On 22 February 2020, the final round of the French National Round of the Jessup Competition was held at the Dentons law firm in Paris. It was a really nice moment celebrating advocacy, the subtleties of international law and, most importantly, the beauty of a well-crafted rebuttal point.
The final bench included recognised experts in international law: Monica Feria-Tinta, Noor Davies, Bart Legum, Douglas Pivnichny and Dov Jacobs of SILC. The final opposed Sciences Po to the University of Strasbourg, with the University of Strasbourg winning by a narrow 3-2 victory. Both teams showed excellent skill and preparation, which explains the close result.
This year's problem raises fascinating questions of State succession, tarrifs and immunities under international law and international criminal law, a topic that Dov Jacobs has written on extensively in the past, including when it comes to recent developments at the ICC in the Bashir case (see here and here), which undoubtedly inspired the drafters of this year's problem. In fact, this hypothetical scenario is what international lawyers working in the field of immunities are dreaming of: having the ICJ rule on an issue that, by many accounts, has been inappropriately dealt with at the ICC.
Maybe, when (if) this case arises one day at the ICJ, some of this year's contestants will be working in the shadows at the ICJ, or advising legal teams and they will be happy to have gone through the gruelling but so rewarding Jessup process.
SILC wishes the winning team the best of luck in Washington next month.
