Law students from the University of Liverpool Law School recently competed in the UK national rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, held at Lincoln's Inn, London, from 27 February to 1 March 2026.
Jessup is the world’s largest and most prestigious moot court competition, with participants from around 700 law schools across 100 countries and jurisdictions. The competition simulates a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations. Teams prepare oral and written pleadings arguing both the applicant and respondent positions in the case.
The University of Liverpool Law School team comprised Hannah Rand (third year LLB, oralist), Isaac Clark (third year LLB, oralist), Katie Kelly (third year LLB, oralist), Seomara Silva Baro (second year LLB, researcher) and Joaquim Rota Vieira (second year LLB, researcher). They were coached by University of Liverpool LLB graduate and former Jessup competitor Maxwell Duncan.
In an outstanding achievement, the team’s written memorials ranked joint first in the UK competition, tied on points with King’s College. Their respondent memorial ranked first overall, while their applicant memorial ranked second.
In the oral rounds, the team performed strongly, as in previous years. They placed seventh out of 24 competing teams in the preliminary rounds and advanced to the quarter-finals. After a closely fought moot, they were narrowly defeated by the University of Sheffield Law School.
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In recognition of their exceptional written work and strong performances over several years, Liverpool Law School has, for the first time, been invited to participate as an exhibition team in the Global Rounds of the Jessup Competition, taking place in Washington DC from 28 March 2026.
Everyone at Liverpool Law School wishes the team the best of luck and hopes they enjoy this fantastic opportunity.
If you are a University of Liverpool student interested in getting involved in international law mooting, registration is now open for the Liverpool International Law Mooting Competition 2026, which takes place 15 – 22 April 2026. Details about how to apply to be a member of Liverpool's 2027 Jessup team will be published in the Law Bulletin.