About ICC Moot
A Leading Legacy in International Law
The International Criminal Court (ICC) Moot Competition was established in 2004 by Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University Professors Emeritus Gayl S. Westerman and Matthew E. Brotmann. The unique event was the world’s first moot court competition based on the law and procedures of the first permanent international tribunal dedicated to the prosecution of international criminal offenses.
Since then, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has grown, and our prestigious competition has grown with it. In 2014, Haub Law partnered with the International Criminal Court and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, Leiden University to become part of the International Bar Association International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition (IBA ICCMCC), a global competition held annually in The Hague, Netherlands, with the final round judged at the ICC itself by ICC judges and legal officers. The annual competition at Haub Law serves as a Regional Qualifying Round for the IBA ICCMCC.
Teams from the Americas and the Caribbean seeking to participate in this competition must register with Haub Law pursuant to the procedures provided on this website. Based on the number of registrations received from each country, we notify each team whether or not advancement to the global competition depends upon participation in the Regional Round at Haub Law. Pursuant to the rules of procedure of the international competition, participation in the global competition is usually limited to two teams per country.
The Competition in Brief
Each team will submit three short memorials (briefs) requiring the students to research and develop arguments based on the three participants in ICC prosecutions, i.e., the Prosecution, the Defense and the Victims’ Advocates, a new role developed for the first time for the International Criminal Court. These memorials will be evaluated by legal scholars, and prizes will be awarded for best brief, second place runner-up, and third place runner-up in each of the three categories of memorials. Rules and regulations for participation are available on the ICC Trial Competition Web site.
Perhaps the most exciting feature of the Moot, and one unique to this competition, is that each team of students will participate in three rounds of oral arguments and have the opportunity of arguing from all three perspectives, prosecutor, defense counsel and victims’ advocate. Past participants have commented that they had never experienced a better way of learning the substantive and procedural law in a given area and of fully developing the arguments of the parties than by having the opportunity to make those arguments from all three perspectives during the Moot.
The two highest scored teams in the English-language round will advance to the finals in The Hague, to compete against qualifying teams from around the world.
Contact Us
International Criminal Court (ICC) Moot Competition
Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University
78 North Broadway
White Plains, NY 10603
Email: ICCMoot@law.pace.edu