Law students who have participated in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition are well represented among the legal profession's global leaders. The experience can be transformative, as it was for Judge Florence Mumba, who received the White & Case Distinguished Jessup Alumni Award in April 2023.

Judge Mumba was a member of Zambia's first Jessup team in 1972. She is now one of three international judges who, along with four Cambodian judges, serve on the Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia. This hybrid court was established by the Cambodian government in conjunction with the United Nations to try senior members of the Khmer Rouge for alleged violations of international law during its reign from April 1975 to January 1979.

In 2021, White & Case, which has been a global partner of the Jessup since 2007 and a sponsor of the competition's White & Case International Rounds since 2010, established this annual award to honor Jessup alumni. The award recognizes visionary leaders who demonstrate a commitment to international cooperation, the rule of law and the legal profession. It is meant to inspire Jessup competitors to pursue professional excellence.

Career full of high points

Judge Mumba, who became the first woman appointed as a High Court Judge in Zambia in 1980 and later was appointed to the country's Supreme Court, exemplifies the values the award celebrates. Her career highlights include representing Zambia at the Conference on Women in 1985 and the African Regional Conference on Women in 1994; participating, as a member of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, in drafting a resolution to the General Assembly to have rape included as a war crime in the jurisdiction of war crimes tribunals in 1992; and helping to draft the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the establishment of the African Court of Justice while serving on the International Commission of Jurists in 1995.

Among her many accomplishments, Judge Mumba says she found it particularly rewarding to preside over trials as a judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). She was elected judge of the ICTY in 1997 and served as its Vice President from 1999 to 2001, then from 2003 to 2005 she served on the Appeals Chamber of the ICTY and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. 

Foundation for success

For Judge Mumba, participating in the Jessup Competition as a law student was a critical step in a lifetime of legal learning. The experience broadened her horizons, opened doors and changed the way she viewed herself and her career options.

"It was a career highlight because I met different types of lawyers, both prosecuting counsel and defense counsel, and we interacted so well," she says. "Learning more about how other people study law, how they get admitted to their national bars and also dealing with the accused was a star experience for me."

Prior to the competition, Judge Mumba had little exposure to the activities of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ is the only international court that resolves general disputes between countries. The Jessup inspired Judge Mumba to imagine and seriously consider the possibility of a career in international law.

Her Jessup experience also boosted her confidence in the courtroom and the classroom. "As a student, I was very intimidated by facing a judge," she says. But through Jessup she learned that she could have open discussions with judges, who were interested in helping her grow as a professional. "After the Jessup, it became much easier for me to approach judges—and my law professors."

As only the third woman to study law in Zambia, the Jessup Competition answered a question Judge Mumba says she often heard as she pursued her law degree: "Are women lawyers going to be able to compete or hold big jobs?" Jessup enabled her to answer this affirmatively at the international level.

Tradition of excellence

The Jessup, the world's largest moot court competition, draws student teams from more than 600 law schools in approximately 100 countries and jurisdictions. The students present oral and written pleadings on issues related to international law as part of a hypothetical dispute between nations.

2023 marked the first time in four years that the international Jessup community of more than 1,000 students, coaches and volunteer judges gathered in person for the International Rounds. It was also the first time in its three-year history that the White & Case Distinguished Jessup Alumni Award was given in person. Past award recipients are Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft (2021), and Judge Hilary Charlesworth of the International Court of Justice (2022).

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The Supreme Court of Zambia, in the country's capital of Lusaka.