Achievements

The Ural State Law University has a 16-years experience of participation in the Jessup Competition. We analyze this experience to achieve better results. We know how to avoid plagiarism, we’ve learnt international standards of legal research and legal writing, we improve the skills of oral presentation. The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition gives to all Russian students a unique opportunity to get closer to the international standards of legal profession.

Before we move to the analysis of the USLU’s experience let me say a few words about the Competition itself. The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is a tournament between different law schools in the field of international law. One team from two to five students may represent each law school. The Competition is a simulation of the proceedings before the International Court of Justice, United Nations judicial body. Each September the International Law Students.

Association, the main Competition organizer, publishes the Compromis, a special agreement between two fictional states about the transfer of their dispute to the Court. As usual the Compromis comprises four different legal issues. Till January the participants have to submit their written memorials that contain the legal positions of both the Applicant and the Respondent in the dispute. In February the teams represent their positions orally before the four panels of judges, lawyers from all over the world. The winners of national rounds are welcome to try their fortune in Washington, DC, where the world’s championship is held.

Although modeling movement became very popular in Russia there is no similar competition in our country. The Jessup is unique mostly because it’s based on an approach to law and legal education that is absolutely uncommon to Russian students. These differences are obvious in every stage of the preparation and are a huge obstacle for the participants.