Tarazi Mohammed Sheikh returns as ILSA Student Director

Chris Bonnez

Our final incoming ILSA Student Director, Tarazi Mohammed Sheikh, will be familiar to many as she returns to the ILSA Board for her second term.

Tarazi Mohammed Sheikh holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from BRAC University, Bangladesh. Besides academics, she has been involved with several international law research projects, including in the UN International Law Commission and UNHCR. Passionate about mooting, she has been involved in the Jessup Competition in different capacities since 2020. In 2022, her team achieved Finalist and Best Memorialist titles nationally, with Tarazi earning the Best Oralist Overall Award. She now contributes to the mooting community globally by training, advising, judging and authoring moot problems. Leveraging her multi-jurisdictional experiences and wide network, Tarazi, as an ILSA Student Director, is committed to making a lasting impact on the future of international legal education.

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Introducing Incoming ILSA Student Director Xuan Phong Pham

Chris Bonnez

The second of our incoming ILSA Student Directors is Xuan Phong Pham!

Xuan Phong Pham is currently a third-year law student at Foreign Trade University, Hanoi, Vietnam, specializing in international business law with a proven track record in competitive mooting. Moreover, he also actively contributes to the development of the mooting community in Vietnam by organizing training sessions, academic workshops, and mentorship programs to empower aspiring mooters. Looking ahead, Xuan Phong is determined to promote equitable access to opportunities that enhance educational growth and professional development for students from diverse backgrounds. With a passion for excellence and a vision for inclusivity, Xuan Phong is poised to make a lasting impact on the next generation of legal professionals.

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Jessup 2025 Baxter Awards Winners Announced!

Chris Bonnez

ILSA is excited to announce the winners of this year’s Richard R. Baxter Awards for Best Memorials.

This Award is named in honor of the late Richard Baxter, who served as Judge of the International Court of Justice, and was an eminent and pioneering scholar of International Law.

The Awards are presented to Teams for excellence in Memorial writing by comparing individual Applicant and Respondent Memorials. The Applicant and Respondent Memorials of Teams that receive the Alona E. Evans Award and/or the M. Cherif Bassiouni Award are considered for the Richard R. Baxter Award. One Award will be given to the Best Overall Applicant Memorial and one Award will be given to the Best Overall Respondent Memorial.

Richard R. Baxter Awards for Best Applicant Memorial

  1. 444 – Philippines – University of San Carlos
  2. 453 – Germany – Universität Heidelberg
  3. 837 – China – Beijing Normal University

Richard R. Baxter Awards for Best Respondent Memorial

  1. 394 – Belgium –  Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
  2. 544 – United States – Harvard Law School
  3. 128 – Türkiye – Istanbul University

Introducing ILSA’s newest Student Director Daniela Andrino

Chris Bonnez

ILSA is excited to introduce the first of our three incoming ILSA Student Directors, Daniela Andrino!

Daniela Andrino is currently a law student at Universidad del Istmo (UNIS) in Guatemala, pursuing her Bachelor of Laws with consistently outstanding academic performance. As Coordinator of the Moot Court Club at UNIS, she has designed comprehensive training programs, including an introductory course on moot court fundamentals and developed international arbitration case materials for student practice. Her own distinguished participation in prestigious competitions is highlighted by her achievements in the Jessup Moot Court International Competition, where she was part of the national winning team in 2023, the Latin American Friendly Rounds winning team in 2024, and advanced to the Top 48 in the international rounds. She also participated in the First Legislative Moot of Congress in Guatemala, where her team won the Most Innovative Initiative Award for drafting a bill on digital identity protection. While serving as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Vox Iuris Law Review, Daniela continues to demonstrate her commitment to legal scholarship alongside her advocacy work.

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Jessup 2026 Topics Revealed

Chris Bonnez

If you weren’t able to attend the Final Rounds of the 2025 White & Case International Rounds or watch it on YouTube, you are probably wondering what next year’s topic will be.

The Jessup 2026 Problem will present the following issues: (1) Who has the right to intervene in proceedings before the International Court of Justice? (2) What are the rights of indigenous peoples relating to rare earth minerals found in their land? (3) What are “the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations”? and (4) When is a state immune from the domestic jurisdiction of another state when it has caused economic harm to citizens of that state?

We expect the problem to be released in September 2025.