ASTANA – KAZGUU University has entered the top 50 universities based on the results of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. The university team participated March 31-April 7 in the national and international rounds.
The Jessup competition, the most prestigious and famous in international law, is held annually in Washington, D C, by the International Law Student Association (ILSA) and supported by the international law firm White & Case. This year marked the 59th event involving 645 teams from 95 countries.
The KAZGUU team, which defeated Almaty-based KIMEP University in the first two rounds of the national championship, represented Kazakhstan at the international level. It competed against teams from prestigious institutions such as BRAC University (Bangladesh), Case Western Reserve University (U.S.), Hena e Plote (BEDER) University (Albania) and University of Toronto (Canada).
The team scored 3,050 points, taking 49th place. It outranked many world-famous universities including Universität Wien (Austria, 53rd), the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law – Common Law Section (Canada, 57th), the University of California Berkley (U.S., 60th), Fordham University (U.S., 62nd) and Case Western Reserve University (U.S., 64th).
In addition, memorandums drafted by the KAZGUU team took 26th place and Kazakh speakers Madina Arturova and Zarina Temirbulatova were among the top 100 speakers.
The team included undergraduate and graduate students Adil Osipov, Alexandra Platoshina and Aiym Sabyrova and was coached by Department of International Law Deputy Chairperson and Assistant Professor Miras Daulenov and senior teachers Alberto Pecoraro and Aiman Smagulova.
Participating in such competitions allows students to acquire critical and analytical thinking, logic, judicial rhetoric and emotional intelligence skills, as they try to solve problems and train themselves. Teams have more than six months to solve problems, as the competition starts in mid-September and precedes the international rounds.
Conducting weekly trainings, thoroughly analysing disputes and developing the parties’ legal positions gives the students an opportunity to effectively compete with experienced lawyers and perform the most difficult practical tasks.
