Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Jessup competitors find the experience very challenging but an invaluable intensive introduction to international law.

The competition builds the following capacities: knowledge of international law principles, clarity and persuasiveness of argument, and capacity to think and speak concisely and creatively, particularly in response to questions from the bench during the competition.   

Other Information

To apply for Summer 2014, please complete the application form and submit by the deadline which will be advertised in first semester 2013.

Indicative Assessment

Assessment is based on the performance of the students on the team through the entire Jessup period. A mark is awarded to each Jessup team member based on the performance of the team as evaluated by the team advisers from the international law academic staff.

The criteria on which assessment will be based are:

• The team's capacity to work cooperatively and successfully under pressure;
• depth and quality of research;
• ability to draft a written international law argument and support it with appropriate authority;
• ability to present oral argument in international law, support it with appropriate authority and defend it under questioning; and
• the level of achievement of the team in the competition, including awards to individual members.

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

Jessup requires hard work. Effective participation requires a full time commitment throughout the preparation and competition period. Minimal part time employment (up to 10 per cent of normal working hours) is permissible, but only up to the Christmas-New Year period.

The preparation of the team written memorials will start in late November. The memorial submission date is usually in the first week of January (possibly earlier for the Australian rounds). Then we hold intensive practice moots. The Australian rounds are held here at the ANU in late January or early February.

The international finals are held in the United States in March or April. The top 2 Australian teams participate in the international competition.

Requisite and Incompatibility

You will need to contact the Law School to request a permission code to enrol in this course.

Preliminary Reading

Vaughan Lowe and Malgosia Fitzmaurice (eds) Fifty Years of the International Court of Justice (1996), Shabtai Rosenne, The Law and Practice of the International Court 1920-2005 (4th ed 2006), Christopher Kee, The Art of Argument: A Guide to Mooting (2006) and David Pope and Dan Hill, Mooting and Advocacy Skills (2007).

To be discussed with each year's team regarding the subjects of each year's Jessup problem.

Assumed Knowledge

Applicants for enrolment will be considered in the light of these skills: basic familiarity with international law; general academic performance; research experience and mooting experience (desirable but not essential). We also seek to find at least one team member with these qualities plus excellent IT skills to help in the demanding requirements of constructing the memorials. Students must not have graduated with an LLB by the time the competition is held.

Recommended: Basic familiarity with international law is necessary, but completion of an international law unit is not required.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links