IBA ICC Moot Court Competition
Organised by the International Bar Association & Leiden University's Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies
The Hague, The Netherlands | IBAICCMOOT
Since 2017 the IBA has partnered with Leiden University’s Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies to stage the week-long IBA ICC Moot Court Competition, which attracts law students from across the globe to test and sharpen their skills for careers as international lawyers. As of 2021, the IBA is the primary supporting partner of the IBA ICC Moot Court Competition.
First established in 2004, the competition has expanded from 12 participating teams to over 80 teams in 2023. In addition to supporting the competition, IBA scholarships support teams from countries participating for the first. Since 2018, scholarships have been awarded to teams from The Gambia, Iraq, Kyrgyz Republic, Nepal, Nigeria Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Tanzania, n.
The IBA ICC Moot Court Competition is a large-scale educational program bringing together students of different backgrounds and cultures to simulate the judicial proceedings of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Competition is designed to enhance law students’ knowledge of the Rome Statute and ICC proceedings through making written and oral arguments in a fictitious case. The competition offers a great opportunity for participants to gain first-hand experience in articulating legal arguments before distinguished expert panels. The panels comprise judges from international courts and tribunals, professors of international (criminal) law and other legal professionals, including many IBA members.
The competition’s case addresses fundamental issues of substantive and procedural international criminal law. The IBA ICC Moot Court Competition is comprised of a written round, which is conducted remotely, and an oral round which takes place in person in The Hague. Each team takes on one of three roles: prosecutor, legal representative of victims, and defence counsel. For each of the roles, participating teams write a memorial which is reviewed and evaluated by legal experts to determine who advance to the next round. Participating teams are eligible to win various awards, including the IBA Best Oralist Award and the Best Memorial Award. The finals of the competition take place at the premises of the ICC in The Hague, where the finalists argue their case before a panel including an ICC judge.
In 2024, the oral round, including the finals, will be held in The Hague from 31 May to 7 June 2024.
Over the course of a week the participating students will engage in a comprehensive educational and social program designed to create learning and networking opportunities. Several side events will be organised with the presence of ICC officials and other relevant stakeholders working in the field of international justice.
The 2024 IBA ICC Moot Court Competition promises to be exceptionally compelling, with the ICC standing at the crossroads of evolving global challenges. . For more information about this year's competition see: https://www.iccmoot.com
Latest news
Closing soon, registration for the 2024 IBA ICC Moot Court Competition
| 14 November 2023
Summary of previous competitions
2023: Prosecutor V. Corlis Valeron of The Republic of Regale
The 2023 edition of the IBA ICC Moot Court Competition welcomed in The Hague 600 top law students from over 45 countries spanning all continents. The Universidade Federal da Bahia (Brazil) won the 2023 edition, with the Maastricht University (Netherlands) placing second, and the Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) placing third.
The 2023 edition celebrated the 10th anniversary of the ICC Moot Court Competition, and featured high-level speakers, including an opening address from ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan.
During the week, participating students engaged in a comprehensive educational and social program that included a roundtable discussion on Accountability for War Crimes in Ukraine and the Crime of Aggression, and a dedicated workshop providing information and tips on applications for internships in international courts and tribunals. Celebratory events were sponsored by the IBA, the Grotius Centre, and the Municipality of The Hague, with the presence of ICC officials and other relevant stakeholders working in the field of international justice.
Please see the IBA ICC Moot Court Competition 2023 Booklet with more information on participating teams and legal experts that made this year a success.
2022: Prosecutor V. Agon Megor of the Republic of Ibbin
The 2022 virtual edition of the IBA ICC Moot Court Competition welcomed top law students of 76 universities from 42 countries spanning all continents. After six preliminary rounds and three elimination rounds, The Honourable Society of King’s Inns has been named winner of the 2022 edition, with China University of Political Science and Law (China) placing second, and Emory University School of Law (United States) placing third.
