31 August 2026, by Claudia Sewig

Photo: Jessup-ILSA

The University of Hamburg team at this year’s Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court in Washington: Coach Dariush Nashir, participant Katharina Jäger, participant Zoë-Maria Kern, participant Benedikt Bieber, participant Maria Lourdes Warweg, and coach Laura Diao (from left to right).

Practical, international, and collaborative: In so-called moot courts, law students simulate court proceedings for a fictional case. Prof. Dr. Markus Kotzur, Professor of European and International Law at the University of Hamburg and Associate Dean for International Affairs in the Faculty of Law, explains in an interview exactly what this involves — and the significant benefits participation brings to students.

How and where did moot courts originate?

Moot courts originated in the United States. In the educational practice at American law schools, simulated courtroom proceedings are a required part of the curriculum. Students receive a grade for this as part of their academic performance. And often, they don’t just participate in one moot court but must do so in different areas of law. Virtually every American (private) university that offers a law program therefore has a room that is set up and equipped like a courtroom. Students can have themselves recorded there and watch the videos afterward to review their body language and rhetoric. That’s how it all started—it wasn’t until later that the idea arose that this could also be done in large-scale international scenarios and in a competitive setting.

And the University of Hamburg is also involved in this.

Exactly—and not just in one moot court! In addition to our two largest moot courts—the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, which focuses on private international law and comparative civil law, and the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition on international law—there are also moot courts in areas such as labor law, tax law, criminal law, and constitutional law.

How exactly do moot courts work?

They involve simulated court proceedings that are often based on real cases, real legal scenarios, or very current legal issues—in other words, cases that could actually be heard in court at some point. The students argue on behalf of the parties, which means they take on the perspective of attorneys. For example, in the Jessup Moot Court, they represent a state before the International Court of Justice that is involved in a dispute with another state. The highlight of such a moot court is the hearing, which is then simulated before a court. This isn’t just theater; the judges are fellow students who truly possess the expertise required for the role.

It would be a misconception to believe that a moot court is limited to this practical culmination; rather, the actual work in a moot court lies in the preparation of the briefs. Our students must set aside nearly half a year for this. For this reason, they are granted a semester off, which counts toward their exam preparation period. During this time, they are not required to take any exams but can focus entirely on the brief as a team. This closely mirrors the work situation at a large law firm.

Is this something you don’t typically learn in law school?

No, during their studies, students work largely on their own. When lawyers represent a major case before an international court, they’re part of a team that spends three or four months focusing on nothing else. And that’s exactly what students learn in the moot courts: they conduct research and draft briefs. Then they take those briefs into the courtroom.

Who mentors the participants during this long phase?

They’re mentored by coaches from our faculty, each specializing in the relevant fields. For the training sessions leading up to the court hearings, we collaborate with many colleagues from law firms in Hamburg, and that’s often the most rewarding phase for the participants. They are then invited to the law firms, where they can present these cases to real lawyers and receive tips from professionals who regularly appear in court themselves. In addition, we try to make it possible for everyone to attend a public speaking seminar.

And then it’s time to compete against the other teams from around the world.

Yes. Universities from all over the world are invited to participate in the two major moot courts, the VIS and the Jessup. Each year, a case is sent to all participants worldwide, and then any university that wishes to do so can take part in the competition. In the Jessup, for example, the case is announced in September. The university teams then have until the first week of January to work on it. This is followed by just under a month of training, and then the national finals take place. The top two to three teams—depending on the size of the country and the number of participants—will then have the opportunity, thanks to Trump’s restrictive visa policy, to travel to Toronto for the first time in 2027 to participate in the international finals, where they will compete against hundreds of teams from universities around the world. This year, our UHH team was still able to participate in the final round in Washington. Once again, we were able to cover the high participation costs thanks to the generous support of our alumni association of former Jessup members and numerous law firms and private sponsors in Hamburg.

What are the benefits of participating for everyone involved?

Students learn, on their own initiative, to research and write a complex legal brief, to express their ideas clearly in writing, and to coordinate with their team members and motivate one another in the process. This helps them grow tremendously. We often see that the exam scores of our moot court participants are above average. This is because they not only gain self-confidence but also because they’ve practiced exactly what they’ll need later on for independent learning and exam preparation. Participating in a moot court involves significantly more work and significantly less partying than a semester abroad. But the experience—which prepares you for working in international teams—often actually takes most people further than a semester abroad.

Since all major international moot courts are conducted in English, the people who perform well are, of course, also very attractive future employees. Thus, the involvement of the participating law firms is not purely altruistic. They have an interest in engaging with dedicated students in order to potentially recruit them as valuable employees in the future.

When is the best time during one’s studies to participate?

For me, the ideal situation is when students have completed their introductory and core coursework and are about to begin their specialization. Some do it right after the introductory phase—that’s the earliest stage—and it works wonderfully if they’re sufficiently motivated. And in very rare cases, students want to participate after their specialization. However, anyone who has started preparing for exams should no longer participate in a moot court. It’s a bit like sports: if you stop training right before a competition, you usually have to start all over again.

(This content has been translated automatically.)