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School of Law to Host Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

 By Jessie Morales 

Reprinted from The Mason Gazette, October 16, 2006

The George Mason School of Law has been selected to host the 2007 Mid-Atlantic Regional Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, one of the largest and most prestigious moot court competitions in the world.

The competition will take place Feb. 23 to 25, 2007; and the Final Mid-Atlantic Regional Round will take place Sunday, Feb. 25. The competition is open to the public. Each year, more than 500 teams from approximately 80 countries participate.

Mason's team for the competition consists of third-year students Jesse Coleman, Joe Folio, Elizabeth Bailey and Marian Lawson, and second-year student Lucy Jewett. Since Mason will be hosting the Mid-Atlantic Regional Rounds, the team will compete in another region.

Mason's Moot Court Board (MCB) will manage the regional rounds. Thomas Julian, cochair of the MCB Competition Committee, says the competition is expected to attract leading judges, lawyers and law professors in the international law realm who may never have been to Mason before.

Samantha Mortlock, MCB Fundraising Committee chair, secured the sponsorship of top international law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Round's Welcome Reception and Awards Dinner.

The Jessup competition gives participants the opportunity to develop and improve their written and oral appellate advocacy skills, become familiar with the operation of the International Court of Justice and learn about the procedure and substance of international law in the context of dealing with timely and difficult international law issues.

The 2007 Jessup problem raises issues of state membership in international organizations. Each team will be required to submit a written brief and argue in appellate argument style competition.

The competition is broken down into national and international rounds. Teams first compete in a regional round; the winning team represents the region at the International Rounds, which will take place in Washington, D.C. The winners of the International Rounds compete for the Jessup Cup in the World Championship Round, which will take place March 31 at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Arguments are held before three-judge panels meant to resemble the International Court of Justice. These panels are comprised of judges, attorneys, law professors and public servants.

The Jessup competition, which recently celebrated its 40-year anniversary, is cosponsored by the International Law Students Association and the American Society of International Law.

The Moot Court Board is looking for international law lawyers who are interested in serving as judges for the competition. For information, e-mail mootct@gmu.edu.