Like the previous year, the teams and judges had the opportunity to attend a number of academic side-events, spotlighted below:
- IBA ICC MCC 2022 Opening Ceremony with Keynote Address by Judge Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi, ICC Assembly of States Parties (ASP) President
- Reflections on the Ongwen case. Discussion led by Prof. Michael Scharf (IBA ICC Moot Court Competition Board of Advisors and Dean of Case Western Reserve University School of Law), featuring Prof. Milena Sterio (Professor of Law and LLM Programs Director at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law); Mr. Tom Obhof (Assistant to Counsel on the Defence Team for Dominic Ongwen at the ICC); Mr. Jonathan Worboys, (Barrister at 4 New Square Chambers); and Mr. Gregory Townsend (Lecturer at The Hague University of Applied Sciences)
- Supranational Criminal Law Lecture on ‘Is Universal Jurisdiction becoming more Universal? Taking Stock of Contemporary Practices’. Panel discussion led by Prof. Carsten Stahn (Professor of International Criminal Law and Global Justice, Leiden Law School), featuring Ms. Nathalie von Wistinghausen(Attorney-at-law, International Criminal Law Expert); Dr Priya Pillai (International Lawyer/Head – Asia Justice Coalition); and Dr Thijs Bouwknegt(Researcher – NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies & M.Sc. in Holocaust and Genocide Studies Director – University of Amsterdam). The SCL Lecture Series is a series on international criminal law and has been organised, since 2003, by the Asser institute, the Coalition for the ICC and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden University.
- Panel discussion on ‘Indigenous Peoples and Trials before International Criminal Courts and Tribunals’ moderated by Mr. Matthew Cross (Appeals Counsel at International Criminal Court – acting in personal capacity), featuring Dr. Monica Coc Magnusson (Director of Advocacy and Policy, Cultural Survival); Dr. Carwyn Jones (Honorary Adjunct Professor, Victoria University of Wellington); Ms. Mary Ann Manja Bayang (Global Operations Manager, Indigenous Peoples Rights International); and Mr. Brendan Miller (Special Counsel, Foster LLP).
- Panel discussion on ‘Delivering Meaningful Justice to Indigenous Victims of International Crimes‘ moderated by Prof. Milena Sterio (Charles R. Emrick Jr. – Calfee Halter & Griswold Professor of Law at Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law), featuring Mr. Alancay Morales Garro in a pre-recorded intervention (Global Advocacy Coordinator, Indigenous Peoples Rights International); Dr. Krishna Bhattachan (Expert Adviser, Lawyer’s Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples); Mr. Harold and Mr. Phil Gatensby (Circle Facilitators and Leaders); Ms. Myrna McCallum (Trauma-informed lawyer, Miyo Pimatisiwin Legal Services); Atty. Raymond Marvic C. Baguilat (Senior Legal Associate at UP Law Center Institute of Human Rights); and Justice Harry LaForme (Senior Counsel Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP).
- ICC Moot Court Competition Final Round 2022 organized and hosted by the International Criminal Court
2021: Prosecutor V. Dragone Goodrider of Wessos
The 2021 IBA ICC Moot Court Competition was a remarkable edition! For the first time since its inception, the competition took place fully virtual. It also welcomed more teams (and judges) than ever; 80 teams from all corners of the world and more than 500 volunteering judges and memorial evaluators. The final round took place on 25 June in a hybrid format with ICC adjudicating from the ICC Courtroom and the teams pleading online.
Please see the IBA ICC MCC 2021 Booklet with more information on participating teams and legal experts that made this year a success.
Aside from the oral pleading rounds, the teams and judges had the opportunity to attend a number of side-events, especially designed for them:
- Opening Ceremony with Keynote Speaker Ms Fatou Bensouda, former ICC Prosecutor (recording no longer available)
- Virtual Panel discussion on 'Accountability for Sexual and Gender-based crimes: Progress and Challenges (not recorded)
- Reflections from the ICC Bench: An interview with Judge Howard Morrison QC
- Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights: the Brazilian Indigenous Movement before International Courts and Tribunals
- Awards Ceremony
- Insight into the Case before the International Criminal Court (ICC): Ask the Author
From a student perspective: Team 16 from The Gambia
The team representing The Gambia in the 2018 ICC Moot Court Competition held in The Hague, the Netherlands from 27 May – 1 June, was one of the 2018 recipients of the International Bar Association (IBA) scholarships awarded to enable outstanding law students to participate in the event. Issa, Musa, Mangikey and David travelled from The Gambia to The Netherlands and documented their experience. In a short (four minutes) inspiring film, the heart, gratitude and determination of Team 16 is captured.
Watch videoIBA ICC Moot Court Manual
The IBA has developed a Moot Court Manual containing five exercises to introduce students to the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, The Netherlands. Student Members of the IBA can gain access to these materials and guidance notes, allowing them to stage their own small-scale moot court training. In these exercises, students are given an ICC judgment involving events that occurred during a civil war in a fictional country.
