Historic Success for Bochum: RUB Team Advances to the Top 32 of the World Championship in International Law

Washington, D.C. / Bochum. The team of Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) has achieved the best result in its history at this year’s White & Case International Rounds, the World Championship in International Law.

The law students Çağatay Maloğlu, Rafaela Rietz, Jessica Schäfer, Luis Zilm, and Cem Zor prevailed in a field of over 150 teams worldwide and reached the round of 32. While three RUB teams had previously qualified for the International Rounds in the long history of Jessup, only one team had previously managed to advance this far in the knockout stage of the competition, thus ranking among the top 32 out of more than 800 participating universities.

Sensational Victory over Harvard and Outstanding Individual Achievements

The International Rounds took place in Washington, D.C. from March 28 to April 4. After  confident preliminary rounds with victories against teams from Puerto Rico, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia, the Bochum team achieved a major upset: with a sensational win over the highly renowned Harvard Law School, they secured a spot among the top 32 teams. In a very close match against the University of Glasgow, the team was ultimately narrowly defeated.

In addition to the team success, the Bochum students also achieved outstanding results in the special categories. Their written submissions (memorials) were recognised as the 15th best worldwide. There was also individual success to celebrate: Rafaela Rietz was ranked among the 50 best oralists (placing 36th overall) of the entire competition.

Success through Team Spirit and Strong Support

This Jessup season concluded with a historic milestone. This success was made possible by the dedicated coaching and mentoring provided by the coaches Dilara Karmen Yaman, Stanislau Lashkevich, and Yari-Lasse Jäger (all from IFHV), as well as the broad support of the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV). Special thanks are due to Prof. Dr. Pierre Thielbörger, who once again supported the team with exceptional personal commitment.

The team was also supported by several sponsors who made participation in Washington possible in the first place: Kümmerlein; Noerr; Jones Day; Luther; Blomstein; Hartmann, Barkhoff & Partner, as well as the Verein zur Förderung der Rechtswissenschaft e.V. and the Ruhr University Bochum all contributed to the team’s success.

A Competition with International Prestige

Founded at Harvard University, in 1960  the Jessup is the oldest and largest moot court in the world. Students argue a fictional case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in English. After a five-month preparation period, during which teams prepare written submissions for both the applicant and respondent sides, the oral rounds follow.

This year, alongside the RUB (as the German National Champion), Bucerius Law School as well as the Universities of Hamburg and Heidelberg represented Germany in the International Rounds.