Over the course of four consecutive days, we as students filled the roles of president, vice-president, registrar, seven judges and four advocates of the Court. The case disputed was Guatemala’s territorial, insular and maritime claim against Belize, following procedures based on the Rules of Court of the International Court of Justice, which has its official headquarter in The Hague, and works on American and British law. We were guided through the entire process by Sebastian Leininger and Nicolas Lippert, two legal experts from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. They had worked for almost four months closely with the advocates to help them prepare their cases and assisted us in following the correct order of procedure.

Throughout the simulation, the two counsels argued their stance thoroughly, by delivering persuasive statements, providing the Court with evidence and questioning their respective witnesses, each representing individuals with a different field of expertise. All of them had been prepared beforehand by the advocates, and after being sworn in by the registrar, they provided the Court with testimonies to support the claims made by the advocates, whether it was by offering a legal perspective or an historical one.

Once all the evidence had been analysed, and both of the counsels, along with their witnesses, had been questioned by the judges, both parties were excused so that the Court could deliberate on the most relevant pieces of evidence presented throughout the case. Once these issues had been noted, a straw poll (preliminary vote) was taken by the Court, followed by an exchange of opinions regarding the selected pieces of evidence. Lastly, the judges had their final vote, stating the court ruling by majority in favour of Belize.

Taking part in this simulation as a judge has been an incredibly enriching experience. Not only were we able to actively participate as learners, but we had the opportunity to acquire a great deal of theoretical as well as practical knowledge. It was remarkable to see how much effort every participant dedicated to this simulation, particularly the president, the advocates and the experts, as well as Dr. Jäger and Mrs. Mücke, who had a key role in the organisation and coordination of the event.