Birzeit University’s Law Department team took first place in the national rounds of the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition held in Ramallah on February 2-3, 2013. The contest involved 45 students from six Palestinian law faculties in the West Bank, including the team from Birzeit University.

Moot trials and courts such as this help prepare students for future careers in the judiciary, as lawyers, and in public service.

Each competing team consisted of five members and engaged in several rounds. An-Najah National University and Birzeit University clashed in the final round of competition, arbitrated by a tripartite body of volunteer judges and headed by President of the Supreme Judicial Council Farid Jallad.

Last year, 500 law schools from 80 countries participated in the competition. BZU won the coveted “Spirit of Jessup Award.” This is the only award that is awarded through a vote of the participating teams and embodies support for the Palestinian cause and Palestinian students. 

This year, students were assigned the task of exploring the factual and legal consequences of climate change on migration, foreign sovereign debt and the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. The event was supported by EUPOL COPPS experts as volunteer judges. EUPOL COPPS head of the Rule of Law Section Theo Jacobs, his deputy Lynn Sheehan and prosecution expert Martin Witteveen commended the quality and standard of the competitors.

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world's largest moot court competition, with participants from over 550 law schools in more than 80 countries. The competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations. The students who qualify during the national rounds competitions earn the right to advance to the international finals in Washington D.C. in April 2013.