May I congratulate you on your excellent performance in the mooting competitions. You have brought glory to our college. You have every right to celebrate these achievements as over the years you have come out on top in mooting competitions, both nationally and internationally.
Message to those attending from Judge Patrick Robinson of the International Court of Justice.
20 May 2022
King's Jessup Moot teams reunite to celebrate legacy
On 13 May, The Dickson Poon School of Law hosted a dinner to celebrate the School’s long involvement with the Jessup Moot.
The Jessup Moot is the largest mooting competition in the world, involving 700 teams from over 100 countries. King’s has participated since 2006, and has an unmatched record of success among UK universities, reaching the Grand Final in 2007, the international semi-finals on three occasions, and winning the UK championships five years running, from 2016 to 2020.
The dinner brought together more than 40 former participants, coaches and mentors.
Professor Philippa Webb, who has been the academic adviser to the King’s Jessup team since 2012, read a message from a prominent alumnus, Judge Patrick Robinson, of the International Court of Justice.
Professor Webb noted that the celebration was tinged with sadness at remembering Aqeel Noorali, a Jessup mooter, coach, mentor and friend, who passed away suddenly in November 2020 at the age of 33. To mark his legacy, the prize for Best Preliminary Round Oralist at the UK National Rounds of Jessup has been renamed in his honour.
Daisy Peterson, a 2022 mooter, spoke about how the long hours spent on Jessup had been strangely enjoyable and had reshaped her career aspirations. Andrew Brown, a former mooter and the co-coach for the past three years, observed that if everyone thought about their life pre- and post-Jessup, they would appreciate how much it had changed their life for the better.
Neza Leroy and Mubarak Waseem, former mooters and coaches, expressed sincere thanks for the support that the Jessup community had provided over the years, and encouraged everyone to remain involved.
The success King’s teams have enjoyed at the Jessup moot would not have been possible without the support of our volunteer coaches - all Jessup alumni - and academic colleagues, and it was fantastic to see so many participants, coaches and advisers represented at the dinner. For me, it confirmed that the legacy of Jessup at King’s is so much more than our impressive record in the competition; it is a legacy of friendship, service and support.
Professor Philippa Webb
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Professor of Public International Law