Students among top 25 out of 500 participants in the international student law competition.
This month, five students from the Hertie School’s Master of International Affairs (MIA) and Master of Public Policy (MPP) programmes went to Washington, D.C. to compete in the Jessup International Law Moot Court Global Rounds. The international student competition is the biggest competition for students in the field of international law and related fields, a kind of student World Cup in international law.
Students among top 25 out of 500 participants
The team’s remarkable performance in debate and analysis gained attention. Team members Elise Alexander, Tanguy Balcon (both MPP) and Naomi Whitney-Hirschmann (MIA) were awarded the prizes for the fourth, fifth and joint 25th best individual speakers – an outstanding achievement, given that more than 500 students participated in the competition. Given the fact that the students are not necessarily legal students, their success also signals the enormous efforts the team put into the competition.
At the group stage, the team which also included Brian Weatherby (MPP) and Jenny Ng (MIA) won three of their four matches of the competition against other national champions from around the world, getting them into the advanced rounds. The team's and especially the individual achievements counted as the best performances of any Hertie School team so far.
The team was coached by the PhD Candidates Joe Finnerty (Hertie School Centre for Fundamental Rights) and Lea Köhne (University of Potsdam), both of whom are writing their dissertations in international law. Mark Dawson and Pierre Thielbörger were the academically responsible faculty at Hertie School.
About the Jessup Moot Court
The Jessup Moot Court is the most prestigious moot court competition globally. In the competition, students from around the globe argue over a fictitious case in international law. The case this year dealt with the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, statelessness, access to consular functions, and the nature of resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. The Hertie School team had qualified as “National Champion Runner-Up” in the German national rounds in Münster in late February and early March as one of only three German teams. The Hertie team is extremely grateful for support from Berlin law firms Blomstein and Hengeler Mueller, who enabled them to make the trip to D.C.