Moot Courts

Olivier Chamard / Geneva Academy

As part of the curriculum, our LLM students can participate in the Jean-Pictet Competition on international humanitarian law (IHL). They also participate in two public pleadings as part of the IHL core course given by Professor Marco Sassòli.

Taking the Law out of the Books: the Jean-Pictet Competition

The Jean-Pictet Competition is recognized as the leading IHL competition and one of the most innovative training programmes for students in public international law. This week-long event tests students on their knowledge of and ability to implement IHL, as well as other branches of international law, through role-playing exercises based on a hypothetical armed conflict scenario. The dynamic structure of the Competition encourages participants to consider IHL issues from various perspectives while allowing the jury to evaluate each team's theoretical knowledge, practical understanding, and presentation style.

LLM and MTJ students can participate following a competitive selection process carried out by a Geneva Academy jury. For selected students, participation replaces two optional courses and can be validated for 6 ECTS. They are coached by our Teaching Assistant Mina Radončić.

In 2016 the Geneva Academy team won this prominent IHL moot for the first time.

Public Pleadings

As part of the IHL core course, all LLM students participate in public pleadings on specific conflict situations like the Gaza conflict in the summer of 2014 or the 2008 South Ossetian conflict.

Teams are assigned specific roles and plead, in front of a jury, on concrete issues related to the conflict. These include the classification of conflict and applicable law; classification of territory and persons; killing and destruction of property; use of weapons and precautionary measures during ground and air offensives; targeting of persons; detention of prisoners by armed forces and armed groups.