On 21–23 February, the LSE competed in the UK national round of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, winning all preliminary matches and reaching the quarter finals.
Held every year since 1960, the Jessup is the world’s largest moot competition, with participants from around 800 law schools in more than 100 countries. The competition simulates a fictional dispute between States before the International Court of Justice.
LSE’s 2025 team included LLM student Wing Hei (Miriam) Lo and LLB students Damla Karabay, Man Rou (Meryl) Lim, and Priyansh Shah.
The team worked together over five months in researching and writing two 12,000-word submissions on four complex issues of public international law, including the Court’s jurisdiction, the crime of enforced disappearance, maritime boundaries affected by sea-level rise, and State immunities before domestic courts. The team then had to prepare 45-minute oral submissions for each side of the dispute, which were delivered in several matches before a bench of three judges and challenged by arguments from opposing counsel.
‘The time, grit, and sheer brainpower we invested in the Jessup were returned in multiples: the relationships built within and beyond our team, the skills learnt under the tutelage of our coaches, and the practical legal knowledge that you simply cannot learn in the classroom. We couldn’t recommend it more to aspiring international lawyers, advocates of any kind, and every intellectually curious law student.’
In the national round, LSE won all four of the preliminary matches, ranking seventh out of 24 teams and thus qualifying for the quarter finals.
The team was coached by PhD candidate Lauren Bursey and LLM student Pedro Grijalba Marsans and advised by Dr Oliver Hailes. Practice rounds were generously judged by several members of the Law School, including an Exhibition Moot on 17 February with Professor Gerry Simpson which gave other students a chance to watch the team’s international law advocacy.
If you are a current LLB or incoming LLM student who is keen to compete next year, please contact Dr Hailes.
Back row: Dr Oliver Hailes, Pedro Grijalba Marsans, Lauren Bursey, Damla Karabay. Front row: Priyansh Shah, Miriam Lo, Meryl Lim.