The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and The Indian Society of International Law (ISIL) are pleased to announce the opening of registration for teams for the 23rd Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Court Competition (“Moot Court”) on International Humanitarian Law (“IHL”). The national rounds for India will be held at ISIL from September 20th to 22nd, 2024.

The ICRC and ISIL have jointly organized the Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Court Competition in India since 2001, when the ICRC’s Regional Delegation in New Delhi initiated the Moot Court as part of its efforts to improve awareness of IHL among law students and law faculties throughout India. Since its inception, the Moot Court’s primary objective has been to continue developing an increased awareness and interest in IHL in academic institutions in India. Additionally, it aims to use IHL to further academic excellence among the student community and to develop their advocacy skills in an environment of friendly competition.

Participation in the Moot Court engages teams in thorough research of IHL treaties, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols, and the rules of customary law applicable to this area.

In 2024, the national rounds of the Moot Court shall consist of written submission and oral pleading rounds. There will no longer be any preliminary rounds in the oral pleadings. Due to this change in the rules of this year’s competition, an information session on revised rules will be conducted online for the participating teams on June 14th 2024.

The top 16 teams, based on the total scores obtained in the written submission rounds for their Prosecution and Defence memorials combined, will be invited to participate in the oral rounds of the competition, which will begin with the quarter-final rounds. Teams will be notified of their qualification for the oral rounds via email on August 30th, 2024.

The moot problem and rules for the Competition can be downloaded from the ISIL Website. The Registration Form is to be sent by email (info.isil@gmail.com) or by post (to ISIL) by July 28th 2024. Any clarifications on the moot problem should also be received by July 28th 2024. The deadline for submission of memorials in soft copy is August 10th 2024.

We strongly encourage Universities to nominate their respective teams to participate in the 23rd edition of the Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Court Competition.