IEUL Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition Team has returned to participate in the national Dutch round In Maastricht (30-31 January 2025)
"Representing Erasmus University at the Jessup has easily been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my studies. It was such a truly enriching journey and opportunity for growth, personally and professionally. Looking back, I am grateful to have gained so many valuable skills through the research, teamwork, advocacy, and all the received feedback along the way. It was an honour to represent the university after years of absence from the competition, and I hope this marks the start of a long and strong tradition of participation!" (S. Mesmudi).
“It was a great opportunity to participate in this prestigious competition. I learned so much about International Law and presenting legal arguments effectively, and I am very grateful for the experience” (A. Banshidar).
With these words the IEUL Master students have defined their participation to Philip C. Jessup Moot Court Competition 2024-2025, the most prestigious student competition in the field of Public International Law. Under the coordination of Dr. Mirko Camanna and Dr. Stephanie Triefus, the students (Souraya Mesmudi, Akhi Banshidar, Beatriz Vanrell Montalt) worked for months on an fictitious case between two States submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) combining interesting and topical issues of Public International Law.
The competition consists of two stages: a written stage, in which students must draft a defense for both parties involved in the dispute; and an oral stage, in which students participate in a mock trial before the judges of the ICJ. During the first phase of the competition, students have quickly acquired extensive theoretical and practical knowledge in fundamental areas of public international law and have significantly improved their ability to draft legal documents.
After submitting their legal briefs, the students participated to the national oral phase of the competition, which took place in Maastricht this year. The IEUL Master students competed against students from other Dutch universities, being faced with several experienced judges. It was a challenging experience which has enabled them to improve their skills in presenting legal arguments in a convincing and well-structured manner.
“As a coach, I’ve witnessed a great personal and professional growth among the Team members. Despite numerous challenges and years away from competition, we gave it our all, and I’m incredibly proud of the Team. I hope this marks the beginning of a journey toward continued growth and aiming higher in future competitions” said the coach Dr. Mirko Camanna.
IEUL European Law Moot Court team delivers impressive achievement during ELMC Regional Final in Brno (7-9-February 2025)
This academic year, a dedicated team of four master students in International and European Union Law (Renee Kolpa, Sam Krekelaar, Maria Theoulaki and Maartje Konjer) embarked on the prestigious European Law Moot Court (ELMC) competition. Supervised by Dr. Masuma Shahid, the team spent months preparing detailed written pleadings of over 45 pages on a complex case combining EU competition law, fundamental rights, consumer protection, liability, judicial independence, jurisdiction, private international law and so much more. The efforts were rewarded with a qualification for the oral regional rounds, which led the students to present the case in Brno, Czechia at the Supreme Administrative Court; an impressive achievement given the global scope of the competition. At the Brno rounds, they competed against top law schools from across Europe, presenting oral arguments before panels of experienced academics and legal professionals.
This experience significantly strengthened the students’ skills in legal research, writing, oral advocacy, and teamwork. Beyond legal knowledge, the competition offered valuable intercultural exchange and a deepened appreciation for the practice of EU law in an international context.
In the words of the students:
Sam Krekelaar:
'Competing in the ELMC competition has been an all-round amazing experience. From diving into the Moot case, to hours of research and bonding with my teammates over coffee and case law. The adrenaline, the private coaching by faculty staff, pleading at the Supreme Administrative Court in Czech Republic and developing my practical legal skills. I would not have missed it for the world!’
Maartje Konjer:
‘The ELMC was an intense, knowledgeable and extremely fun experience that I would recommend to every student having an interest in debating and who envisages a future as a practicing lawyer. You will encounter the formatting requirements of the Court, "office politics" of how to conduct yourself as a "lawyer" to the judges and a speed course in legal drafting. As the saying goes; practice makes perfect - in this case practice is provided in two parts, both in writing and in oral pleading!’
