Copenhagen Competition > Q&A
Questions and Answers regarding the Copenhagen Competition 2011
The most relevant questions and the following answers will be published here for the benefit of all participants. The identity of the person/team posing the question will not be revealed. Please keep your questions short and to the point.
ORAL ROUND
Q: According to Article 8 of the Official Rules the negotiation topic for the Oral Round may be narrowed down compared to the Written Round. Has this happened?
A: No, the option to narrow down the topic has not been used by the organizers.
Q: When is the negotiation topic for the oral round released?
A: The oral topic is identical to the written one. You will pretend to negotiate Article 5 and the definitions in order to conclude the agreement. For this it is necessary to meet in Copenhagen.
Q: Can we see the programme for the oral round?
A: You can see a preliminary programme on the webpage. Please note changes might occur.
Q: How are the preliminary rounds organised?
A: We will make a draw of the lot at the welcome dinner on 28 November. The set-up is that 2 non-OECD countries will negotiate with 2 OECD countries. All teams will negotiate twice in the preliminary rounds - once on 29 November and once on 30 November.
Based on all the scores, the 4 best teams will proceed to the final held on 1 December (but 2 of each group).
Remember teams can change position from the written rounds, so it is a waste of time to prepare ONLY based on the written submissions.
Q: Is the oral round of the Copenhagen Competition open to the general public?
A: Yes, the oral round is open to the general public. Seats are given on a first come, first serve basis.
Q: Is it possible to bring other students beside the team to watch the oral round of the Copenhagen Competition?
A: Yes, it is possible, but the said students will have to arrange and pay for their own travel and hotel expenses. The Copenhagen Competition pays for the team (2-4 students) and 1 coach.
TRAVEL/PRACTICAL
A travel plan will be sent to all teams participating in the oral round after the winners of the written round have been announced. The travel plans are based upon your requested dates, times and airports stipulated in your registration form. Please do NOT inquire about individual travel arrangements before the form is filled in and returned to the organizers and you have received your travel plan.
Q: Which hotel will we be staying at?
A: You will be staying at Comfort Hotel G.
Q: Will our visa fees be covered by Copenhagen Competition?
A: No, if you need a visa to enter Denmark, Copenhagen Competition will provide you with a formal letter of invitation for your visa application. Any costs involved must be covered by the individual participant, coach or university.
Q: Will our travel insurance be covered by Copenhagen Competition?
A: Yes, Copenhagen Competition will provide every participant and coach with travel insurance covering the period of Sunday 27 / Monday 28 November to Thursday 1 December 2011.
Q: Will our meals be covered by the Copenhagen Competition?
A: The Copenhagen Competition will provide meals to participants and coaches as follows:
- Breakfast on 29 November to 1 December (served at the hotel)
- Lunch on 29 November to 1 December (served at the competition venue)
- Dinner on 28 November to 1 December (served at the hotel and various other locations)
If you should decide NOT to participate in the arranged meals, you must cover the expenses to any alternative meals yourself.
Q: How much does it cost to travel from the airport in Copenhagen to the hotel?
A: You have various choices for transport:
- Taxis: 200-300 DKK for a car holding up to 4 persons. One way.
- Metro: 3 zones of 34,50 DKK per person. One way.
- Train: 3 zones of 34,50 DKK per person. One way.
The metro runs every few minutes from the airport directly to Nørreport St. which is within walking distance of the hotel.
TOPIC
Clarification questions to unclear passages of the negotiation topic, if such exist, can be posed until 11 July 2011.
Q: Are we required to use the exact opening language of Article 5.1? How does 'Y' as one constant relate to percentages in plural? Are we required to interpret 5.1 as "Y percentages" as different percentages, or as "Y per cent?". 5.1.a: Does several targets only relate to different targets in different years?
A: Y percentages should be plural if you opt for several targets (e.g. different targets for less developed countries and developed countries).
Q: The case item 10: Could you please define what is meant by financial incentives, e.g. by providing a list or examples?
A: It is up to you to define "financial incentives".
Q: With regard to item 10 in the case prompt, would this include any production agreements and dispute settlement mechanisms under existing international investment law (i.e. private investments under bilateral investment treaties, etc.)?
