2026 Dalferes Laureates Announced

Thaysa Prado is a Brazilian lawyer, specializing in civil law and international law, with a focus on international contracts. She holds a Master’s degree in Fundamental Rights and Democracy from the Centro Universitário Autônomo do Brasil (Unibrasil – 2009). She currently teaches Human Rights, Public International Law, and Private International Law at Unibrasil’s Law School.

Thaysa has been deeply involved with the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition since 2018, serving as a judge in the Brazilian National Rounds. She has also actively participated in the semifinal and final rounds of the Brazilian National Rounds, contributing to the event’s excellence and development. She has also judges other Moot competitions in Brazil.

She is a member of the International Law Commission and the Arbitration Commission of the OAB/PR (Brazilian Bar Association, Paraná Section), as well as the Brazilian Academy of International Law (Academia Brasileira de Direito Internacional), where she has delivered lectures at several editions of the Brazilian Congress of International Law.

Thaysa is the author of the book Cosmopolitismo e Estado Constitucional Pós-Nacional (Cosmopolitanism and the Post-National Constitutional State), which explores the intersections of global governance, constitutional theory, and international law.

Letícia Haertel is a Brazilian lawyer and historian with a professional trajectory that includes serving as a clerk at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, as a Knowledge Management Consultant at UNICEF, and as Assistant Coordinator of the United Nations International Law Seminar. She currently serves as Legal Assistant to a member of the United Nations International Law Commission and maintains a legal practice focused on international law, immigration, human rights, and cultural heritage. After completing her Bachelor of Laws at the University of São Paulo, she pursued a Master of Laws at Ludwig Maximilians Universität and a Master’s degree in History at Fundação Getúlio Vargas.

Letícia has a long-standing and multifaceted involvement with the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. As a student, she first competed in 2017, an experience that led her to pursue a specialization in Cultural Heritage Law and ultimately to become an advisor to Brazilian institutions in negotiations concerning the restitution of cultural heritage. In 2018, her team from the University of São Paulo won the Brazilian National Rounds and represented Brazil at the International Rounds, reaching the octofinals for the first time. She later coached University of São Paulo teams in 2019 and 2021, with the latter reaching the octofinals at the International Rounds. She has twice received the Hardy C. Dillard Award for Best Combined Memorials, achieving third place as a competitor in 2017 and second place as a coach in 2019. She has also served as a Jessup judge at national and international levels, as Judges’ Coordinator for the Brazilian National Rounds, and as a lecturer at the Jessup School. Through her academic, professional, and mentoring activities, Letícia seeks to strengthen international law education and inclusive communities within the Jessup and beyond.

Fritz Kainz is a PhD candidate at the University of Vienna. He previously worked as a judicial trainee at the European Court of Human Rights. Fritz holds a law degree and a BA in history from the University of Vienna as well as an LL.M. from the University of Virginia, which he attended on a Fulbright grant. Fritz has been active in the Jessup competition since he competed in 2019. He has since returned to serve as a coach as well as a judge, among others at the European Friendly Rounds.

Dominic Njuguna Ndung’u is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and currently serves as a Senior Legal Researcher at the Court of Appeal of Kenya, the country’s second apex court. In this role, he supports judicial decision-making through legal research, comparative analysis, and the preparation of bench memoranda and draft opinions across a range of legal fields. He previously served as a Legal Researcher at the High Court of Kenya.

Mr. Ndung’u holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Criminal Justice from Strathmore Law School (2025). His master’s thesis examined the admissibility and authentication of digital evidence before the International Criminal Court, engaging international criminal jurisprudence and evidentiary standards applicable in international judicial proceedings. He earned his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

He has been involved with the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition since 2014. That year, he represented the Kenya School of Law at the White & Case International Rounds in Washington, D.C., following his team’s victory at the Kenya National Rounds in the Case Concerning the Malachi Gap. Since 2016, he has served as the Kenyan National Administrator, and later Senior National Administrator, a position he held continuously until 2025. In this capacity, he coordinated national rounds, managed competition logistics, and liaised with the International Law Students Association. He has also served as a judge at the Jessup International Rounds Preliminary Rounds in Washington, D.C.