Renee Kolpa:
‘The ELMC was an immensely rewarding academic journey. We engaged in intensive teamwork, deep self-study, countless hours of case law research, and creative legal reasoning. The constant exchange of ideas, refining our arguments, pushing each other to excel, and learning from one another, provided an invaluable learning experience. It not only deepened our mastery of EU law and our understanding of its practical application, but also honed our advocacy skills and strategic legal thinking. Even the most intense and stressful moments were genuinely enjoyable because we recognized the invaluable educational value of every activity. Every effort was truly well worth it.’
Past events
IEUL European Law Moot Court team delivers a sound performance during ELMC Regional Final in Madrid (24-26 March 2022)
European Law Moot Court (ELMC) Competition 2021-2022
IEUL ELMC student team: Junho Yang, Teresa Pinto Leite Magalhaes, Richard Brunnquell de Stachelski, Carelys Perez, Jacob de Vries and Maryjane Spiteri
Coaches: Nadja Pouls and Marie Vrielink
In September 2021, a group of six students of the Master International and European Union Law signed up for the prestigious European Law Moot Court competition. Under the coordination of Ms. Nadja Pouls and Marie Vrielink, they worked for months on an interesting and difficult case which combined European competition law, labour law and the freedom to provide services.
During the first phase of the competition, the students had to study and understand legal fields that were completely new to them. They quickly gained in-depth knowledge about European competition law, labour law and the freedom to provide services.
Two months after handing in the written pleadings, the students were informed in January 2022 that they went through to the ELMC Regional Final round (the oral pleadings).
During the Regional Final in Madrid (hosted by the Private Universidad San Pablo CEU between 24-26 March 2022), the IEUL master students competed against students from other universities from Europe and worldwide, being faced with a bench of judges who asked complicated and unexpected questions. It was a challenging but an amazing experience from which the participating IEUL master students learned a lot about presenting legal arguments in a convincing and well-structured manner. It was also a great opportunity to meet people from other universities from all over the world who share an interest in European Union law.
Throughout the process, the students did not only gain more knowledge about European Union law, but they also learned how to work together despite different communication styles. They gained valuable skills for their future careers and can be proud a great accomplishment.
Reflections on current issues of International and European Union Law
Law Meets Practice is a new set of colloquia of the Master Programme International and European Union Law. The Colloquia are aimed at stimulating reflections on current issues of International and European Union Law by bridging academic knowledge with the legal practice. Practitioners are invited to present their own perspectives on a wide variety set of important topics and discuss their career path with students. Law Meets Practice is thus a new intellectual challenge as well as a unique networking opportunity for our students to prepare them for their future career.
Expert talk on the ‘Delegated and implementing powers of the Commission in the institutional set-up of the European Union’
On 18 November 2019, we had the honour to host Ms. Rumyana Spasova (Policy Officer within the European Commission's Secretariat-General). She gave an expert talk for the students of the LL.M. programme International and European Union Law on ‘Delegated and implementing powers of the Commission in the institutional set-up of the European Union’. During her talk, she unveiled the complexities of the Commission’s ‘technocratic’ decision-making and provided very insightful views from a practitioner’s perspective on the way in which the system of EU delegated and implementing acts (representing the bulk of Union’s legally binding instruments) works in the post-Lisbon era. Students were actively involved during the session, including by preparing and presenting a response paper concerning the Resolution of the European Parliament on Genetically Modified Maize MZHG0JG of 10 October 2019.
About the speaker:
Ms. Rumyana Spasova is a law graduate from Sofia University (Bulgaria), and she obtained an LL.M in South-East European Law and European Integration from the Karl-Franzens University in Graz (Austria). She worked as a research and teaching assistant at the Department for European Law in Karl-Franzens University, before joining the European Commission in 2012. Within the European Commission she worked as a policy officer for state aid in the Secretariat-General of the Commission, and later on as a legal officer in the Legal Unit of Directorate- General for Health and Food Safety. Since 2018, she has been working in the Unit “Institutional Affairs” in the Secretariat-General of the Commission, covering the areas related to delegated and implementing acts, and expert groups.
