A student led experience
The Jean-Pictet Competition on International Humanitarian Law gathers students from all over the world to compete in simulations and role plays built around a fictitious armed conflict. This year, a team of three students selected through the JUR5730 – International Humanitarian Law course represented UiO: Nils Alexander Alwon, Matilde Vargas and Lorenzi Bossi, all from the NCHR’s Master in Theory and Practice of Human Rights. It is the fourth time a team from UiO participates in the competition, and the second time to make the semi-finals.
The team was coached by last year’s team, who also made it to the semifinals, and extensively practiced role-playing since January 2023. Thanks to this peer-to-peer approach, they could gain good insider knowledge and competition insights. They were also was guided by Professor Kjetil Mujezinovic Larsen from the Department of International and Public Law and received financial support from the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) and the Centre for Experiential Legal Learning (CELL).
Unlike other moots, contestants to the Jean-Pictet Competition don’t get the test beforehand, and the “kitchen”, a group of IHL professionals tasked to create the fictional cases and design the tests, is particularly creative when making scenarios. This made for a challenging yet rewarding experience, especially for a multidisciplinary team facing law students in a law competition.
A unique opportunity
The Jean-Pictet Competition is the largest international competition on international humanitarian law and offers a great opportunity for students. Though not connected to credit at UiO, it is a way to become part of the “Pictet family” and make connections and network for job and internship opportunities. This year, only nine of the forty-four participating teams were from Europe, with most of them representing institutions from Asia.
"Often times I asked myself why I as dedicating so much time on preparations, but in the end it was more than worth it. The competition was a great way of applying what we learnt in class. It is very different from other types of moots because we get to play in a lot of different simulations, and we have more interaction with other teams and the staff involved. It makes the experience all the more valuable and rewarding.” - Matilde.
“I was impressed by how they organized it. They managed to get 170 people from all over the world. Christophe (admin) was amazing.” - Nils.
In the end, victory went to the team from the Philippines. At UiO, the Jean-Pictet Competition is shaping to become a hallmark for the Faculty of Law, with students and faculty working together to ensure coaching and participation.