A team of students from Tbilisi State University’s Faculty of Law participated in the Nuremberg Moot Court 2026. The competition took place in the historic Courtroom 600 of the Nuremberg Palace of Justice in Germany.

A team of students from Tbilisi State University’s Faculty of Law successfully competed in the Nuremberg Moot Court 2026 among 140 participating teams, winning third place. The team consisted of Bachelor’s and Master’s students from the International Law program at TSU: Natalia Anesashvili, Tata Tkeshelashvili, and Elene-Ekaterine Dvalidze. Elizabet Kakabadze, a graduate of the program, led the team.

The International Nuremberg Principles Academy and the International Criminal Law Research Unit (ICLU) of Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) hosted the 14th edition of the Nuremberg Moot Court in Nuremberg, Germany, between 22 and 25 July.

University of Colombo from Sri Lanka won the final round of the Nuremberg Moot Court 2026 and the University of New South Wales, Australia, finished as the runner-up.

This year, 130 international law students of 34 universities from 25 countries competed in the oral rounds. The students refined their advocacy skills by competing on a fictional case on the war crime of recruiting children under the age of 15 into a non-state armed group.

High-profile judges, including judges, prosecutors and academics made up the distinguished international jury. Judge Joanna Korner CMG KC, Judge at the International Criminal Court, who presided in the finals, considered it “a real privilege to be asked to take part in and judge this moot.”

The three best overall speakers of the Nuremberg Moot Court 2026 were Natalia Anesashvili (Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia), Zaman Mohamed Nazar (University of Colombo, Sri Lanka) and Simon Wilton (University of New South Wales, Australia).

This year’s second best overall speaker title was shared by seven participants with identical scores: Elene Ekaterine Dvalidze (Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia), Sarah Greilich (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany), Samantha Kenkel Danly (Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, United States of America), Ananya Kumar (Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab, India), Will Martin (University of New South Wales, Australia), Devni Neha Jayaweera (Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan) and James Phillip Goroh Sewe (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya).

Professor Dr Christoph Safferling, Director of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy who also holds the Chair of International Criminal Law at FAU in Erlangen, said:

“Seeing students from across the globe engage with international criminal law in Courtroom 600 sends a powerful message. They came from States Parties and non-States Parties to the Rome Statute alike, including countries affected by ongoing armed conflicts. Their participation demonstrates that the values of justice, accountability and dialogue continue to inspire the next generation of legal professionals. The future of international criminal justice is in capable hands."

A moot court is a simulated court proceeding which invites students of law to compete based on their oral and written legal argumentation and presentation, from both the prosecution and defense positions. The Nuremberg Moot Court, which is conducted in English, targets law students from all over the world who are interested in international criminal law.

Website of the Nuremberg Moot Court www.nuremberg-moot.de

The International Nuremberg Principles Academy and the International Criminal Law Research Unit aim to advance the international establishment and the acceptance of the most important principles of the Nuremberg trials. They support the worldwide enforcement of international criminal law, thus contributing to the fight against impunity for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole.