From 21-23 February 2025, law students from the University of Liverpool participated in the UK national rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition 2025, held in Lincoln's Inn, London. Jessup is the world's largest and most prestigious moot court competition, with participants from around 700 law schools in 100 countries and jurisdictions. The Competition is a simulation of 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 of the case.
The Liverpool team comprised Fraser Palmer (third year LLB); Ella Damji (third year LLB); Zaim Badaruddin (third year LLB); Joseph Ramsden (LLM); and Ranya Tran (second year LLB). The team were coached by Liverpool graduate and former Jessup competitor, Victoria Hawley.
This year, the Liverpool team performed strongly, ranking fifth out of 24 competing teams in the preliminary rounds and advancing to the quarter-finals. After a very closely fought moot, Liverpool were narrowly defeated by the University of Glasgow Law School. The team's written memorials ranked fourth overall in the UK competition, with their Respondent memorial ranking second, and Fraser was the ninth-highest scoring oralist in the competition, out of 84 participating students. We wish the best of luck to the four UK law schools advancing to the international rounds of the competition in Washington, DC!
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 2025, which takes place 28 February - 7 March. Details about how to apply to be a member of Liverpool's 2026 Jessup team will be published in the Law Bulletin later in Semester 2.