Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition
Jessup is the world's largest moot court competition, with participants from roughly 800 law schools in 100 countries and jurisdictions. Teams represent fictional countries as applicant and respondent before the International Court of Justice across three stages: written memorials, national rounds (aka Jessup Russia), and international rounds.
Jessup is a test of legal excellence and the best way to amp your skills of legal writing, advocacy, time management and team work. If you aren’t afraid of a challenge and hard work, and crave a chance to shine, do Jessup.
The Jessup 2026 Problem will concern (1) the right to intervene in proceedings before the International Court of Justice; (2) the rights of indigenous peoples relating to rare earth minerals found in their ancestral land; (3) the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations; and (4) a state's immunity from the domestic jurisdiction of another state when it has caused economic harm to citizens of that state.
If you have questions, contact Evgeniya Neverova, the Administrator of Jessup Russia 2026 at jessuprussia@ilsa.org.
Jessup 2026 coming soon!
The Jessup 2026 Schedule will be posted on ilsa.org.
The Jessup Russia Rounds 2026 will take place during the winter holidays at MGIMO University!
- 1
Rules and Competition Problem 2026
Check ilsa.org for the Official Jessup Rules and Schedule (indicating the date when the Jessup Problem will be released), and later, all the Jessup materials. In the meantime, check that page out for information about previous Jessup seasons, do some recon and download materials that will help you prepare.
- 2
Register a Team
Registration will open in late August - early September and will stay open until mid-November! The more Teams participate in the Russian Rounds, the more Teams will advance to the International Rounds, so we are always happy to see new and returning Teams. Fun-fact: some years ago, up to 60 Teams participated in the Russian Rounds! It's probably time to set new records.
Each university can send one Team of up to five Members (not including Coaches and Advisors). Eligibility requirements for Teams will be found in the Official Rules once they are up, but normally all undergraduate (bachelor's level) and postgraduate (master's level) students of law can participate.
Register in two steps: (1) first, at ilsa.org (the most crucial step!); (2) then, at your.jessuprussia.ru using your ilsa.org login and password to get access to the Russian Rounds.
To complete registration, each Team will need to pay a registration fee of $400. If you are not sure how to do that, please email your question to jessuprussia@ilsa.org.
- 3
Register to Judge
Judge registration for Jessup Russia will open in November and stay open until late January! To judge, you will need to register at ilsa.org and check Russia or RJT as the jurisdiction whose rounds you want to judge, and then register at your.jessuprussia.ru for access to the virtual platform for the Preliminary Rounds.
If on top of the Oral Rounds you also want to judge the Written Memorials, check ilsa.org for the opening of Judge registration in order to indicate availability to judge the Written Memorials (they are only judged once via ILSA and there is no separate Memorial judging for Jessup Russia).
- 4
Submit Written Memorials
For the Teams, the Jessup begins with a written stage - prepare and submit your Memorials for the Applicant and Respondent via your Team's page at ilsa.org!
- 5
Present Your Case at the Oral Rounds
The Russian Rounds will be held during the winter holidays in February 2026 at MGIMO University (Moscow). The Preliminary Rounds will be in hybrid format (teams offline, judges online), the Advanced Rounds - fully offline. Events from our sponsors and a traditional Final Rounds Gala await you!
Partners
