International Competitions

• European Law Moot Court

• Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court

• Vienna International Arbitration Moot Court (VIS)

European Law Moot Court

The European Law Moot Court Competition is a traditional competition in which teams of students prepare written pleadings with respect to a problem of European law and present their arguments in oral proceedings before the Court of Justice. The case is set each year under the auspices of the European Law Moot Court Society.

The objects are to promote awareness of European law, expertise in the practice of European law, and practical experience in preparing and arguing cases before the Court of Justice. In addition, the competition provides a forum for the discussion of questions of current legal, social and practical significance emerging from European integration and the legal and political changes in Europe.

Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world’s largest moot court, with participants from more than 500 law schools across more than 80 nations. The Competition simulates a dispute between two countries before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the judicial arm of the United Nations. Recent topics have included the legality of humanitarian intervention, the threat or use of force, sexual abuse by United Nations Peacekeepers, and the rights and obligations of international organizations. This year’s contentious case will address the right to self-determination and the lawfulness of measures taken to protect the economic resources of a state. Competitors in the World Championship Round usually have the opportunity to argue before a judge on the International Court of Justice.

The written memorial is due in early January. The team will compete in the Super Regional rounds in February and, if successful, will advance to the Shearman & Sterling International Rounds and Jessup Cup World Championship in March.

Vienna Intermational Arbitration Moot Court (VIS)

The VIS Arbitral Moot is an international competition designed to train students in the use of international commercial law and arbitration for resolution of international business disputes. The competition is structured in two phases: the writing of memoranda for the claimant and the respondent, and the hearing of oral arguments based upon the memoranda, both of which are settled by arbitral experts in the subject matter area. The forensic and written exercises require determining questions of contracts under transactions relating to the sale or purchase of goods under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and other uniform international commercial laws in which the dispute is subject to resolution under specified Arbitration Rules. The teams and the arbitrators are from both common and civil law countries, permitting students to learn from approaches taken by lawyers from other systems.