Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

This year's Philip C. Jessup Competition is underway with a record of 632 teams registered from 92 countries, including the first team from Iran.  The 2013 Jessup problem addresses the consequences of global climate change on statehood, migration, and sovereign debt. The fact pattern follows a debt-ridden island nation that sinks into the ocean, forcing its people to relocate and causing its remaining funds to be seized.

The law firm White & Case LLP is sponsoring eleven of the national competitions as part of the 54th annual Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.  Its sponsorship includes national qualifying competitions in:

• Brazil, 
• Canada, 
• China, 
• Georgia, 
• Hong Kong, 
• Poland, 
• Russia, 
• Slovakia, 
• South Africa and 
• the United Kingdom.

It is also sponsoring the White & Case International Rounds that will be held in Washington, D.C. The law firm is also supporting several individual teams from Hungary, the United Arab Emirates, and the first participating team from Iran.  This is the sixth consecutive year White & Case has sponsored multiple competitions as a Global Partner of the International Law Students Association, which administers the Jessup. It is the fourth year the firm is sponsoring the White & Case International Rounds.

Highlights for the 54th season include:

• Teams from Bahrain, Iran, Macau, Sierra Leone, and Trinidad and Tobago participating in the Jessup for the first time
• Iranian team being sponsored by White & Case
• 632 teams registered from 92 countries
• 90 new teams competing this year
• First-ever qualifying competitions in Palestine and Nepal
• Record number of registered Jessup teams in Iraq, Afghanistan, the United Kingdom, and Germany

Jessup is the world's largest moot court competition. More than 2,000 law students participate each year, from more than 80 countries. Students are required to present oral and written arguments on a hypothetical international law case to a simulated International Court of Justice. Most teams will compete first in the national and regional competitions to earn the right to advance to the 2013 White & Case International Rounds, which will be held March 31 through April 6 in Washington, DC. The winning team will take home the White & Case Jessup Cup.

Photos and up-to-the-minute results will be posted throughout the White & Case International Rounds at www.jessup.whitecase.com. You can also join the Jessup Facebook group (www.facebook.com/jessup.whitecase) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/JessupWhiteCase).

Mark E. Wojcik, a Board Member of the International Law Students Association

Hat tip to White & Case (and a big thank you for its support of ILSA and the Jessup Competition).