Yearly Guest Lecture on EU and International Law
By Former Dutch Prime-Minister Jan Peter Balkenende
On 4 October 2019, former Dutch Prime-Minister Jan Peter Balkenende gave his yearly guest lecture for the students of the LL.M. Programme International and European Union Law. On this occasion, he conveyed original and insightful views upon highly topical European and international legal and political issues. During his talk, he tackled ‘hot topics’ pertaining to the Euro crisis, the EU refugee crisis, ‘Brexit’, Union’s trade and investment policy, the Paris Agreement setting a global action plan to fight climate change, and the role of the Member States and EU in global institutions and fora like G20 and IMF. Mr. Jan Peter Balkenende actively debated with the audience by challenging students to express their views and by answering challenging questions from students.
IEUL guest lecture on 'Legal and ethical implications regarding the use of AI-based technology in an EU and international context'
On 11 September 2019, the IEUL Master Programme hosted Mr. Jonathan Ruff’s talk on “Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Ethics and Law. Exploring the Subconsciousness of the Law”. During the event, the guest speaker and the IEUL students debated over highly topical and polemical issues pertaining to the concepts of ‘subconsciousness’ of the legal order and ‘artificial intelligence’ as well as to their manifestations in practice. An interdisciplinary approach combining law, ethics and technology has been proposed by the speaker with a view to decipher the multifarious implications flowing from the use of modern and future technologies. A case in point during the discussion was the issue of legal personality of artificial intelligence robots and self-driving cars. Students were actively involved during the session, including preparing and presenting a group assignment concerning the marriage possibilities between humans and AI systems under international law, EU law and domestic legal frameworks.
About the speaker:
Jonathan Ruff is an alumnus of Erasmus School of Law, the law faculty of Erasmus University Rotterdam. He currently works as an attorney (senior associate) for the law firm Loyens & Loeff, the Netherlands. He is specialised in matters relating to public international law, international arbitration and private international law, including human rights law, investment arbitration and commercial disputes. He is also active in the field of privacy law, in particular in the context of human rights, and the ethical aspects of artificial intelligence.
‘State immunity and immunity of international organisations’
Guest lecture by Mr Jonathan Ruff (Loyens & Loeff Rotterdam)
On Friday 24 May, Mr Jonathan Ruff’s has talked on ‘State immunity and immunity of international organisations’. During this event, the origin, development and current state of the doctrines of state immunity and immunity of international organisations were explored. The guest lecture started with a brief outline of the concepts of ‘state’ and ‘international organisation’ under public international law, followed by an overview of the case-law of courts around the globe that gave shape to the doctrine of state immunity and immunity of international organisations. Also, the most notable international conventions in this field, as well as the human rights perspective and considerations concerning state immunity and immunity of international organisations have been discussed. In the context of the doctrine of immunity of international organisations, the position of the European Union has been given particular attention. The last part of the guest lecture has been dedicated to the case-law of the Dutch Supreme Court on state immunity and immunity of international organisations in the period 2012-2019.
About the speaker:
Jonathan Ruff is an alumnus of Erasmus School of Law, the law faculty of Erasmus University Rotterdam. He currently works as an attorney (senior associate) for the law firm Loyens & Loeff, the Netherlands. He is specialised in matters relating to public international law, international arbitration and private international law, including human rights law, investment arbitration and commercial disputes. He is also active in the field of privacy law, in particular in the context of human rights, and the ethical aspects of artificial intelligence.
