Mock WTO at the 1st International Trade Law Summit (ITLS-2026), HNLU Raipur [Oct 2-4; Registration Closes 20 July]

Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), Raipur, through its Centre for WTO & WIPO Studies, School of Law and Technology, is hosting the 1st International Trade Law Summit (ITLS-2026) from 2 to 4 October 2026 in offline mode on its Raipur campus. The theme of the Summit is 'The WTO@30: Reimagining Multilateralism in International Trade Law'.

The Summit is organised in collaboration with the WTO Young Trade Leaders Programme and the Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL), IIFT, under the WTO Chairs Programme of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. It runs across thematic panel discussions, technical sessions built around selected research papers, and a Mock WTO negotiation exercise.

The Summit has two modules, and only one of them is still open to fresh applicants:

• Mock WTO (open): registration has been open since 6 February 2026 and stays open until 20 July 2026. This is the module you can still sign up for.
• Conference / paper presentation (closed to new entries): the abstract submission deadline was 31 March 2026 and acceptances were notified on 26 April 2026. The 20 July 2026 date applies to the conference track only as the last date for registration and fee payment by authors whose abstracts were already accepted. New abstracts are no longer being invited.

The Mock WTO segment simulates live WTO trade negotiations and is billed by the organisers as the first of its kind in India. It is aimed primarily at students, particularly from South Asia, and gives participants hands-on experience in debating, drafting resolutions and negotiating agreements in a multilateral setting that mirrors actual WTO processes.

The negotiation theme is 'The Intersection between Trade and the Digital Economy', covering digitally delivered services, data-driven business models and platform-based markets, with a focus on digital sovereignty, developmental policy space, access to technology and market concentration as they concern the Global South.

The Mock WTO exercise is open only to students pursuing undergraduate or postgraduate studies in law, business, economics and other related fields, in India and abroad.

(The conference module, whose abstract window has closed, was open to academicians, researchers, professionals, practitioners, students and research scholars from India and abroad.)

• Country delegations: each participant is assigned a WTO Member country and argues that country's position throughout. All participants allocated to one country form its delegation, headed by a head delegate selected by the Organising Committee.
• Committees: each participant is assigned to one primary negotiating committee, with one representative per country delegation in each. Provisional committees are the Council for Trade in Services, the Negotiating Group on Market Access, the TRIPS Council, and Trade and Competition.
• Committee Chairs: two Chairs per committee convene sessions, record votes on motions, manage procedure and timekeeping, and stay neutral without representing any country.
• Position paper: each participant submits a 1-2 page position paper setting out their country's priorities, negotiating objectives, red lines and preliminary policy proposals. It is due one week before the Summit and is shared with the country delegation, not with other committee delegates.
• Expert-led training: trade negotiators run pre-negotiation sessions on WTO procedure, negotiation strategy, consensus-building, coalition formation and resolution drafting. Some are held online after registrations close, and one is held on the first day of the Summit.
• Expert feedback: on the last day, each committee's draft resolution is reviewed by trade law experts for legal soundness, policy feasibility, negotiation coherence and practical viability.

• Mock WTO only: INR 1,200 for Indian student delegates; USD 15 for foreign student delegates.
• Both Conference and Mock WTO: INR 2,700 for Indian participants/delegates (students); USD 35 for foreign participants/delegates (students).
• Conference only (payable only after notification of acceptance of abstract): INR 2,500 for Indian academicians/professionals and INR 1,500 for Indian research scholars and students; USD 30 and USD 20 respectively for foreign participants.

The fee covers all meals including high tea, from dinner on 1 October 2026 to breakfast on 5 October 2026. The registration fee is non-refundable under any circumstances. Fees are paid to the account of the Registrar, Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur, at State Bank of India (Indravati Bhawan, Nava Raipur Atal Nagar).

Accommodation is not included in the registration fee and costs an additional INR 1,500. It is arranged at the University hostel on a first-come, first-served basis upon payment, and covers lodging from 6:00 p.m. on 1 October 2026 to 10:00 p.m. on 5 October 2026.

The room is non-AC and non-attached, and includes one bed, one mattress, two bed sheets, one blanket, one chair and table set, and one basic set of toiletries. Separate hostel facilities are provided for male and female participants, and University hostel rules apply. Extended accommodation may be provided subject to availability at INR 500 per person per day.

The technical sessions are built around the following suggestive, non-exhaustive sub-themes:

• Digital Trade and Evolving Solutions: Regulation of the Data-Driven Economy
• Trade, Sustainability and Climate Action
• Emerging Goods, Services and Hybrid Trade Forms
• Power Asymmetries in Global Trade Governance
• Reforming the Dispute Settlement System
• Services Liberalisation and the GATS Agenda
• Investment Facilitation and Trade

Authors of accepted abstracts must submit full papers of up to 10,000 words (inclusive of abstract and footnotes) in OSCOLA 4th edition, by 6 September 2026. Co-authorship is allowed up to two authors, and the fee applies to each co-author as per their designation.