On 18th November a group of students from the University of Lisbon School of Law visited Cruz Vilaça Advogados and discussed some hot topics in the field of European Union (EU) Law.

This initiative emerged in the context of the 30th edition of the European Law Moot Court (ELMC), a competition organized by the European Law Moot Court Society where students, mostly European, have the opportunity to develop their legal skills in EU law as well as share common values. The final of this competition is annually hosted by the Court of Justice of the European Union and has as judging panel the judges of the Court themselves. The Founding Partner of Cruz Vilaça Advogados, José Luís da Cruz Vilaça, has participated in the judging panels of the finals of the ELMC while performing functions as Judge of the Court of Justice.

This year, the case ’under judgment’ in the ELMC includes issues such as Brexit, the division of competences between the Union and the Member-States, the principle of subsidiarity, the preliminary ruling procedure, animal rights and religious freedom. The students exposed their viewpoints and posed some questions regarding the mentioned subjects, after which the lawyers of Cruz Vilaça Advogados shared their own reflections complemented with their experience.

Cruz Vilaça Advogados recognizes the relevance of this kind of initiatives and aims, as much as possible, to maintain and develop ties with the universities.