Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) represented Georgia at international rounds of the 59th Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. By the end of the 2017 spring semester, under the guidance of Academician Levan Alexidze and Professor Ketevan Khutsishvili, the International Law Institute selected and trained a team of students for participation in the Jessup competition. The team was made up of Giorgi Baidze, Nanuka Kruashvili and Tamta Shamatava, first-year students of MA Program in International Law; Nino Goshkheteliani, second-year student of MA Program in Private Law, and Tamta Zaalishvili, a coach and a PhD student.
On February 3-4, 2018, the team competed at the national rounds against Free University, Ilia State University and Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA). The TSU team completed all rounds with an 18:00 win.
Successful participation in the national rounds paved the way for TSU’s participation in the international rounds. During the International Qualifying Rounds held in Washington on April 1-8, 2018, the TSU team was challenged by the following universities:
1. The University of Cyprus (Cyprus)
2. Leiden University (the Netherlands)
3. Institut de Droit des Affaires Internationales - IDAI (Egypt)
4. Belarusian State University School of Law (Belarus)
Having prevailed in the preliminary rounds, the TSU team advanced to top 32 teams.
On April 6, the TSU team defeated the University of Philippines and for the first time in the last 17 years, a Georgian team advanced to top 16 teams.
Overall the team was ranked at top 16 teams out of 121 teams from 95 countries based on team’s overall performance (oral and written submissions). The TSU team received Alona E. Evans Award as the combined score for Applicant and Respondent memorials and was ranked 17th among top 20 Memorials.
The TSU victory was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University.
