Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

The competition

Jessup is the world's largest moot court competition, with participants from roughly 700 law schools in 100 countries and jurisdictions. It is considered the most prestigious student competition in Public International Law. The Competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the judicial organ of the United Nations. The case (Compromis) is writte by leading scholars and practitioners of International Law.  

After the Compromis is released, the competition is divided in two phases. 

First, a written phase, where students begin researching and preparing arguments for both sides of the dispute, drafting and editing written pleadings, called “memorials.  

Second, an oral phase, where teams prepare oral pleadings arguing both the applicant and respondent positions of the case.During the oral phase of the competitions, the teams argue alternately as Applicant and Respondent against competing teams from other Universities before a panel of judges, simulating a proceeding before the International Court of Justice. The judges appointed to the national and global stages of the competition are always highly qualified individuals, such as judges, lawyers, and academics.  

The oral phase is divided into two steps. The first step is the national phase, in which teams compete against universities in their own State. The second step is the global final phase, which takes place in Washington in the Spring. Only the winners of the national rounds advance to the global final phase, where they represent their country against the best universities in the world. 

Note: This year, The Netherlands was entitled to send two teams, rather than just one, to the global finals. Therefore, the two finalist teams from the Dutch national round qualified for the global finals. 

Official Schedule 

• September 2025: selection and beginning of the written phase.
• January: deadline for submitting memorials (end of the written phase).
• End of January- beginning of February: National Oral Rounds.
• End of March – Beginning of April: Global Oral Rounds in Washington DC (for the teams who win the national rounds).  

Course info

The course is considered as an elective for 5 ECTS.  

ESL students may apply. No formal requirements are necessary. The team members are chosen after a rigorous selection process based on CVs and a motivational and skills interviews, conducted by the coaches of the ESL moot teams. Passion and motivation are considered the key selection criteria. This year, more than 20 applications were submitted, and four members were selected. 

This elective course gives the students a unique opportunity to put their legal and advocacy skills in practice. During the course, students will work on a fictional case concerning International Public Law. While working on the case file, students will develop legal argumentation and prepare legal briefs introducing the position of claimant and respondent in an International Public Law dispute between two States. In the written phase, students acquire research and legal writing skills. At a later stage, students will also need to plead their case before the simulated ICJ tribunal. The students will have a chance to challenge themselves when stepping in the shoes of claimant and respondent during the oral phase. At this stage, they enhance their public speaking, debating, and oral advocacy skills. 

All the preparations are done under careful supervision of Professors and Lecturers of the Erasmus School of Law.  

The course is semi-annual: selection takes place at the beginning of September, the written phase begins immediately afterwards, and the course concludes with the national oral phase in January or, if successful, with the global phase in April.  

The workload obviously considers students' other courses and activities, and a calendar of activities is organised in September to enable students to manage all their commitments appropriately. 

Goals

During this course the student will: 

• Add a unique and highly valued experience to your CV. Students report that having a moot court on their CV has made it easier to find a job;
• Build a profound knowledge of Public International Law, both theoretical and practical;
• Develop the analytical skills;
• Develop the practical skills;
• Improving English language proficiency;
• Develop the legal writing skills, more specifically the drafting of memoranda and pleading notes;
• Develop the presentation skills, especially oral advocacy skills and art of persuasion;
• Gain experience in conducting legal research;
• Learn to operate in a team.

Staff involved 

• Dr. Mirko Camanna, PhD (course coordinator)
• Staff from the Law & Market departments with expertise or experience in Public International Law, Moot courts, legal writing, at any level (from PhDs to Full Professors). 

Further details

For further information we suggest to consult the website of Jessup.