global University Rankings 2025-2026 announced

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens ranks first in Greece and Cyprus – Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings 2025 and US News Global University Rankings 2025-2026 announced

US News & World Report Media Company has recently published the results of its Best Global Universities Rankings for 2025-2026. In this 11th consecutive annual edition of the US News Best Global Universities Rankings, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens placed 1st among Greek and Cypriot Universities and 216th worldwide. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki […]

Once again, top-scoring candidates choose the University of Athens

Once again, top-scoring candidates choose the University of Athens

It is a day of joy for many candidates who have recently sat the nationwide examinations for admission to Greece’s Higher Educational Institutions. Among this year’s top achievers—those scoring over 19,000 points—a significant number have once again set their sights on enrolling in the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). One of the highest […]

Renovated ‘New Chemistry Laboratory Building’ opens officially – School of Education, Library of the Department of Economics

Renovated ‘New Chemistry Laboratory Building’ opens officially – School of Education, Library of the Department of Economics

In a particularly symbolic and emotional opening ceremony, the renovated ‘New Chemistry Laboratory Building’ was officially handed over to the academic community of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. This historic building lies at the heart of Athens, surrounded on three sides by Mavromichali, Navarinou, and Charilaou Trikoupi streets. With the completion of the […]

Prof. Dr. Xenofon Baraliakos, Medical Director of the Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Herne, and Doctor Honoris Causa of the School of Medicine of the University of Athens, is the new president of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR)

Prof. Dr. Xenofon Baraliakos, Medical Director of the Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Herne, and Doctor Honoris Causa of the School of Medicine of the University of Athens, is the new president of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR)

Prof. Dr. Xenofon Baraliakos, Medical Director of the Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Herne, and Professor for Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at the Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, is the new president of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR). During his two-year term, he plans to implement a number of measures aimed at further improving patient care […]

Alpha TV: NKUA ranks among the top 100 Universities in the world

Alpha TV: NKUA ranks among the top 100 Universities in the world

Rectors and Vice-Rectors from 54 Universities in Europe met at the historic main building of the University of Athens to participate in the 35th General Assembly of the UNICA Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe, which took place for the first time in Greece earlier this month. At the same time, the University […]

The 35th General Assembly of the Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA) closes at NKUA with great success and participation from across the continent

The 35th General Assembly of the Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA) closes at NKUA with great success and participation from across the continent

With the symbolic strength of Athens’ scholarly tradition encompassing contemporary academic collaboration, the 35th General Assembly of the Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA) closed at the historic main building of the University of Athens. The proceedings began on Thursday, 19 June, with the UNICA Administrative General Assembly. The meeting, held in a hybrid […]

University of Athens

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, which was inaugurated on May 3, 1837, was initially housed in a renovated Ottoman building on the northeastern side of the Acropolis. This building has since been restored and now functions as the University Museum. Originally named the "Othonian University," after Otto, the first king of Greece, it consisted of four academic departments and 52 students. As the first university of the newly established Greek state, as well as of the broader Balkan and Mediterranean region, it assumed an important socio-historical role, which was pivotal in the development of specific forms of knowledge and culture within the country.

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