The competing Portuguese team from the Lisbon University School of Law has the support of VdA Academia and of coaches Diogo Santana Lopes, Consultant at VdA, and Bernardo Kahn, Junior Associate at VdA. Benedita Aires, Partner at VdA, is also taking part in this competition as invited jury member.
After having successfully completed the first phase of the competition, the team’s first test in the exhibition rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition will take place online, from 1 to 7 March.

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the oldest, largest and most prestigious moot court in the world, attracting participants from roughly 700 law schools in 100 countries and jurisdictions. The competition, which is focused on Public International Law, simulates a hypothetical legal dispute between two nations before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations. It is divided into two phases: in the initial phase, the teams prepare their written pleadings (called “memorials”); in the second phase, the teams present their oral pleadings to a panel of judges in representation of the Applicant or Respondent State.

This year, the teams were challenged with a problem, framed as a compromis between the States of Aprepluya and Ranovstayo, concerning legal questions related to: the international obligations and responsibilities arising from a global pandemic – the J-VID18; the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice; a claim for political asylum by an alleged rogue scientist; and State responsibility for a suspicious aircraft accident.

The Global Jessup Rounds will take place from 13 March to 18 April 2021. The competition schedule can be viewed here.