UvA team wins Jessup Cup National Rounds and goes on to Washington

Students of the Amsterdam Law School's LLM programme in Public International Law have won the national rounds of the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and have advanced to the international rounds to be held in Washington, D.C.

The National Rounds, organised by the T.M.C. Asser Instituut, were held in the Palace of Justice in The Hague. The UvA team did a splendid job and landed victory after pleading in the finals against Leiden University. Judges were unanimous in their praise for team members Nina Abramishvili (Georgia), Mariia Bezdieniezhna (Ukraine), Ailbhe Finn (Ireland) and Avril Rushe (Ireland), who are coached by Christiane Ahlborn and Jeroen Temperman of the Department of International Law.

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

Organised by the International Law Student's Association (ILSA), the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world's largest moot court competition, with participants from over 500 law schools in more than 80 countries. 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.

Thousands of law students from around the world will work all year long on this season's Jessup Problem, which will address the right to self determination and the lawfulness of measures taken to protect the economic resources of a state. Most students must first compete in national and regional competitions to earn the right to advance to the White & Case International Rounds held from 21 to 27 March 2010 in Washington, D.C.