Jessup 2012
The competition closed with the Final Gala and Announcement of Awards presented by the IBA. In addition to memorial and oralist awards pre- sented by ILSA, the IBA again generously spon- sored the Spirit of the Jessup award. This award is presented to the team that, as voted by the other teams, best exemplifies the Jessup spirit of camaraderie, academic excellence, competitive- ness, and appreciation of fellow competitors. This year’s recipients are the team from Birzeit Uni- versity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. They were recognized by their peers with standing ova- tions at the Orientation Meeting and Final Gala, received a banner decorated and signed by the other teams, and will receive a $1,000 scholarship from the IBA. Congratulations to the team mem- bers and I all hope they return again next year.
On the last day of the White & Case International Rounds, the Fletcher School of Tufts University hosted a lunch event to discuss LL.M. opportuni- ties and allow competitors to meet the authors of the 2012 Jessup Problem. Maitê Schmitz, Lucas Lixinski, and Fernando Bordin were revealed as the distinguished 2012 Jessup Compromis au- thors. Maitê Schmitz is a diplomat at the Brazilian Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands. Dr. Lucas Lixinski is the Dean’s Postdoctoral Research Fel- low at the University of New South Wales Faculty of Law. Fernando Lusa Bordin is a Ph.D. Candi- date in International Law at the University of Cam- bridge. He holds an LL.M. from New York Univer- sity School of Law (USA) and an LL.B. from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). Each answered a series of challenging questions from competitors about their Case Concerning the Mai-Tocao Temple and the real-world issues it addresses.
Leading up to the World Championship Round, I saw several impressive national victories, in- cluding the best record ever for teams from Af- ghanistan, Ethiopia, and Uganda. The competi- tion was very tight, with 27 teams losing only a single match and 15 teams coming through the
preliminary rounds undefeated. Ultimately, only 32 teams could advance so raw points, combin- ing both oral and memorial scores, became the determining factor. Together, the top 32 teams averaged over 3151 raw points, with fewer than 300 points separating the highest and lowest. Our top 32 teams represented 22 different countries across six continents, and included teams from Jamaica, Greece, Slovenia, Venezuela, Israel, Ire- land, and Mexico.
After advancing through eight matches and over 100 other teams, only Columbia University and the Moscow State University remained to com- pete for the Jessup World Championship. This was Columbia University’s third consecutive ap- pearance in the Final Round, tying the record for consecutive appearances set by Canada’s Univer- sity of Toronto from 1976 -78. This was Moscow State University’s first appearance in the Final Round and it was only the second Russian team to appear in the Final Round.
This year’s distinguished Final Round bench was a landmark accomplishment for ILSA, with three currently sitting ICJ judges presiding: Judge Hisashi Owada, Kenneth Keith, and Joan Dono- ghue. Judge Owada has been a member of the Court since 2003, served as President of the Court from 2009 until 2012, and was Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations from 1994-1998. Judge Keith has been a member of the Court since 2006, was a member of the Supreme Court of New Zealand from 2004-2006, and was part of New Zealand’s legal team before the Court in the Nuclear Tests cases. Judge Dono- ghue has been a member of the Court since 2010, represented the United States Department of State from 2007-2010 including the United States’ submissions to the Court in the Kosovo Advisory Opinion.
After an impressive Championship Round, the judges remarked on the top-tier quality of both teams’ presentations. In the end, there can be
ILSA Quarterly » volume 20 » issue 4 » May 2012 41
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