This year, the University of Vienna team once again continued its successful track record, delivering another outstanding performance at the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court, the world’s oldest and most prestigious international law competition.

The University of Vienna was represented by Sasha Falk, Isabella Baumgartner, Bori Barabás, and Lina Turchenko this year, all students in the bachelor’s programme in International Legal Studies. Beginning in autumn 2025, the team worked intensively on the written memorials for both the applicant and respondent sides before moving on to extensive preparation for the oral pleadings from January 2026 onward.
Even before the international rounds, the team achieved a major success at the European Friendly Rounds in Bucharest in March, where the team won the final against the University of Lisbon.

The University of Vienna’s Jessup team also impressed during the international rounds in Washington, D.C. Competing among more than 160 teams, the team placed 16th based on their combined oral and written scores after the preliminary rounds and advanced to the Round of 32, once again placing the University of Vienna among the competition’s top performing institutions worldwide. In addition, the team’s written memorial was ranked 22nd best in the world.

The Jessup Moot Court simulates proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) based on a fictional dispute, with students representing both the applicant and respondent sides. Each year, the competition focuses on contemporary issues in international law; this year’s case addressed interventions before the ICJ, free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples, general principles of law, and the immunity of state-owned enterprises.

This year, the team was coached by Abdullah Bora and Anna Zimmermann. It was generously supported by Freshfields and Zeiler Attorneys at Law.