A College of Law undergraduate moot court team comprising of 4th and 5th year LL.B students- Ms. Ayantu Adugna Dechasa, Mr. Peniel Abeya Etana, Ms. Ruth Samuel Girma, and Mr. Tajir Yoseph Mumede- and advised by Lecturer of Law, Mr. Firew Kasaye Giday- has taken 1st place in the Ethiopian National Rounds of the 2024 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

Now in its 65th year, the Jessup is the world’s largest and most prestigious moot court competition for law students, with participants from more than 700 law schools in over 100 different countries and jurisdictions. Participating countries hold national competitions to determine their respective representatives to attend the International Rounds, held annually in Washington, DC, USA. Sponsored by the international law firm White & Case LLP, and organized by the International Law Students Association (ILSA), this year’s International Rounds will be held from 30 March – 06 April 2024 at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., USA.

Students competing in the Jessup argue a hypothetical dispute between two fictional countries before a simulated International Court of Justice. Each competing team was required to submit two written arguments of approximately 40 pages each (by 15 January 2024) and to prepare 90 minutes of oral arguments. Teams who were able to complete the written submissions on time and according to the Jessup guidelines were invited to participate in the Ethiopian National Rounds.


The Ethiopian National Rounds were organized by the Ethiopian Law Schools Association (ELSA) and held at the Grand Eliana Hotel in Addis Ababa on 27 January 2024, out of 8 universities that registered for the Jessup only 3 qualified and were invited to attend the Ethiopian National Rounds. The Haramaya University College of Law took 1st place while Addis Ababa University placed 2nd and Hawassa University placed 3rd.

The Haramaya University College of Law will be the only Ethiopian law school invited by ILSA to represent Ethiopia at the Jessup International Rounds in the United States. This is a testament to the quality of the research, writing, and oral advocacy skills of the student team.

Dr. Richard Wentzel, the Dean of the Haramaya University College of Law, stated that the students managed to engage in numerous extra-curricular activities such as moot preparation, legal research, writing, and oral advocacy practice, all while dealing with the heavy undergraduate course load. This highlights the students’ remarkable strength of character and their unwavering commitment to academic excellence.

The Dean expresses his gratitude to the management team of Haramaya University who generously supported such a unique academic opportunity. He also thanks Mr. Firew Kasaye Giday for his excellent mentorship as the Team Advisor, as well as all of the academic staff members of the College of Law who supported the students during the moot preparation.

Dr. Richard explained that the Haramaya University College of Law moot court team is now earnestly working on preparing themselves to represent Ethiopia at the International Rounds of the 2024 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition from 30 March – 06 April 2024 in Washington, D.C., USA.

Haramaya University Public & International Relations Directorate