After winning the national rounds held in Madrid last February, in which it competed with nine Spanish universities, the Jessup UPF team, made up of students and assistants linked to the University’s Faculty of Law travelled to Washington D.C. to participate in the International Rounds of White & Case LLP Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, a contest that seeks to promote legal skills and values among future professionals in the field.

In the international phase, which took place between 29 March and 5 April at the Hyatt Regency Washington On Capitol Hill hotel in the US capital, the University team achieved two victories and a draw in the four rounds in which it took part, placing it in 59th final position out of a total of 152 participating universities (previously ranked among more than 800 universities worldwide). This result and the recognition of UPF students among the best orators in the world, are a reflection of the high level achieved during the competition and the many hours of preparation.

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world’s biggest and most prestigious public international law competition

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world’s biggest and most prestigious public international law competition, a simulation of a legal dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial body of the United Nations, in which teams of law students compete against each other by presenting oral and written pleadings to address topical issues.

The UPF team was composed of Ela Arenas Eryilmaz, Tristán Dorda Gracia, and Bernat Valero Miralles, students of the double bachelor’s degree in Law taught by UPF and King’s College London, steered by the “head coach” Melissa Bell Romero (a doctoral student of the UPF Department of Law), and with the support of the “assistant coaches” Diego Ernesto Iván Sánchez Borjas (lawyer at Uría Menéndez) and Carlo Carvajal Aguilar (a doctoral student of the UPF Department of Law). During the rounds they competed against teams from Malaysia (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia), the United States (Case Western Reserve University), the United Kingdom (University of Glasgow), and Panama (Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua): UPF won twice (beating the United Kingdom and Panama), lost to the US, and was eliminated after tying with Malaysia.

The team was recognized for its excellence in advocacy and oral discourse: Tristan Dorda Gracia won the Ved P. Nanda award, granted to the best orators in the world, and ranked 13th out of 486. Ela Arenas Eryilmaz was ranked 28th, and Bernat Valero Miralles, 138th.

After winning the national rounds held in Madrid last February, in which it competed with nine Spanish universities, the Jessup UPF team, made up of students and assistants linked to the University’s Faculty of Law travelled to Washington D.C. to participate in the International Rounds of White & Case LLP Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, a contest that seeks to promote legal skills and values among future professionals in the field.

In the international phase, which took place between 29 March and 5 April at the Hyatt Regency Washington On Capitol Hill hotel in the US capital, the University team achieved two victories and a draw in the four rounds in which it took part, placing it in 59th final position out of a total of 152 participating universities (previously ranked among more than 800 universities worldwide). This result and the recognition of UPF students among the best orators in the world, are a reflection of the high level achieved during the competition and the many hours of preparation.

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world’s biggest and most prestigious public international law competition

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world’s biggest and most prestigious public international law competition, a simulation of a legal dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial body of the United Nations, in which teams of law students compete against each other by presenting oral and written pleadings to address topical issues.

The UPF team was composed of Ela Arenas Eryilmaz, Tristán Dorda Gracia, and Bernat Valero Miralles, students of the double bachelor’s degree in Law taught by UPF and King’s College London, steered by the “head coach” Melissa Bell Romero (a doctoral student of the UPF Department of Law), and with the support of the “assistant coaches” Diego Ernesto Iván Sánchez Borjas (lawyer at Uría Menéndez) and Carlo Carvajal Aguilar (a doctoral student of the UPF Department of Law). During the rounds they competed against teams from Malaysia (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia), the United States (Case Western Reserve University), the United Kingdom (University of Glasgow), and Panama (Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua): UPF won twice (beating the United Kingdom and Panama), lost to the US, and was eliminated after tying with Malaysia.

The team was recognized for its excellence in advocacy and oral discourse: Tristan Dorda Gracia won the Ved P. Nanda award, granted to the best orators in the world, and ranked 13th out of 486. Ela Arenas Eryilmaz was ranked 28th, and Bernat Valero Miralles, 138th.

