The Competition | The Jean-Pictet Competition is one of the oldest and best-known competitions in the field of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The competition is a unique training in international law for students whose objective is to take the law out of the books. In a first phase, the nearly fifty selected teams, usually stemming from five continents, receive a remote training in IHL from the organizers of the competition. At the same time, the University of Basel team receives a weekly training from Prof. Petrig and Mr. Onur Dur during the entire preparation phase, which lasts from the beginning of the fall term until shortly before the competition, which takes place in spring. In a second phase, all teams meet for one week to compete against each other; the place of the competition changes every year. The selected teams compete in the context of simulations and role-plays built around a fictitious armed conflict. Teams play the role of various key actors of armed conflicts (e.g., members of the armed forces, legal advisers of governments, NGO workers, delegates of the ICRC) and are constantly assessed by a jury and supported by a tutor. For more information, please visit: www.concourspictet.org

Internal selection of the University of Basel team | The team of the University of Basel will be composed of 3 students; the three team members will be selected by Prof. Petrig based on a written application (motivation letter of 1 page and CV of maximum 2 pages) and a short interview at the beginning of the fall term. The application process starts immediately after the information session (see below) and the team members are usually chosen within a weeks time.

Language | For the University of Basel team, it is possible to participate either in the French or in the English speaking session of the Competition as Prof. Petrig and Mr. Dur are fluent in both languages. Please indicate in your application, in which language (French, English or both) you can compete. Depending on the applications received, Prof. Petrig will decide whether the team applies for the French or English speaking session. So far, the University of Basel participated only once in the French speaking session; all other teams competed in English.

Information session | Information about the competition and the internal selection process will be provided during an online meeting (Zoom), which takes place on:

• Monday, 25 September 2023, 12h45-13h45 Swiss time
• unibas.zoom.us/j/64418996943 | Meeting-ID: 644 1899 6943

Application for the competition | Approximately one week after the information session, the team members are selected and the weekly preparation sessions (planned to be held on Mondays) will start. This is important as the team must apply for the competition as such (usualy, the deadline is in early November of the respective year). The application is composed of a motivation letter and short essays on substantive law questions.

Grading | All tests and simulations during the one-week competition are oral; the competition does not feature a written phase as many other moot courts do (except for the team's application to the competition; see above). This is the reason why the competition is graded on a pass/fail basis at the University of Basel (if the team is selected for the competition, attends the preparatory meeting and the one-week competition, the participating students receive a "pass" for the course and are awarded 12 ECTS credit points).

Prior knowledge | Team members should have successfully completed the course “Völker- und Europarecht” at the University of Basel (or an equivalent introduction into public international law at another institution or university). It is highly recommended that team members attend the course “Humanitäres Völkerrecht” at the University of Basel in parallel to the preparation for the Competition, unless they have already completed this course earlier or a similar course at a different institution or university.