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 3^rd place globally in the oral pleadings and 4^th 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 16^th 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.

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.