Glasgow team reaches 'octofinals' of Jessup Moot competition in DC
Published: 14 April 2026
Congratulations to our student mooting team, who delivered an exceptional performance at the recent international rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. The team reached the 'octofinals' of the competition held in Washington DC earlier this spring.
Congratulations to our student mooting team, who delivered an exceptional performance at the recent international rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. The competition was held in Washington DC from 28 March - 4 April and featured over 160 mooting teams, making it the world’s largest international mooting competition.
The team was made up of student members Harry O'Connor, Euan Livingston, Rhea Abraham, Finn Thomson, and Jessie Campbell.
Glasgow qualified for Washington by reaching the semi-finals of the UK National Rounds, held at Lincoln’s Inn, London, in late February. This is the fourth year in a row in which Glasgow has participated in the Jessup, since David Scott re-commenced the competition in Glasgow. It is the second year in which Glasgow qualified for the International Rounds, together with teams from LSE, the University of Oxford, and the University of Sheffield.
The team ranked 8th out of 164 teams competing in the preliminary rounds, winning all four preliminary round matches unanimously and by a wide margin. Our students progressed to the last 16 of the knockout rounds, the ‘octo-finals’, before losing to Ateneo de Manila University, who were the eventual runners-up in the competition.
Our written memorial was ranked the best among all four UK universities competing at the international rounds. Team member Harry O'Connor was awarded a Ved P. Nanda Award prize for ranking 10th out of 547 speakers.
The School of Law is incredibly proud of the hard work and determination of our mooting team and what they have managed to achieve this year. The coaches, Professor James Devaney, Dr Matina Papadaki and Dr Joseph Crampin, have worked with dedication to prepare the team for the competition.
Thank you to everyone who has been involved in supporting the team this year, including colleagues, alumni and former Jessupers. Special thanks go to those who provided financial support to help send the team to DC, including the Faculty of Advocates, The Law Society of Scotland, and anonymous donors.
First published: 14 April 2026