Tristán Dorda: “participating in the international rounds has been an unforgettable experience in which I have rediscovered my passion for law and advocacy and where I have met people from all over the world”

Tristán Dorda Gracia dedicates the Ved P. Nanda award to the whole team: “Although the prize was awarded to me personally, both Bernat and Ela deserve it as much or more than me. It is a shared prize, which belongs to them and our coaches, since without the participation of all of us, we would not have been able to achieve these good results”, he assures. For Dorda, apart from the award, “participating in the international rounds has been an unforgettable experience in which I have rediscovered my passion for law and advocacy and where I have met people from all over the world”.

His colleague, Bernat Valero, highlights the intensity of the competition: “The Jessup demands a lot from all team members. For this reason, getting to Washington is the reward for hours and hours of sacrifice. I am really satisfied with our performance during the international rounds, and in particular, having been a member of the first UPF team to go to Washington in person”. And he adds: “It's been a personal experience like few others I’ve had, because it brings you closer to teams and judges from around the world. Meeting people of such a variety of nationalities opens your mind to new perspectives and new methods of preparation, and also makes you see that all participants have a lot of things in common”.

Ela Arenas, meanwhile, does not hesitate to qualify her participation in Jessup 2025 as “the best academic experience I’ve had during these four years of university. The international rounds have been truly inspiring, not only for competing against teams from so many different places, but also for the opportunity to meet judges from different parts of the world with impressive professional careers who are greatly influential in the world of public international law”.

A topical simulation that allows developing legal skills and competences

The fictional cases of the Jessup often deal with hot international topics. Specifically, this year the “Case Concerning the Naegea Sea” raised issues related to arbitration clauses (clauses of some international treaties whereby the parties undertake to submit their disagreements to international arbitration or an international tribunal), universal jurisdiction to prosecute crimes of enforced disappearance, the recession of coastlines as a result of climate change, and the recognition of governments.

For Tristán Dorda, “having to present for more than twenty minutes two legal issues of great complexity, and having to attend to and respond ipso facto to the questions raised by the judges during the presentation, have made me develop improvisational skills, calm and courage, which I surely would not have had if I had not participated in the competition. Facing a real-life judge doesn’t scare me now as much as it used to”, he asserts.

Ela Arenas: “The competition teaches you to be quick on your feet with your arguments, to think creatively and to work as a team”

But these results would not have been possible without the hard work done before the competition. Ela Arenas highlights some of the tasks that have been carried out during the lengthy preparation that have allowed her to develop the essential skills to practise law: an in-depth research project for five months on various topics of public international law, which yielded two 60-page memorials on the part of the applicant and the respondent; or a preparation of oral advocacy to present the arguments before panels of judges. “The competition teaches you to be quick on your feet with your arguments, to think creatively and to work as a team”, she summarizes.

A social aspect that allows socializing with students from all over the world

In addition to the competition itself, the international rounds feature numerous activities for participants to get to know each other. Two of the most notable are “The Go National Ball” (an event at which each team attends in costumes representing their country) and the “Final Gala”. In addition, the UPF team had the opportunity to explore Washington, with a visit to the Capitol, and even a visit to the Spanish Embassy in Washington and the Government Delegation.

Bernat Valero: “In a scenario like the International Jessup Rounds, you learn to relate to people from all over the world and to take an interest in other cultures, which is essential in an increasingly globalized world”

For Bernat Valero, “in a scenario like the International Jessup Rounds, you learn to relate to people from all over the world and to take an interest in other cultures, which is essential in an increasingly globalized world”. For her part, Ela Arenas considers that “In Washington I have seen how the Jessup really does have a very big community spirit: most of the coaches and judges are former participants, they know each other and have been friends for years thanks to the competition. In fact, the nicest aspect is this: after working for nine months with the team, including our three coaches, we have become very close friends”.

Prior to their trip to the US, the UPF team members were received by Helena Ramalhinho, UPF vice-rector for International Relations, and Anna M. Caballé, dean of the Faculty of Law, who wished them luck at a meeting that took place in mid-March at the Mercè Rodoreda building on the Ciutadella campus.