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The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, also known as the Jessup Moot or The Jessup, is the oldest and largest international moot competition in the world, attracting participants from almost 700
law schools A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for bec ...
in around 100 countries. The competition has been described as the most prestigious moot court competition in the world by a large number of organisations and universities internationally, and is one of the grand slam or major moots. The Jessup inspired the creators of the Charles Rousseau Moot Court Competition, which is the French speaking version of the Jessup Moot.


Origins of the moot

The competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...
(ICJ). It is named after
Philip Jessup Philip Caryl Jessup (February 5, 1897 – January 31, 1986) was a 20th-century American diplomat, scholar, and jurist notable for his accomplishments in the field of international law. Early life and education Philip Caryl Jessup was born on ...
, who once served on the ICJ, and is organised by the International Law Students Association (ILSA). The moot, under the leadership of
Stephen Schwebel Stephen Myron Schwebel (born March 10, 1929), is an American jurist and international judge, counsel and arbitrator. He previously served as judge of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal (2010–2017), However, with the exceptions of Judges Sh ...
(who also wrote the inaugural moot problem), started as a friendly advocacy competition between two teams from
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in 1960. The first champions were declared in 1963 and the competition opened its doors to non-American teams in 1968.


Moot format

The Jessup moot involves arguing a hypothetical case on issues of
international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
as if before the ICJ, but with a smaller complement of judges (three instead of 15). The ILSA 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 both Applicant and Respondent, and must produce a written memorial for each side. In each oral 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. 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 national or regional rounds to select the best team or teams to advance to the international phase of the competition in
Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, which is sometimes held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the
American Society of International Law American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...
. Generally, each country can only send one school for every ten law schools that participate in the moot. For instance, historically, 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 autonomy in setting their own rules. In recent years, around 700 schools worldwide participate in the competition, with the top 140 or so qualifying for the international rounds in Washington, D.C. Teams that do not qualify may be invited to participate in exhibition rounds. In the international rounds, teams compete in four preliminary rounds, with the top 48 teams advancing to the knockout stages, with the top 16 teams receiving a bye to the Round of 32. Each oral round and memorial is usually evaluated by a panel of three judges, and memorials are re-assessed for knockout and award purposes. Judges for most of the rounds 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 Covid-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the oral rounds for the first time. For the 2021 edition, the oral rounds went fully online using the Yaatly platform, and all teams were allowed to participate regardless of the outcome of any national or regional round, and teams could moot seated. The top 168 out of 548 teams from the first four preliminary matches proceeded to compete in four additional advanced rounds, from which the top 48 teams competed in the knockout stages, with the top 16 seeds receiving a bye to the round of 32. In a departure from past practice, the choice of side was determined by the organisers rather than the higher-ranked team. The 2023 edition of the international rounds saw a return to the in-person format.


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 the United States in 1968, and outside of North America in 1970. The first international awards were handed out in 1972.


Pre-international era (1960 to 1967)


International era (1968 to present)


Track record (international rounds)

The
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
has won the most number of championships, winning the Jessup Cup six times (with the sixth title won in 2021, which were conducted online due to COVID-19). Five law schools have made the final on their international debuts:
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
(1981);
Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...
(1984);
University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...
(1991);
University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...
(1995); and
Singapore Management University Singapore Management University (SMU) is a publicly funded private university in Singapore. Founded in 2000, SMU is the third oldest autonomous university in the country, modelling its education after the Wharton School. The university is trip ...
(2013). Of these schools, ANU, Dalhousie, and Saskatchewan won their finals.


University (1968 to 2025)


Country (1968 to 2025)


