Focus on a Campus: 5 Reims Students Crowned French Champions of the Largest Moot Court Competition

We – Felipe Chertouh, Nathan Darmon, Emily Ni, Linn Junge, and Varun Mandgi – are all second year students in the Politics and Government major of Sciences Po's Undergraduate College. Hailing from France / Brazil, France, Canada, Germany, and the United States respectively, our team embodies a true union of international legal traditions, which we have aptly put to use when devising arguments for the multicultural forum that is the International Court of Justice. Nathan Darmon, Emily Ni and Varun Mandgi are also enrolled in the Dual BA programme with Columbia University.

Our collective interest in law stems from parallel roots, as all of us began competitive debating and took an interest in politics from a very young age. As we got to Sciences Po, law became the primary prism through which we understood societal conflict, moral questions, and thus dispute resolution. And, after respective internships at the United Nations, in American Constitutional litigation, as well as immigration and corporate law, we felt compelled to engage with the subject from a more universal and thus international lens.

Looking forward, our team is preparing to go into several directions within the legal field. Felipe and Varun are both interested in private international law, specifically arbitration and dispute resolution. Nathan is preparing for a career in American constitutional law. Emily is looking at Canadian criminal law. And Linn is on track to pursue European human rights law.  

The Philip C. Jessup Cup is the largest and most prestigious moot court competition in the world. It started in the United States in 1960, and since then, it has rapidly grown to include over 90 countries each year with participants from over 700 law schools. This year, several teams from across France were present at the national rounds. There were four preliminary rounds as well as two championship rounds for the semifinals and finals. In each clash, teams would represent either the applicant or respondent in a fictitious case and would be evaluated on the quality of an extensive written submission prepared long in advance and an oral performance and presentation of their case before a panel of judges imitating the International Court of Justice.

The case this year was between Aglovale and Ragnell, two countries attempting to resolve disputes related to controversial uses of military force, prisoners of war treatment, economic sanctions, and environmental waste disposal and transportation. Our team was crowned French National Champions after defeating both Sciences Po Le Havre’s team and the Sciences Po's Law School in the elimination rounds. This was done while the managing partners of major international law firms and veteran professors of international law interrogated the students about the nuances of the issues at hand. 

After a nerve-wracking deliberation that lasted hours, the verdict was in: Sciences Po’s undergraduate team from the Reims campus would be going to Washington DC to compete at the international rounds, representing France. As we geared up for the international rounds which took place from 8 to 15 April, we met with lawyers, professors, and advisors at Permanent Missions to the United Nations to train and make sure France was putting forward the best team it possibly can to represent them in Washington. We were excited for the opportunity to show what we have learned and to compete!

Reims embodies the historical inheritance and excellence of Sciences Po and infuses within it a modern, innovative spirit. The campus itself, a former 17th century Jesuit Seminary, is home to an ancient and divinely preserved library, Baroque art pieces, Byzantine inscriptions, champagne grape vines, and a refectory. As the largest undergraduate campus, however, it also sports diverse and modern perspectives from every corner of the globe. At every turn, the campus comes alive with inter campus activities, lively conferences, and associative events that reunite over 1,600 students.

The North America-Europe program also continues to foster important Atlantic relationships and perspectives which will be instrumental to address challenges impacting the Western world and beyond. This unique mix of American and French professors enables each student to hear a broad array of viewpoints, equipping them with the tools to become global citizens with a penchant for problem-solving. There is no place we would rather be!

Reach out! The kindness of strangers is greater than you can imagine; it's only when you stand on the shoulders of giants that you’ll reach mountaintops.