The team of YSU Faculty of Law won the national round of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition held in the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia on January 27 and 28, 2024.
The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the largest, most prestigious and oldest international law moot competition in the world, which has been held every year since 1960․ It is annually organized by the International Law Students Association (ILSA). The competition, in which law students from almost all countries participate, aims to promote independent research and studies of law students in the field of international law.
During the competition, teams present written and oral pleadings about a fictional legal dispute in front of the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Many issues of international law are put into discussion within the framework of the moot court trial. By engaging in the work of studying these issues and presenting them before the "court", students begin to study public international law in depth and form and develop practical skills.
Armenia has been participating in this competition since 2000. The teams of YSU Faculty of Law, participating in the competition in different years, have recorded a number of successes, national victories and have been ranked among the best. Since 2015, the competition in Armenia has been held in English, which requires participants to have full professional proficiency in the language.
To compete in the international round of the moot court competition, the team must first win the national round. This year, the national round of the competition was organized by the Center for International and Comparative Law. The judges of the final stage were famous international scholars and lawyers. The presiding judge was Yeghishe Kirakosyan, Armenia's Representative on International Legal Affairs.
Among the teams of participating universities, the teams of Yerevan State University and Russian-Armenian University made it to the final stage. In the final stage, the YSU team won a convincing victory. It will represent Armenia in the international round to be held in Washington from March 30 to April 6.
The coach of the YSU team is Mariam Ghazaryan, who, during her student years, participated twice in the teams that won the national round. She also actively participated in a number of national and international competitions. Among the members of the team are students from the YSU Faculty of Law Liana Seropyan, Mariam Aramyan, Narek Akhoyan and Maria Hovhannisyan.
Now the YSU team is preparing for the final stage of the most prestigious competition to be held in Washington.
The Philip Jessup International Law Moot Competition was launched in 1960 as a friendly competition between two Harvard University teams. Since 1968, the competition has opened its doors to non-American teams. Now law students from more than 550 universities hailing from more than 80 countries participate in the competition.
