What is the eligibility level for participants in this tournament?

The Susan Stocker Mock Trial Tournament is designed for college-level participants.

Where is the Susan Stocker Mock Trial Tournament held?

The tournament takes place in Boca Raton, USA.

What is the format of the Susan Stocker Mock Trial Tournament?

The tournament is a mock trial competition, involving simulated courtroom proceedings.

Susan Stocker Mock Trial Tournament

Apr 10–12, 2026Boca Raton, United StatesIn-person

ConcludedRegistration closed

The Susan Stocker Mock Trial Tournament offers college-level participants an immersive experience in simulated courtroom proceedings. Held in Boca Raton, USA, this event provides a platform for students to hone their legal argumentation, critical thinking, and public speaking skills within a competitive environment. It emphasizes the practical application of legal principles and courtroom decorum.

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 1 countries stand on the dominant committee topic. Click through for the full country profile.

United States

The USA legal system is the foundation for mock trial competitions, emphasizing adversarial proceedings and constitutional rights.

Role in topic

As the host nation for the tournament, the USA provides the legal framework and educational environment for this college-level mock trial competition. The event reflects the adversarial legal system prevalent in the USA, where participants engage in roles such as attorneys and witnesses to simulate court cases. This format is a cornerstone of legal education and skill development within the country.

Topics & background

The history behind each committee topic and the states that shape it.

United Nations Programme for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)

UN Women: Advancing Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment

UN Women was established by General Assembly Resolution 64/289 in July 2010, consolidating four previously separate UN entities: DAW, INSTRAW, OSAGI, and UNIFEM. The creation of UN Women reflected decades of advocacy stretching back to the 1975 Mexico City World Conference on Women and culminating in the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which remains the most ambitious global blueprint for women's rights. The entity is mandated to support intergovernmental bodies in setting norms, assist member states in implementing them, and coordinate the UN system's gender equality work. The core dispute today concerns how to accelerate progress when global gender gaps are widening rather than narrowing. The 2023 Sustainable Development Goals Gender Snapshot warned that at current rates, full legal gender equality will take roughly 286 years. Conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Sudan, Ukraine, and Gaza have produced acute regressions in women's rights, while a global backlash against reproductive rights and the rollback of gender mainstreaming in several states have complicated multilateral consensus. Debates within UN Women's Executive Board center on financing the Generation Equality Forum commitments, addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and operationalizing the Women, Peace and Security agenda under Resolution 1325. Looking ahead to the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform (Beijing+30), member states are negotiating renewed commitments amid sharp North-South divides over funding, cultural sovereignty claims, and the scope of 'gender' itself in UN texts.

Key players

United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

ECOSOC was established under Chapter X of the UN Charter in 1945 as one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. It coordinates the economic, social, and related work of fourteen UN specialized agencies, ten functional commissions, and five regional commissions, and serves as the central platform for follow-up on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its 54 members are elected by the General Assembly on a rotating basis using equitable geographic distribution. The contemporary agenda is dominated by two intersecting crises. First, a sovereign debt emergency: more than half of low-income countries are in or near debt distress, the G20 Common Framework has delivered limited relief, and developing states — led by African and Latin American blocs — are pressing for a UN-led debt restructuring mechanism rather than continued reliance on Paris Club and private creditor negotiations. The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Sevilla in 2025 sharpened these divides. Second, the digital transition: following the 2024 Global Digital Compact, ECOSOC is grappling with how to deploy digital public infrastructure equitably, govern cross-border data flows, and close a widening digital divide. Underlying both files is a broader contest over reform of the international economic architecture, with the G77+China pushing to shift normative power toward the UN and developed states defending the primacy of the IMF, World Bank, and OECD.

Key players

Paris International Conference on Cambodia (PICC; Historical)

Paris International Conference on Cambodia (1989–1991, Historical)

The Paris International Conference on Cambodia convened against the backdrop of more than two decades of war. After the 1970 coup against Prince Sihanouk, Cambodia descended into civil war, culminating in the Khmer Rouge seizure of Phnom Penh in 1975 and the genocide that killed roughly 1.7 million people. Vietnam's December 1978 invasion ousted the Khmer Rouge and installed the People's Republic of Kampuchea under Heng Samrin and later Hun Sen, but a Chinese- and Western-backed coalition — including the Khmer Rouge, Sihanouk's FUNCINPEC, and Son Sann's KPNLF — continued an insurgency from the Thai border. The conflict became a Cold War proxy, with ASEAN, China, and the United States isolating the Vietnamese-backed government while the Soviet bloc sustained it. The first session of the PICC opened in Paris on 30 July 1989, co-chaired by France and Indonesia. Initial talks collapsed over power-sharing and the role of the Khmer Rouge, but Vietnam's September 1989 troop withdrawal, the Sino-Soviet thaw, and the Permanent Five's 'Framework Document' of August 1990 created new momentum. The conference reconvened and on 23 October 1991 produced the Paris Peace Agreements, which established the Supreme National Council under Sihanouk, mandated the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) to administer the country, and set the framework for the 1993 elections. The core disputes delegates faced were the disposition of the Khmer Rouge, the scope of UN authority over a sovereign state, refugee repatriation, and how to balance Vietnamese, Chinese, and ASEAN interests in postwar Indochina.

