Team Resources

This document is intended to assist team coaches, in particular new coaches, by setting out some “best practices” regarding coaching in the Jessup Competition.

This Introduction to International Law is a short document explaining the basic doctrines of international law. ILSA would like to acknowledge and thank Professor Robert Beckman of the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, who provided this document to ILSA for the benefit of Jessup teams and judges. Thanks are also owed to Dagmar Butte, ILSA Board Member, for helping Professor Beckman draft the Introduction.

The White & Case Jessup Guide is a student-focused “how-to” manual for the Jessup Competition. The Guide contains information on: working with the Compromis, researching international law, writing Memorials, devising oral pleadings, and using skills learned from the Jessup in your legal career. The guide also contains video clips demonstrating good oral advocacy techniques.

The 2015 CIICJ Guide to the Philip C. Jessup Moot Court Competition was written to offer students a general plan for competing in the Jessup. Published by the Chinese Initiative on International Criminal Justice (CIICJ), the guide was written and edited by a group of former competitors and academics. Among the competitors who contributed to this guide are past National Rounds winners, International Rounds winners, Best Oralist recipients,and Hardy C. Dillard Award recipients. Further contributors include academics, practicing international lawyers, team coaches and advisors, and long-time Friends of the Jessup.

Daniel Schwarcz from the University of Minnesota Law School gives advice on how Jessup Teams can use AI most effectively. Prof Schwarcz has written extensively about the intersection of AI and law.

A conversation with Julia Zeidan from Jus Mundi on how teams can use Artificial Intelligence as a tool during Jessup 2024.

This 2023 panel features three experienced Jessup judges walking students through the tips and tricks needed to get the best scores on memorials.

The 2015 Memorial Writing Tips was created to offer students a roadmap towards writing their two memorials for the Jessup. This guide was written by a celebrated group of longtime Jessup judges, competitors, academics, practitioners, and other dedicated volunteers. We encourage students to read this document for a well-balanced approach to proper memorial writing.

This short video walks you through everything you need to know to avoid getting memorial penalties.

The Official Jessup Rules require teams to identify their sources in their Memorials (written submissions). The Rules also require teams to use a citation form that provides a description of each authority that is adequate enough to allow a reasonable reader to identify and locate the authority in a publication of general circulation. The ILSA Executive Office recommends the following citation systems:

• Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation
• The Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities
• The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation
• Introduction to Basic Legal Citation

The Final Round of the International Rounds pits the top two teams in the world against each other after multiple matches in which they have honed their arguments to the most nuanced touch. These rounds are often highly instructive to teams who wish to learn how to best deliver an oral round. ILSA has made all final rounds since 2000 available for streaming on our YouTube page.

Hosted in 2023, this video brings together three veteran expert judges discussing the dos and don’ts of oral arguments.