This year, it was in Frankfurt, Germany, that the Hugo Sinzheimer Moot Court Competition (HS MCC), an international labor law moot court competition, was hosted. At the eleventh edition of this contest, held at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, there were participants from as many as thirteen European countries putting their knowledge to the test. Hungary was represented by a national team consisting of one student each from the University of Debrecen and Eötvös Loránd University, as well as two students from Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary.
Every year, the organizers routinely design tasks based on the legal system of a different country. This year, it was Hungarian law that served as the guideline, but the tasks had to be solved based on European Union decisions and legal sources. The position of Chair of the Case Committee was filled by Péter Sipka, a faculty member of the Faculty of Law (ÁJK) of the University of Debrecen (UD), while László Marjai was the representative of our university on the student side.
The participating teams had already received the fictitious legal case and its attachments at the end of the previous year, based upon which they had to prepare detailed written pleadings for both the plaintiff and the defendant by early May this year.
During the final, oral phase, which constituted the highlight of the competition, the students were to present their legal arguments live in a simulated courtroom environment, before a panel of “judges” composed of internationally renowned experts. The legal case focused on the most pressing topical challenges in labor law, including algorithmic decision-making, issues related to working hours and resting periods, the right to rest and breaks at work, and the powers of a European Works Council (EWC),” said Assistant Professor Péter Sipka.
From the perspective of the University of Debrecen, this competition was a great success, with László Marjai winning the award for best student judge.
“This event provided students with an excellent opportunity to expand their international connections, make new friends and develop a professional network that could later serve as the basis for long-term collaborations,” said Péter Sipka, Assistant Professor of the Department of Environmental Protection and Labour Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Debrecen.
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