To be eligible to apply for the Jessup Moot competition, students must:

• Be a current ANU Bachelor of Laws (LLB (Hons)) or Juris Doctor (JD) student; and
• Have completed or be completing five 1000 or 6100 level LAWS courses; and
• Submit an application before the deadline.

The problem for the 2025 competition will be released in late September 2024, but the ANU team will not begin work until after the completion of second semester exams in November, whereupon they will begin in earnest preparing their written memorials. Memorials are due in early January, and after their submission the team’s focus will shift towards practice for the oral presentation of submissions. The team will practise together regularly for around six weeks, while simultaneously conducting ongoing research to support their submissions.

The ANU team will compete with other Australian law schools in the national rounds in February 2025. The winning team from the Australian rounds will travel to the United States to compete in the international rounds in Washington DC in April 2025.

The domestic Jessup rounds are of a very high standard, with Australian teams always performing well in the international competition: since 2000, Australian university teams have won the international rounds ten times!

Wanshu Cong will coach the ANU College of Law team for the 2025 competition in collaboration with an assistant coach.

Team members are required to prepare for Jessup full time from the end of November exams until the Australian rounds in February 2025. (This will not require constant presence in Canberra except during certain periods, but team members must be available online during the entire preparation period). Modest scholarships are available to those who may suffer financial hardship due to this requirement.

Jessup unquestionably requires hard work, but competitors invariably find it an invaluable and formative experience. It is a unique opportunity to meet some of the nation’s best law students and professionals. Teams may have a maximum of five members.

More information can be found on the International Law Students Association (ILSA) website.

Applicants will be assessed based on:

• basic familiarity with international law;
• research and mooting experience (desirable but not essential);
• general academic performance; and
• the ability to work effectively in a team.

It is also desirable to have at least one team member with strong skills in IT and editing (in Microsoft Word) to help in the demanding process of constructing memorials. Team members must not have graduated with an LLB or JD by the time the competition is held.