A: The parties have agreed to respect all exisiting international regulation. Exactly what these instruments are we leave to you to research!
Q: We are somewhat unclear about the meaning of "Mandatory Notification Requirements" in part 3 of the draft article outline. Is this a reference to the requirement under Cartagena that exporting nations notify trade partners of the existence of GMOs in their products? Or does it refer to some other type of notification?
A: Mandatory Notification Requirements: you are supposed to adress this aspect in relation to the Treaty/Article you are drafting in the case.
Q: Is it possible to see an example of a written submission from previous years?
A: Yes, you can find excamples of written submissions from 2009 and 2010 under "Downloads" to the right. You can also purchase the collected submissions in book form. See "Archive" for additional information.
Q: Are ‘standard and traditional methods of production' (no. 7) meant to denote different methods of production? For instance ‘standard' meaning conventional production and ‘traditional' meaning production based on local customs?
A: No distinction is implied; however feel free to be creative!
Q: What assumptions, if any, should we make about the content of other articles of the Draft Agreement on Access to Food?
A: The case does not mention anything about the other Articles - so no particular assumptions need to be made.
Q: Are the lettered paragraphs under Article 5.1 and 5.5 presented for convenience only, to identify the issues to be addressed, or must our proposed treaty text be placed in paragraphs bearing the same letters and presented in the same order as they appear in the case? Are we required to use the exact opening language of Article 5.1 or may we propose alternative language to express the agreed production increase goal?
A: Your proposed treaty text should follow the structure/lettering given in the case.
Q: The acronym "LDC" is not defined in the case. How are "LDC's" to be defined, in the UN sense of "Least Developed Countries" or in the broader sense of "Less Developed Countries"?
A: The acronym LDC should be understood in the UN sense.
Q: Do the dispute settlement mechanism and the mandatory notification requirements apply only to Article 5 or to the treaty as a whole?
A: The dispute settlement should apply to the Treaty as a whole which also includes the specific Article, so special attention could be given to how disputes are settled in regard to the Article.
RULES
Questions concerning the Official Rules will be posted here.
Q: In Article 5 of the rules, there are both maximum page and character limits. I assume we should make sure not to exceed either the page or character limit, is that correct?
A: The limit regarding maximum number of pages and characters must both be kept.
Q: Are footnotes included in the word count?
A: No, footnotes should be excluded from the word count.
Q: Is it acceptable to draft a preamble to Article 5?
A: No, you should not draft a preambular text to the Article/Treaty.
Q: Can we include an index and a list of acronyms?
A: Yes, you may include an index and a list of acronyms and the list should not be included in the word count.
Q: Are exchange students eligible to participate?
A: Yes, exchange students are eligible to participate.
Q: Are LL.M students eligible to participate?
A: Bachelor and Master's students enrolled as of April 1 2011 are eligible to participate. PhD students and students holding prior full time employment in the legal field are excluded. LL.M students are hence eligible to participate if they have not practised law prior to enrolling in the LL.M programme.
Q: Is a coach allowed to coach more than one team?
A: Yes, if the teams involved are comfortable with such an arrangement.
Q: In connection with the written submission the teams will represent a fictitious OECD or non-OECD country. Can the characteristics of this country be similar to the characteristics of the team's native country?
A: According to Article 3 all teams are free to give the fictitious state the characteristics of the team's native country. The freedom in designing the fictitious state means that the teams are not bound by the politics of their real countries. This means, that the teams can deviate from the current government's positions - within certain limits. Article 6 indicates that the judges will include evalutation of "realism". Thus, a very "unrealistic" proposal given the underlying political circumstance will be scored lower. However, the students are welcome to make up entirely new and fresh alternative ideas which the real government has not adopted (yet ...).
WRITTEN ROUND
Q: How do we submit the written submission? By email, regular mail or both?
A: Your team contact person submit the registration form (closed) for your team and your written submission at the same time and no later than 15 July 2011 12:00 pm (GMT +1).
Q: Can the submission be a single document incorporating the country profile, treaty provision and memo, or should each of these pieces be uploaded as separate documents?
A: Your submission should be a single document incorporating the country profile, treaty provision and memo.
Q: Which universities have registered for the Copenhagen Competition 2011?
A: You will find a list of the universities that have registered for participation under "Participants".