Notable former participants

* Ang Cheng Hock (1995,
National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...
) – Senior Counsel, Deputy Attorney-General of Singapore, and High Court Judge of
Supreme Court of Singapore The Supreme Court of Singapore is a set of courts in Singapore, comprising the Court of Appeal and the High Court. It hears both civil and criminal matters. The Court of Appeal hears both civil and criminal appeals from the High Court. The C ...
* Lucas Bastin (2007,
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
) –
King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...
*
Hilary Charlesworth Hilary Christiane Mary Charlesworth (born 28 February 1955) is an Australian international lawyer. She has been a Judge of the International Court of Justice since 5 November 2021, and is Harrison Moore Professor of Law and Melbourne Laureate ...
(1980,
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
) – Professor of international law and Judge of the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...
*
Steven Chong Steven Chong Horng Siong (born 22 September 1957) is a Singaporean jurist who has been serving as a judge of the Court of Appeal of Singapore since 2017. He had previously served as the seventh attorney-general of Singapore between 2012 and ...
(1982, National University of Singapore) – Senior Counsel, Attorney-General of Singapore, and Judge of Appeal of Supreme Court of Singapore *
Peta Credlin Peta-Louise Mary Credlin (born March 1971) is an Australian media personality and former political advisor who served as Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister (Australia), Chief of Staff to Tony Abbott during his term as prime minister of Aust ...
(1995, University of Melbourne) – Chief of Staff to former Australian Prime Minister
Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...
* Francisco Domenech (2002,
University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...
) – Director of the Office of Legislative Services of Puerto Rico *
James Edelman James Joshua Edelman (born 9 January 1974) has been a justice of the High Court of Australia since 30 January 2017, and is a former justice of the Federal Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of Western Australia. He is noted for his variou ...
(1996,
University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...
) –
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
Professor and Justice of the
High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...
*
Sundaresh Menon Sundaresh Menon (born 26 February 1962) is a Singaporean lawyer and judge who has served as the fourth Chief Justice of Singapore since 2012 after being appointed by president Tony Tan. He is the first Singapore-born Chief Justice and the secon ...
(1986, National University of Singapore) – Senior Counsel, Attorney-General of Singapore, and
Chief Justice of Singapore The chief justice of Singapore is the chief justice, presiding member of the Supreme Court of Singapore. It is the highest office in the judicial system of Singapore, appointed by the President of Singapore, president, on the advice of the Prime ...
* S. Muralidhar (1984,
Madras Law College Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, commonly known by its former name Madras Law College, is a law school, located in Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), ...
) – Judge of
High Court of Punjab and Haryana Punjab and Haryana High Court is the common High Court for the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh based in Chandigarh, India. Sanctioned strength of Judges of this High Court is 85 consisting of 64 Per ...
* Georg Nolte (1984,
Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...
) – Professor of international law and judge of the International Court of Justice *
Raul Pangalangan Raul Cano Pangalangan (born September 1, 1958) is a Filipino lawyer, and a retired judge of the International Criminal Court. Early life and education Raul Cano Pangalangan is graduate of political science and law from the University of the Phi ...
(1983,
University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...
) – Judge of
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
* Bruce Poole (1984,
Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...
) – Chairman of the
Maryland Democratic Party The Maryland Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Maryland, headquartered in Annapolis. The current acting state party chair is Charlene Dukes. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling a ...
*
Judith Prakash Judith Evelyn Jyothi Prakash (née de Cruz; born 19 December 1951) is a Singaporean judge in the Supreme Court. Her brother is ambassador Simon Tensing de Cruz and she is married to Jaya Prakash, a noted independent arbitrator and mediator. Pra ...
(1974, National University of Singapore) – Judge of Appeal of Supreme Court of Singapore *
V.K. Rajah Vijaya Kumar Rajah (born 14 January 1957) is a Singaporean lawyer who served as the eighth attorney-general of Singapore between 2014 and 2017. Prior to his appointment as attorney-general, he served as a judge of the Court of Appeal of Singapo ...
(1982, National University of Singapore) – Senior Counsel, Judge of Appeal of Supreme Court of Singapore, and Attorney-General of Singapore *
Indranee Rajah Indranee Thurai Rajah (; born 12 April 1963) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who has been serving as Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance since 2018 and Second Minister for National Development and ...
(1986, National University of Singapore) – Senior Counsel and Minister in Prime Minister's Office of Singapore *
Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...
(1995,
University of Miami School of Law The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1926, it is the oldest law school in South Florida, graduating its first ...
) –
US Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
from Florida, 2016 US presidential candidate, and
United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...
* Dipen Sabharwal (1999,
National Law School of India University The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), commonly referred to as the National Law School (NLS), is a Public university, public State university (India), state law university established under the National Law School of India Act, 19 ...
) – King's Counsel * K. Shanmugam (1984, National University of Singapore) – Senior Counsel and Minister for Law and Home Affairs, Singapore * Davinder Singh (1982, National University of Singapore) – Senior Counsel and former CEO of
Drew & Napier Drew & Napier LLC is a Singaporean law firm. Founded in 1889, the firm has more than 500 employees. It is regarded as one of the Lawyers in Singapore#Law firms in Singapore, Big Four law firms in Singapore. In Singapore, Drew & Napier is part ...
* Brad Smith (1984,
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
) – President and Chief Legal Officer of
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
*
Arif Virani Arif Virani (born November 23, 1971) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada from 2023 to 2025. A member of the Liberal Party, Virani represented Parkdale—High Park in the Hous ...
(1997,
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
) –
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada The minister of justice and attorney general of Canada () is a dual-role portfolio in the Cabinet of Canada, Canadian Cabinet. The officeholder in the role of Minister of Justice () serves as the minister of the Crown responsible for the Depar ...
*
Lucien Wong Lucien Wong Yuen Kuai (born October 1953) is a Singaporean lawyer who has been serving as the ninth attorney-general of Singapore since 2017. A former corporate lawyer, Wong was the chairman and a senior partner of Allen & Gledhill, as well ...
(1977, National University of Singapore) – Attorney-General of Singapore *
Woo Bih Li Woo Bih Li () is a Singaporean lawyer who has been serving as a judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore since 2003. Education and career Woo received his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Singapore in 1977, and was admitted as an adv ...
(1977, National University of Singapore) – Senior Counsel and High Court Judge of Supreme Court of Singapore


Cultural impact

In 2013, White & Case commissioned a 95-minute documentary, ''All Rise'', which followed the Jessup journeys of seven teams around the world; the film made its world premiere at
Doc NYC Doc NYC (stylized as DOC NYC) is an annual documentary film festival in New York City. Co-founded by Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen, the festival is the country's largest documentary film festival with over 300 films and events and 250 specia ...
.


Notes and references


External links


The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition registration and schedule
* * ICJ Presidents H.E.
Rosalyn Higgins Rosalyn Cohen Higgins, Baroness Higgins, (born 2 June 1937) is a British former president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). She was the first female judge elected to the ICJ, and was elected to a three-year term as its president in ...
and H.E.
Stephen M. Schwebel Stephen Myron Schwebel (born March 10, 1929), is an American jurist and international judge, counsel and arbitrator. He previously served as judge of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal (2010–2017),
a
the ILSA-ASIL Gala Dinner Celebrating the 50th Anniversary
of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition on 27 March 2009 an
Jessup's 50th Anniversary Honorary Committee
and an
50th Jessup Programme
an
Prize for "Best Jessup Oralist" Launched in Honour of Former ICJ President Stephen M. Schwebel a
the 103rd ASIL Annual Meeting
on International Law
as Law, Held in Fairmont Hotel, Washington, D.C., 25–28 March 2009 {{International moot court competitions International law Moot court competitions