Leiden University conducts Moot Court Competition Administrative Law 2023

By tradition, the moot court competition of the ‘Vereniging voor Bestuursrecht’ (VAR, Dutch Administrative Law Association) takes place in May every year. This year, it was the honour of Leiden University to organise the event.


On 10 May 2023, eight teams from different universities battled for the coveted VAR moot court trophy. After the written preliminary rounds, the time had come for the moot court segment.

In the morning, the teams demonstrated their pleading skills in a case concerning immigration law. The teams went neck and neck; in the end the University of Groningen and the University of Amsterdam met in the semi-final, while Radboud University and Utrecht University made it to the final.

The case for the final round was written by Nico Verheij (state councillor of the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State) on the closure of a home pursuant to Article 13b of the Opium Act. After a nerve-wracking battle in a specially equipped grand chamber of the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State, Utrecht University walked away victoriously. The chair of the jury, Bart Jan van Ettekoven, said that the jury was impressed by the students’ level and that the moot court competition shows positive signs for the future of administrative law.

The organisation, consisting of Olaf van Loon and Femke Binnendijk, looks back on a successful edition of the VAR moot court competition. They would like to thank the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State for creating the various cases and for being judges. Moreover, the organisation congratulates Utrecht University on their well-deserved first place.