page_title: Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition
section_title: Moot format
hierarchical_section_title: Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition / Moot format
caption_attribution_description: English: jessup moot final 2013 icj xue hanqin ronny abraham julia sebutinde
context_page_description: The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, also known as the Jessup Moot, 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. 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 competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice. It is named after Philip Jessup, who once served on the ICJ, and is organised by the International Law Students Association. The moot, under the leadership of Stephen Schwebel, started as a friendly advocacy competition between two teams from Harvard University in 1960. 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.
context_section_description: 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 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. 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 national or regional 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 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.
  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); this number changed to 40 from 2020 onwards, with the top 24 advancing to the Round of 32 directly and the next 16 teams participating in a run-off. 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 National 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.
caption: 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.
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