On February 8, the national round of the annual Philip Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition took place, in which the team from the Russian-Armenian University won and will represent Armenia at the international round to be held in Washington this year.
Yerevan State, Armenian-Russian, and French Universities of Armenia had submitted applications to participate in the national round. In the final round, the teams from the Russian-Armenian and French Universities competed against each other.
In keeping with established tradition, the moot court competition was organized by the International and Comparative Law Center. Armenia has been participating in this competition since 2000, and since 2015 it has been held in English.
Shushanna Aleksanyan, a lecturer at the Russian-Armenian University, is participating in the national stage of moot court for the third time as a coach. This is her second victory. According to her, she had hopes and expectations of winning this year as well.
“Moot court is such a competition that you don’t know what will happen, the success factor is of great importance, it is important which team you are playing against, as an applicant or as a respondent. But we have tried to anticipate all the issues and prepare,” said Shushanna.
Speaking about the international round in Washington, Shushanna Aleksanyan says: "During the game, we were attentive to the judges' questions and observations. We will work to correct all the mistakes and omissions, fill in the gaps, so that we can represent Armenia with honor on the international stage."
The winning team’s members are Mane Sargsyan, Diana Grigoryan, and Alina Danielyan. This was Diana Grigoryan’s first time participating in the competition. “It’s always a pleasure to take part in international competitions with teams from different countries. The exchange of experience is extremely important. But even without winning, such moot courts offer invaluable experience to students,” said Diana.
A similar opinion is shared by Tamara Ghazaryan, a member of the Yerevan State University team. She believes that the competition provides all participants with a wealth of knowledge and skills, as the participants act as lawyers and bear the full responsibility arising from the case.
"I view this moot court as an inseparable and crucial part of my education. It adds a different quality to my studies. We are satisfied with our performance in this competition, but I can’t say it was an uneven battle because the other side was also very well-prepared, both in the first and second rounds," said Tamara.
The equal competition was also mentioned by Elen Muradyan, a member of the team from the French University of Armenia. According to Elen, the moot court competition contributes to the development of a good lawyer.
"Since you write arguments from different perspectives and there are questions during the competition that don’t have clear-cut answers, you need to conduct extensive research, compare specific facts, and understand which solution is the most accurate. The moot court provides a vast range of skills," said Muradyan.
Eghishe Kirakosyan, the Armenian Representative on International Legal Affairs, participated as a judge in the final round of the moot court competition and presented the awards.
The topic of the 2025 moot court competition is "The Negea Sea Case," which deals with the application of immunity for state officials accused of gross human rights violations, the legal consequences of coastal states' maritime zone boundary retreats, and the interpretation of the compromise clause in the treaty establishing a regional organization.
The annual Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition models a fictitious dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It is named after Philip C. Jessup, who once served on the ICJ, and is organized by the International Law Students Association (ILSA). The competition, led by Stephen Schwebel(who also wrote the first moot court problem), began in 1960 as a friendly competition between two Harvard University teams focused on the protection of interests. The first champions were crowned in 1963, and the competition opened its doors to non-American teams in 1968.