Bogotá D.C., February 2026. The Bogotá Chamber of Commerce (CCB) has launched the fifth edition of the Mercantile Custom Research Competition. This initiative seeks teams—composed of three students and one professor—to identify and propose mercantile practices that are not currently under investigation or have not yet been certified by the CCB as a mercantile custom.

Teams of three (3) students, led by a professor from the same university, may participate representing their institution. Universities may enter multiple teams, provided that students and professors do not overlap between groups.

The research project must adhere to the legal requirements for a practice to be certified as a mercantile custom and must include a field study involving at least five (5) companies to verify the application of the practice.

What are Mercantile Customs?

Mercantile customs are practices carried out by individuals within an economic sector in a uniform, repeated, and public manner. These practices can be certified and are legally enforceable in business dealings. For example, in sales contracts for used private vehicles, it is a mercantile custom for the seller to provide the buyer with specific accessories, such as a spare tire and floor mats.

By participating in this competition, students gain practical experience with the legal sources of Commercial Law.

Competition Schedule

Registration: Teams can register until March 20, 2026, at 11:59:59 p.m. via [this link], after reviewing the Official Rules

Submission: Students must send their research essay to correspondencia@ccb.org.co no later than April 10, 2026, at 3:59:59 p.m. The subject line must be: Mercantile Custom Research Competition – Essay (Team Number).

Review and Selection: Subject matter experts will review the entries and select finalists until April 22, 2026.

Grand Final: Finalist teams will present their research orally before a jury on May 7, 2026, who will then select the winning teams.

Prizes

First Place: Awarded to the team with the highest combined score from the oral phase and the essay. The prize consists of redeemable gift certificates equivalent to 50% of the current year’s prize budget, distributed proportionally among team members and the coach.

Second Place: Awarded to the team with the second-highest combined score. The prize consists of redeemable gift certificates equivalent to 30% of the prize budget, distributed proportionally among team members and the coach.

Third Place: Awarded to the team with the third-highest combined score. The prize consists of redeemable gift certificates equivalent to 20% of the prize budget, distributed proportionally among team members and the coach.

For more information regarding mercantile customs, please visit [this link].