General Information
We are pleased to announce that the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition 2011 will be held from 28 until 30 April in the Peace Palace in The Hague.
Telders International Law Moot Court Competition The Telders International Law Moot Court Competition passed its 30th milestone in 2007, and is still going strong. Since its humble beginnings in 1977, when only four universities took part, the Competition has today become the most prestigious and important moot court competition in Europe. Annually, teams from over 40 universities compete in the national rounds, with the successfully teams going on to represent their countries in the international rounds held at the Peace Palace in The Hague. Through the Competition students are educated in legal practice and such principles as the rule of law, civil society and fair play. The Competition also stimulates team-work and European integration. Students and academics consider participation important, a great honour and a wonderful experience of a friendly and international competition never to be forgotten. Each year student-teams are presented with a case involving a fictitious dispute between two states. This dispute is put before the United Nations' most important legal organ, the International Court of Justice. It is up to the student-teams to defend the two states to the best of their ability. Each student-team has to represent the states substantively both in writing and through pleadings before so-called moot courts. Per European country, only the university winning the national rounds may participate in the international rounds held in The Hague. The students' memorials and pleadings are judged by legal experts. In this respect, the active involvement of judges from the real International Court of Justice, the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, professors of law and ambassadors schooled in international law guarantee the high intellectual standards of the Competition and its prestige. The Competition is traditionally held at the Peace Palace in The Hague. The aim of the Competition is to prolong the legacy of Professor dr. Benjamin Marius Telders, who became a professor of international law at Leiden University in 1937. Telders was intensely interested in why and how law operated. Being in many respects still undefined and interwoven with history and politics, international law was an excellent challenge. Professor Telders was respected for his sharp mind and had the honour to represent his country frequently, including before the Permanent Court of International Justice. Even during the Second World War, Telders stood up for his belief in the rule of law and civil society, and as a result was sent to the concentration camp at Bergen Belsen, where he later died in 1945. Throughout its existence, the Telders Competition has enjoyed the support of several prominent members of the ICJ and the international legal world. The late Judge C-A. Fleischhauer, Judge Stephen M. Schwebel (ICJ) and Judge Gilbert Guillaume (former President, ICJ) have been Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Competition. The present Chairman is Judge Bengt Broms (Iran-US Claims Tribunal). As of June 2004, the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition has been incorporated to the Grotius Centre of International Legal Studies (Campus The Hague, Leiden University). The Grotius Centre houses a variety of activities and programs, covering all aspects of international law. Half of the operational budget is covered by the registration fee paid by the participating teams. The other half of the budget is covered by sponsors, such as the City of The Hague, the City of Leiden, the Swiss Embassy in The Hague, law firms, and generous contributors. Furthermore, donations of major publishers make it possible to offer the teams awards in the form of books and reviews on international law. The building of the Peace Palace where the Competition is held is sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation.
The Telders Moot Court Competition is named after Professor dr. Benjamin Marius Telders, who first became a professor of international law at Leiden University in 1931. Telders was extremely interested in why and how law operated. He considered international law to be a unique study and challenge, since it was— and in many respects still is— undefined and interwoven with history and politics. Professor Telders was respected for his sharp mind and frequently had the honour to represent his country, The Netherlands, before the Permanent Court of International Justice, predecessor of the International Court of Justice. His interests and activities were not, however, limited to international law. Professor Telders was a man who enjoyed life to the full. He spent his time doing various other activities as playing the piano, editing a literary magazine and leading a political party. These other activities complemented his duties as a professor and a lawyer. His approach to law was a practical one. Problems were meant to be solved, but not in contravention with important legal principles such as the rule of law and civil society. Professor Telders stood and fought for those principles even in the most difficult of times during the Second World War. Even being imprisoned for four and a half years did not break him morally or mentally, but made him more determined. He continued to write about international law, using a small pencil and match sticks. His fellow prisoners had great respect for his ability to put moral guidance and leadership into practice. Professor Telders died in the concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen in April 1945. |
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