The Jean-Pictet Competition is a training event in international humanitarian law for students representing a university or a comparable institution in teams of three persons. The selected teams, usually from the five continents, receive a remote training in international humanitarian law in the months leading to the Competition. They then meet for one week at the venue of the Competition, which changes every year. They compete in the context of simulations and role-play exercises built around a fictitious armed conflict and the roles of different actors in that conflict (military, humanitarian, political officers, lawyers, etc.). Teams benefit from the support of tutors in tests where they are assessed by the jury. The Competition is organized by a not-for-profit association: The Committee for the Jean-Pictet Competition (Comité pour le Concours Jean-Pictet, CCJP).

Current editions: Information on the 2023 editions is available on the Competition website.

In order to contribute to the preparation by participants in the Competition, the Codification Division has compiled resources available on the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law (AVL) for the 2023 editions of the Competition. Students will be able to draw on the resources available on the AVL website, including the Lecture Series, together with the related materials used in the preparation of lectures, the Historic Archives, as well as the International Law Handbook.

Lecture Series

The Lecture Series contains a permanent collection of lectures of enduring value on virtually every subject of international law delivered by leading international law scholars and practitioners from different regions, legal systems, cultures and sectors of the legal profession. Each lecture is accompanied by a list of related materials linking to documents available online. Lectures are available in video and audio formats.

Historic Archives

The Historic Archives is a unique resource which contains significant international law instruments. Each entry contains an introduction to a particular instrument prepared by a scholar or practitioner with expertise on the subject, information on its procedural history and related documents, as well as the text and status of the instrument. It is accompanied by available audiovisual materials relating to the negotiation and adoption of the instrument at meetings or diplomatic conferences.

International Law Handbook

The International Law Handbook is a collection of instruments used by the Codification Division as study materials for its training courses under the Programme of Assistance. It is intended to be used as a general work of reference. It comprises four books, available free of charge on the AVL website:

• Book One contains the Charter of the United Nations and the Statute of the International Court of Justice, as well as instruments relating to the law of treaties, subjects of international law, diplomatic and consular relations, international responsibility, peaceful settlement of international disputes, international peace and security, international human rights law as well as movement of persons and international migration law.

• Book Two contains instruments relating to the law of armed conflict, international criminal law as well as disarmament and non-proliferation.

• Book Three contains instruments relating to the law of the sea, international environmental law and international watercourses.

• Book Four contains instruments relating to international labour law, law of cultural relations as well as international trade and investment law.