At this year’s International and European Tax Moot Court – organized by KU Leuven (Belgium) together with the renowned research institute IBFD (International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, Amsterdam) – the team from Heinrich‑Heine‑University Düsseldorf achieved great success. The students qualified for the semi‑finals, finished 4th overall, placed 2nd in the written‑submission ranking and were awarded the prize for the best Applicant Memorandum.

Impressions from the competition can be seen on the Tax Moot’s Instagram channel (@taxmoot_hhu_dus).

The international competition simulates proceedings before a fictitious tax court, in which teams from around the world act both as the taxpayer and as the tax authority. As in previous years, the substantive focus was on issues of international tax law, in particular the interpretation and application of double‑taxation agreements.

The intensive preparation phase began already in autumn 2024, during which the team produced two extensive written pleadings in English. Afterwards the students honed their advocacy skills in a series of mock hearings – both internally and with external support from experts in academia and practice.

The oral hearing round of the competition took place in March/April 2025. In several hearings the team successfully out‑performed international rivals and won over the jury not only with solid legal knowledge but also with a convincing presence and clear arguments. The jury especially praised the high quality of the team’s applicant‑side memorandum and awarded it the prize for the best Applicant Memorandum.

The team was supervised by scientific associate Alison Beuscher under the academic direction of Prof. Dr. Valta. Participation in the competition was made possible by the generous funding of the Freundeskreis der Düsseldorfer Juristischen Fakultät e.V. and the Gesellschaft von Freunden und Förderern der Heinrich‑Heine‑Universität Düsseldorf e.V. (GFFU).