Leiden University wins five prizes at the IBA ICC Moot Court Competition
Leiden University won five prizes at the 10th edition of the IBA International Criminal Court (ICC) Moot Court Competition – English edition of 2023, including Best Regional Team of Europe.
While Leiden University failed to proceed to the final round this year, it won five prizes based on its excellent performance in the preliminary rounds. The Leiden team ranked number 4 out of 81 teams from 50 countries and received five awards:
- Best Regional Team in Europe
- 1st Runner-Up Best Defence Team
- 2nd Runner-Up Best Defence Memorial
- 2nd Runner-Up Best Prosecution Team
- 2nd Runner-up Best Prosecution Speaker (Hanne De Langhe)
The members of the Leiden team were Hanne De Langhe, Marion Delahousse, Lisa Sivertsen, Emma Ebmer and Victoria Luján Ecarri. The team was coached by Sze Hong Lam and Leon Warren. The team members also wish to extend thanks to all the academic staff who guest-judged our sessions and provided useful guidance for the Leiden team.
Final Round at the ICC Building
After two years of the COVID-19 situation, the IBA ICC Moot Court Competition was held in-person this year in The Hague, the Netherlands. The final round was held on 9 June 2023, in Courtroom I of the ICC in The Hague. Universidade Federal da Bahia (Brazil) won the final round. Maastricht University (the Netherlands) and Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) won, respectively, second and third places. The award for Best Speaker went to Maraya Mihaylova of Maastricht University. Many congratulations to all the teams for their successful participation!
Academic Assistance
This version of the ICC Moot Court Competition is organised by the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies – Leiden University and the International Bar Association. In the context of its Academic Programme, the ICC supports the organisation of ICC Moot Court Competitions in Chinese, English, Russian and Spanish, with a view to also support Arabic and French versions in the future. These initiatives play a critical role in galvanising interest in the Court's work with academic communities as well as in enhancing promotion and respect for international criminal law.