Between April 20th and 22nd, 2023, the University of Piemonte orientale hosted the final activity of the PreCrim Project. 

This was a residential moot court for undergraduate students, form the Universities involved in the project (Piemonte orientale, Lubjana, Porto, Düsseldorf, Leuphana – Lüneburg).

Sixteen students from Germany, Portugal and Slovenia joined their colleagues in Alessandria, for mooting on a case of judicial cooperation in criminal matters for the execution of a confiscation order, based on Reg. 2018/1805.

The students were accompanied by prof. Schneider, from Germany, Oliveira e Silva, from Portugal, Hafner, from Slovenia, who acted as the court in front of which the students’ teams mooted.

The fictional case was developed from a real one, and focused on the matter of mutual recognition of non-conviction based confiscation orders, which can prove difficult, despite the abovementioned regulation.

The atmosphere was exciting. Students and Professors had the time to visit the town and the brand-new Museo del Cappello (the Hats Museum, where a collection of the most appreciated manufactured hats in the world, Borsalino, is displayed in and interactive context) and to enjoy local food and wine… 

But the real endeavour was yet to come… On Sat. 22nd four international teams competed in two semifinal rounds, to reach the final round, in front of the court. They had trained in mixed groups for the previous two days, with lectures and research sessions, and they came to moot extremely motivated.

All teams were absolutely great: smooth team work, serious engagement, excitement in dealing with new topics made them succeed in the purpose of the moot court.

We are deeply convinced that the moot court really achieved the very purpose of the EU commission’s Erasmus+ funding grants: it brought undergraduate students from four different countries to get acquainted with the EU legislation and policies, to discover new dimensions of the EU institutions, in a context of friendly and mutual cultural exchange

Much gratefulness for their valuable help goes to dr. Ernestina Sacchetto, Fatima El Harch, Greta Accatino, for helping with the case and the hosting facilities, and to dr. Laura Bodrati and Sara Perrone, for their crucial administrative assistance.