The Constitution of the World Universities Debating Council

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A list of all ESL teams shall be approved for each worlds tournament at the preliminary meeting of the council held before the tournament begins.

Consideration of ESL qualification shall be based on 4 criteria:
- Language used at home
- Language of Institution
- National language
- Does the individuals level of English present a barrier to participation?

ESL qualification shall be dependent on the ESL status of both members of a team and not the institution represented.

Individuals who make the knockout stages of the main competition are no longer to be considered for the ESL break in that year and following years unless the council rules otherwise. This applies to the individuals only and not the institution.