ICC Moot Court Competition
The ICC Moot Court Competition (ICCMCC) is an annual moot competition, focusing on International Criminal Law, held jointly by the International Criminal Court (ICC), The Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, and Leiden University. The objective is for the participants to acquire in-depth knowledge of International Criminal Law and the organisation of the ICC; familiarise themselves with other key institutions in the field of International Criminal Law; get practical professional training; and build a contact network with professors, practitioners and other competition participants.
The Competition is divided into two phases: a written (composition of memoranda) and an oral (hearings). The written phase takes place from early November until the end of February. During this period, each team must compose three memoranda representing the pleadings of the Office of the Prosecution; the Government Counsel or the Office of the Defence; and the Legal Representative for Victims, respectively. The oral phase takes place in May in ‘the Capital of International Peace’, The Hague, where the participants will spend an intensive week during which they will represent each party to the proceedings at least twice. The teams with the highest cumulative scores from both phases proceed to a semi-final round, after which the three most successful teams advance to a final round which is usually held in the court room, and before the judges, of the ICC.
In addition to partaking in the ICCMCC itself, the participants are given an opportunity to visit not only the International Criminal Court, but also the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), and the Peace Palace Library; the world’s most comprehensive international law library.