Jessup Moot Court

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the oldest, largest and most prestigious moot court competition in the field of public international law. Each year, students from over 700 universities and more than 90 countries compete against each other by simulating a legal dispute between two fictional States before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Teams have to write Memorials for both Parties, and have to make oral submissions. They are judged by real judges of the ICJ and other international, regional and domestic courts and tribunals, attorneys, scholars and other experts in the field of international law. You can get an idea about what the Jessup is like by watching the official Jessup trailer.

The upcoming round of the Jessup, starting in September 2020 and ending in April 2021, will focus once again on current global events:

It will concern a global pandemic, and the obligations and responses of States with respect to its outbreak. Moreover, it will involve questions of the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, a desperate claim for political asylum by an alleged rogue scientist, and State responsibility for a suspicious aircraft explosion.

Currently, we are looking for students who are interested in participating.

Participants will learn how to research legal questions and how to draft legal texts in English. They will deepen their knowledge of international law, and improve their rhetorical skills significantly. Furthermore, participants will demonstrate their skills in various trial pleadings at international law firms in Frankfurt, Vienna and Munich (all expenses covered), and will compete against other teams at the National Rounds in Erlangen (also all expenses covered) and - if the team qualifies for it - at the International Rounds in Washington D.C.

If you study law or governance and if you are interested in public international law, we strongly encourage you to apply for the Jessup 2020/2021. Your application should consist of a short letter of motivation in English, your current CV in English, your current academic transcript, your current confirmation of enrolment, and any other document which you consider to be supportive for your application. Please send your application in one pdf file only by e-mail to jessup@uni-passau.de.

The deadline for applications has been extended. The new deadline is 20 August 2020, 8 p.m. (CEST) [6 p.m. UTC].

The online information event for the Jessup Competition 2020 at the University of Passau took place on 15 July 2020. The event was recorded. The recording is available for watching below this text.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at jessup@uni-passau.de.