IEUL students experience the “real-life” work of a lawyer at the Law firm Loyens & Loeff Rotterdam
On 10 May, the prestigious Law firm Loyens & Loeff generously organised a working visit for a group of IEUL students at its headquarters in Rotterdam. It was not an ordinary visit, the purpose of this event being to familiarise IEUL students with the 'real-life' work of a lawyer. For this purpose, the IEUL students prepared in advance and solved during the visit an assignment mirroring a real case that a lawyer could encounter in practice. The assignment consisted of a simulation of arbitration proceedings concerning a jurisdictional dispute under a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between the Netherlands and a third country. The students, organized in four parties (the Arbitral Tribunal; the company XYZ as claimant; The Netherlands as respondent; and the European Commission as amicus curiae) had 90 minutes to express their views, react to each other’s arguments and reach a final decision on the case. Lawyers of Loyens & Loeff monitored closely students’ performance and provided them with valuable and extensive feedback from a practitioner’s perspective. The event ended with a reception offering the students the opportunity to approach the Loyens & Loeff lawyers in an informal and relaxed atmosphere.
Student Study Trip to Brussels
Between 14-17 April 2019, sixteen IEUL master students went to Brussels on the yearly student-led study trip. The students were hosted by various European institutions and international organizations, such as the European Commission, the World Bank Group, the European Social and Economic Committee, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Energy Charter Secretariat and the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands.
During the visit, the IEUL students gained an insightful understanding of highly topical EU and international issues, such as Brexit and the upcoming European Parliament elections. The IEUL students also received extensive information and practical advice about career paths offered by European and international organizations, such as traineeships and internships. Overall, the balance of different presentations and institutions was very interesting and useful. It gave students an overarching and realistic picture of the post-LL.M. professional life and offered them the opportunity to establish valuable contacts with different European and international organizations.
The study trip also offered room for social activities to strengthen the bonds between the IEUL students. Among others, the group went to a Karaoke Bar, watched football games and participated in a Beer Tasting.
The trip was organized by a committee of six IEUL master students and generously supported by several grants from the Erasmus Trust Funds.
Visit of the IEUL Master Students at the International Criminal Court (ICC)
On 28 March 2019, the IEUL master students visited the International Criminal Court (ICC). They were received by the Office of Public Counsel for the Defense (OPCD) who gave a tour of the premises and presented Office’s work. The head of the OPCD, Mr Jean-Xavier Keita explained the function of the OPCD as an independent office assisting the defence teams with legal research and advice and advancing submissions on behalf of unrepresented suspects or on specific issues. Subsequently, Marie O'Leary, counsel for the OPCD, gave a presentation on the principle of complementarity that is central to the functioning of the ICC. Finally, Dragan Ivetic, an experienced defence counsel who has notably represented Ratio Mladić before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, held a lecture on fair trial rights of defendants. He also engaged IEUL students with a practical exercise; for an hour, the students put on the hat of a defence counsel and presented arguments to challenge the determinacy of indictments against their ‘clients’.
"The conferral of delegated and implementing powers to the European Commission under Articles 290 & 291 TFEU"
Expert talk by Ms. Susanne Höke, European Commission
On 19 November 2018, we had the honour to host Ms. Susanne Höke, Deputy Head of the Unit ‘Institutional Affairs’ within the European Commission's Secretariat-General. She gave an expert talk for the students of the Master Programme International and European Union Law on "The conferral of delegated and implementing powers to the European Commission under Articles 290 & 291 TFEU". During her intervention, she unveiled the complexities of the Commission’s ‘technocratic’ decision-making and provided interesting insights from a practitioner’s perspective on the way in which this system works in the post-Lisbon era.
Guest lecture on EU and International law
by former Dutch Prime-minister Jan Peter Balkenende
On 5 October 2018, former Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende gave a guest lecture for the students of the Master Programme International and European Union Law. On this occasion, he provided thought-provoking and insightful views on actual European legal and political issues, such as ‘Brexit’, the EU financial and refugee crises, EU trade and investment policy, Member States and EU in global institutions and fora, by linking them to wider international developments. During his talk, Prof. Balkenende actively engaged with the audience by challenging students to express their views and by answering challenging questions from students.