The Hague Inter-University Law Debate Tournament

Information for ed.2026

The Hague Inter-University Law Debate Tournament is a unique international law-focused debate competition. Since its start in 2015, law students from across the globe have had the chance to meet, debate on current legal topics and exchange experiences across the board.

Our team is delighted to announce the start of the registration period for ed.2026. We look forward to welcoming your teams!

How to participate?

The Hague Inter-University Law Debate Tournament is currently limited to 32 participants. You can register here:

To fully secure your spot, the team must fully complete 3 steps. Two of them include submitting the following registration forms :

Team registration

Team MEMBERS nomination

The third and final step to complete registration can be either nomination of 2 judges or registration fee. It is possible to request the waiver of the third step.

The purpose of the Tournament is to foster the study of international law in connection with current developments on the global and regional levels. THIULDT provides a practical opportunity for students to efficiently apply their knowledge in a time-limited setting, exchange experiences with their peers and network.

The Tournament is held in English and focuses on the issues falling under International Law – both private and public.

There are two phases in the competition that aid in the growth of advocacy skills:

the research and preparation stage – where each team has to prepare for the announced debate topics; and
presentation stage – where each team has to adapt to the pro/con position assigned to them and then efficiently use their time to present the acquired knowledge in a convincing matter, whilst rebutting the opposing team.

Teams are paired using a randomizing algorithm, and every effort is made to have law schools from different backgrounds interact with each other. This leads to an exchange between diverse approaches to debate and legal studies, enriching all participants involved.

Format

The Tournament has been based in The Hague, Netherlands since 2015. At the moment, its current format is primarily digital. The virtual debates started in the spring of 2020 due to the global epidemiological situation. Since then, the Tournament is held in a hybrid format, with the majority of its events held virtually and the Final round and week held in person in The Hague.*

*it is possible to join virtually should there be conflicts of agendas or other traveling difficulties

Themes & Topics

Each debate round has a different theme, which is shared across the board with all participants and is announced at the start of the competition. Specific topics/debate statements are always announced no less than 7 days before the match, with pro/con positions being assigned randomly a few minutes before the start of the match.

This setup requires flexible preparation and encourages dynamic interaction during the match.

Examples of past debate themes:

Environmental law
Space law
Public order

Maritime law
Freedom of press
Digital human rights

Examples of past debate statements:

Control over online information serves the need for public order
Economic exploitation of natural areas should be prohibited
The freedom of the press is compatible with respect for privacy
The law follows the evolution of society and does not make it evolve

Timeline

The competition consists of 2 stages: the group phase and the elimination phase. Before the start of the competition, it is possible to reach out to the organisers and participate in a debate workshop or a friendly debate match with another participating team.