The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world's largest advocacy competition for law students, with participants from over 500 law schools in more than 80 countries. Administered by the International Law Students Association (ILSA), it is also the world’s oldest international law competition.
The 2011 Jessup Compromis
As part of the OECD's 50th Anniversary celebrations, ILSA and the OECD partnered together to release the 2011 Jessup Compromis. Representatives from the OECD served as co-authors of the Compromis and the OECD OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises formed part of the dispute. The names of the three distinguished lead authors were announced at the 2011 White & Case International Rounds in Washington, D.C. in March 2011.
The Competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations. One team is allowed to participate from every eligible school. Teams prepare oral and written pleadings arguing both the applicant and respondent positions of the case.
Any law school, law faculty, or institution with a degree program in international law is eligible to participate in the Competition. Students pursuing a law degree or a degree related to international law at an eligible school may compete on behalf of that school so long as they are enrolled at least part-time and have not engaged in the practice of law after graduating from another law degree program.
Each school may only enter one team to compete. Teams compete against one another through the presentation of oral and written pleadings to address timely issues of public international law in the context of a hypothetical legal dispute between nations. The official language of the Jessup Competition is English. The Jessup Competition consists of two levels: (1) the Qualifying Tournaments (National and Regional Rounds), and (2) the International Tournament (White & Case International Rounds). Between January and early March 2011, Jessup National Rounds will be held at locations all around the world. The White & Case International Rounds of the Jessup Competition will take place March 20-26, 2011 at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C.
The Compromis is the springboard for the Jessup Competition. Written by leading scholars of international law, the Compromis is a compilation of agreed upon facts about the dispute that is submitted for adjudication to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. After the Compromis is released, students begin researching and preparing arguments for both sides of the dispute, drafting and editing written pleadings, called “memorials”, and practicing oral presentations. Each team prepares two written memorials and two 45-minute oral presentations, one for each party to the dispute (the “Applicant” and the “Respondent”). Teams argue alternately as Applicant and Respondent against competing teams before a panel of judges, simulating a proceeding before the International Court of Justice.