ICC Moot Court
The International Criminal Moot Court takes place every year in The Hague. With typically more than 100 teams from around 50 countries, it is the world's largest competition in international criminal law. Since 2017, a team from Bonn, supervised by Prof. Stuckenberg in cooperation with Prof. Böse, has participated, achieving notable success.
Become part of the 2026 ICC Moot Court Team!
Compete against other German and international universities and qualify for the final round (International Round) at the International Criminal Court in The Hague!
The IBA ICC Moot Court Competition is an English-language competition in international criminal law that takes place annually in The Hague. The cases address current issues in international criminal law and international law.
What will you learn and take away from the experience?
- Expert knowledge in specific areas of international criminal law
- Legal skills (drafting pleadings, processing judgements)
- Rhetorical skills (oral presentations to practitioners and experts in international criminal law and international law)
- English language skills
- Practical relevance
- Teamwork skills
- Contacts with practitioners in the field of international criminal law and international law, as well as other interested students
2017
Participating since
3rd Place
Best Result (international)
11
Total Awards
Overview
The Moot Court takes place from October to May/June. If more than five teams register in Germany, there will either be a national preliminary round or problem-solving questions. Due to the fact that there have been fewer than five German teams since 2020 – and therefore no German national preliminary rounds – the structure of the competition will be based on the international round in The Hague and will be as follows:
In the first phase (memorial phase), from October to March, the Memorials will be written from the perspective of the prosecution, defence and victim or government representation.
In the second phase (Oral Phase), the pleadings will be prepared and rehearsed. The core phase of the Oral Phase takes place during the lecture-free period and usually runs from March to April, in consultation with the participants. In addition, there will be two ‘Friendly Rounds’ in which participants can compete with other teams before the international round.
During the week-long international round in The Hague, all teams compete against each other in a preliminary round, the results determine which teams reach the quarter-finals. The following knock-out-rounds (quarter-final, semi-final) reach their peak in the final, which is held in a courtroom of the International Criminal Court.
Basic knowledge of international criminal law is helpful, but not a prerequisite! Instead, crucial are an interest in international law and international criminal law, motivation, enjoyment of working in a team, and a good knowledge of the English language.
Successes of previous teams
2025
Entered the Final Round and finished second runner-up in the competition (3rd place of 85) and won the Award for Best Regional Team Europe and Second Runner-Up Best Victims' Memorial.
2024
Entered the Quarter Finals and finished in rank 18 of 116 in the preliminary round of the competition.
2023
Entered the Quarter Finals and won the Award for the Best Defense Memorial.
2022
Entered the Semi-Finals and came in 4th place in the preliminary round; in addition, they won the following six prizes:
- Best Defense Counsel Memorial
- Best Victims' Counsel Memorial
- The IBA Award for the Best Overall Memorial
- Second Runner-up Best Victims' Counsel Team
- The IBA Award for the Best Non-Native English Speaking Team
- Best Regional Team of Europe
2021
Entered the Quarter Finals and finished in place 6 of 96 in this year's preliminary round.
2018
Entered the Semi-Finals and won the fourth place in the preliminary round (of 65 teams from 46 countries).
2017
Came in first at the German National Round; entered the Quarter Finals and won the Award for the Best Non-Native Speaking Team.
Key topics in recent years
- 2025: Contribution to ‘gender apartheid’ through the delivery of an automated and AI-controlled border surveillance system; personal jurisdiction of the Court in cases of dual nationality; witness tampering
- 2024: Attack on cultural property as a war crime and crime against humanity; jurisdiction of the Court in cases of withdrawal from the Rome Statute; capacity (or incapacity) of the accused to stand trial
- 2023: Criminalisation of ‘ecocide’ through the release of genetically modified insects; secession and financing of an independence movement; ultra vires action by the UN General Assembly
- 2022: Attack by ‘hunter-killer drones’ on pirates, including children; representation of victims before the ICC; temporal jurisdiction of the ICC
- 2021: Release of a deadly virus as a crime against humanity; scope and limits of the right to be present and represent oneself in international criminal proceedings; scope of the territorial jurisdiction of the ICC; personal immunity for crimes under international law