Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, also known as the Jessup, is the oldest and largest international moot competition in the world, attracting participants from almost 700 law schools in more than 90 countries in recent years.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} The competition has been described as the most prestigious moot court competition in the world by a large number of organisations and universities internationally.^[6]

The competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The competition is named after Philip Jessup, who once served on the ICJ. It is organised by the International Law Students Association. The Jessup moot, under the leadership of Stephen Schwebel (who also wrote the inaugural moot problem),^[7] started as a friendly advocacy competition between two teams from Harvard University in 1960.^[8] The first champions were declared in 1963 and the competition opened its doors to non-American teams in 1968. The current sponsor of the international rounds of the moot is White & Case.

Moot format

The White & Case Jessup Cup

The first day briefing of the 2007 competition

International Court of Justice judges Xue Hanqin, Ronny Abraham, and Julia Sebutinde judging the 2013 international final between Singapore Management University and National Law School of India University. Sebutinde would judge again in the 2014 international final between Singapore Management University and University of Queensland.

The Jessup moot involves arguing a hypothetical case on issues of international law as if before the International Court of Justice, but with a smaller complement of judges (three instead of 15). The International Law Students Association Board is responsible for soliciting and selecting proposals for the compromis every year.

Each team comprises two to five student members. Each team must prepare to argue the sides of both the Applicant and Respondent in the case, and must produce a written memorial for each side of the case. In each round, two competitors from a team will argue one side of the case for 45 minutes in total, including any time reserved for rebuttal or sur-rebuttal. A third team member may be seated at the bar table as of-counsel, but may not present argument. There is no fixed team organisation. Some teams dedicate two oralists to each side of the argument, with the fifth person serving a more open-ended role. In other teams, only two or three speakers will present oral argument, with at least one person arguing both Applicant and Respondent sides. In addition, most teams include at least one advisor or coach, usually drawn from the respective universities' international law faculty and/or past Jessup competitors.

Most countries hold domestic or national rounds to select the best team or teams to advance to the international phase of the competition in Washington D.C., which is held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Society of International Law. Generally, each country can only send one school for every ten law schools that participate in the moot. For instance, the United States, which has more than a hundred law schools taking part each year, is represented by up to 12 teams following the conclusion of its six regional rounds, while smaller countries that have only a small number of law schools can only send one team. Domestic round administrators have some degree of autonomy in setting their own rules. In Washington D.C., teams compete in four preliminary rounds, with the top 32 teams advancing to the knockout stages (Round of 32, Octo-final, Quarter-final, Semi-Final, and Final). Each oral round and memorial is usually evaluated by a panel of three judges. Judges for most of the rounds in Washington D.C. are usually practicing lawyers or academics, while notable academics and international judges are usually invited to judge the Semi-Final and Final round matches.

The moot is also marked by additional events such as the Announcement Party where the teams advancing to the knockout stages are declared, and the Go Nation dress ball where the participants from all across the world showcase their national dresses. The final gala and the reverse moot usually mark the end of the competition.

Past winners and records (international rounds)

Although the moot was founded in 1960, no winners were declared for the first three editions of the competition. The competition was only first open to countries outside of the United States in 1968, and outside of North America in 1970.^[8] The first international awards were handed out in 1972.

Pre-international era (1960–1967)

International era (1968–present)

Track record (international rounds)

National University of Singapore holds the highest number of top-two finishes in the competition (four times champions; seven times runner-up), has the most Baxter Awards (five), Evans Awards (four), Best Oralist titles (four), and Best Finals Oralist titles (six).^[8] It is tied with the University of Sydney for most number of championships. Five law schools have made the final on their international debuts: Australian National University (1981); Dalhousie University (1984); University of Saskatchewan (1991); University of Western Australia (1995); and Singapore Management University (2013). Of these schools, ANU, Dalhousie, and Sasketchewan won their finals. SMU is the fastest ever law school to reach the international final relative to its debut in the competition (2011), and is also the youngest ever law school to reach the international final (the first batch graduated in 2011) and back-to-back international finals (2013 and 2014).

University (1968 to 2016)

Country (1968 to 2016)

Notable former participants

• Steven Chong (1982, National University of Singapore) – Senior Counsel, High Court Judge of Supreme Court of Singapore, and Attorney-General of Singapore^[14]
• Peta Credlin (1995, University of Melbourne) – Chief of Staff to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott
• Francisco Domenech (2002, University of Puerto Rico) – Director of the Office of Legislative Services of Puerto Rico
• Sundaresh Menon (1986, National University of Singapore) – Senior Counsel, Attorney-General of Singapore, and Chief Justice of Singapore^[15]
• Bruce Poole, (1984, Washington and Lee) – Chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party
• Judith Prakash (1974, National University of Singapore) – Judge of Appeal of Supreme Court of Singapore
• V.K. Rajah (1982, National University of Singapore) – Senior Counsel, Judge of Appeal of Supreme Court of Singapore, and Attorney-General of Singapore^[14]
• Indranee Rajah (1986, National University of Singapore) – Senior Counsel and Senior Minister of State for Law, Singapore^[16]
• K. Shanmugam (1984, National University of Singapore) – Senior Counsel and Minister for Law and Foreign Affairs, Singapore^[17]
• Davinder Singh (1982, National University of Singapore) – Senior Counsel and CEO of Drew & Napier^[14]
• Woo Bih Li (1977, National University of Singapore) – Senior Counsel and High Court Judge of Supreme Court of Singapore

Notes and references

External links

• The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition registration and schedule
• ICJ Presidents H.E. Rosalyn Higgins and H.E. Stephen M. Schwebel at the ILSA-ASIL Gala Dinner Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition on 27 March 2009 and Jessup's 50th Anniversary Honorary Committee and 50th Jessup Video and 50th Jessup Programme and Prize for "Best Jessup Oralist" Launched in Honour of Former ICJ President Stephen M. Schwebel at [http://am2009.asil.org/index.cfm the 103rd ASIL Annual Meeting on International Law as Law, Held in Fairmont Hotel, Washington, D.C., 25–28 March 2009