Key players

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)

The General Assembly is the UN's chief deliberative organ, established under Chapter IV of the 1945 Charter, with all 193 member states represented on the basis of one-state-one-vote. While its resolutions are formally non-binding (with limited exceptions concerning budget, membership, and internal matters), the Assembly has historically been the central forum for codifying international norms — from the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the 1960 Declaration on Decolonization to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Under the 1950 'Uniting for Peace' resolution, the Assembly can also act on threats to peace when the Security Council is paralyzed. The contemporary Assembly is dominated by overlapping crises and a deepening legitimacy debate. The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have produced repeated emergency special sessions and exposed the Security Council's structural deadlock, prompting Assembly action under Resolution 76/262 — the 'veto initiative' — that requires the Assembly to convene whenever a P5 veto is cast. Meanwhile, the 2024 Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact set ambitious agendas on AI governance, peacebuilding, and intergenerational equity, even as financing for the SDGs falls badly off track. Longstanding fault lines persist: Security Council reform (the G4, Uniting for Consensus, and African Union 'Ezulwini Consensus' positions remain irreconcilable), the balance between sovereignty and human rights, and the equitable distribution of the costs of the climate transition.

Key players

International Maritime Organization (IMO)

The IMO was established by a 1948 convention adopted in Geneva and entered into force in 1958 as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization, renamed in 1982. Headquartered in London, it is the UN specialized agency responsible for the safety and security of international shipping and the prevention of pollution from ships. Its foundational instruments include SOLAS (1974), MARPOL (1973/78), STCW on seafarer training, and the 1972 COLREGs. The organization sets binding technical standards that flag states are obliged to implement, governing roughly 80 percent of world trade carried by sea. The central contemporary dispute concerns decarbonization. In July 2023 the IMO adopted a revised GHG Strategy targeting net-zero emissions from international shipping 'by or around' 2050, with indicative checkpoints of 20–30 percent reduction by 2030 and 70–80 percent by 2040. In April 2025 the Marine Environment Protection Committee approved a draft 'Net-Zero Framework' combining a global fuel standard with an economic measure — effectively the first sector-wide carbon pricing mechanism — scheduled for formal adoption in 2025 and entry into force in 2027. The measure has divided the membership, with small island states pushing for stronger ambition and revenue redistribution, major flag states and exporters opposing high carbon levies, and the United States having publicly withdrawn from the negotiation in 2025. Parallel files include maritime security in the Red Sea following Houthi attacks on commercial shipping since late 2023, the safety of so-called 'shadow fleet' tankers carrying sanctioned Russian oil, and the protection of seafarers in conflict zones.

Key players

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

NATO was founded by the Washington Treaty of 4 April 1949, binding twelve original members to the principle of collective defense under Article 5: an armed attack against one is an attack against all. Conceived as a transatlantic counterweight to Soviet power, the alliance expanded through the Cold War (notably welcoming West Germany in 1955 and prompting the Warsaw Pact in response), survived the end of the Cold War by redefining its mission through partnerships, and undertook major out-of-area operations in the Balkans (1995, 1999), Afghanistan (2003–2021), and Libya (2011). Successive enlargement rounds since 1999 brought most of the former Warsaw Pact and the Baltic states into the alliance. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 transformed the alliance. NATO returned to its core territorial-defense mission, adopted a new Strategic Concept at the 2022 Madrid Summit identifying Russia as the 'most significant and direct threat' and China as a 'systemic challenge,' and welcomed Finland (2023) and Sweden (2024) as members, ending decades of Nordic non-alignment. Allies raised the defense-spending target above 2 percent of GDP, with the 2025 Hague Summit endorsing a 5 percent aspirational benchmark (3.5 percent on core defense plus 1.5 percent on related investments). The core disputes today concern burden-sharing, the trajectory of US commitment under the second Trump administration, the terms of any future Ukraine settlement and Kyiv's path to membership, force posture on the eastern flank, and the alliance's posture toward the Indo-Pacific and China.

Key players

United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

The Security Council was created under Chapters V–VII of the 1945 UN Charter as the organ with 'primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.' It comprises five permanent members with veto power (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly under equitable geographic distribution. Unlike most UN organs, Council decisions under Chapter VII are binding on all member states and can authorize sanctions or the use of force. The Council's contemporary agenda is dominated by deep P5 divisions. The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have produced repeated vetoes, leaving the General Assembly to act under the 2022 'veto initiative' and Uniting for Peace procedures. Sudan's civil war between the SAF and RSF since April 2023 has generated the world's largest displacement crisis, while the 1591 sanctions regime is widely viewed as ineffective. Other live files include Haiti's security crisis and the Multinational Security Support mission, Sahel coups and the collapse of UN missions in Mali and the DRC, North Korean missile and proliferation activity, and emerging norm-setting on cybersecurity and critical infrastructure following the OEWG ICT process. Beneath these files lies a structural debate over Council reform — including the African 'Ezulwini Consensus' demand for two permanent African seats — and over the legitimacy and use of the veto.

Key players

United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA)

The UN Environment Assembly is the world's highest-level decision-making body on the environment, created by the 2012 Rio+20 outcome document and formally established in 2013 when the General Assembly upgraded the Governing Council of UNEP to universal membership. UNEA convenes all 193 UN member states biennially in Nairobi, the seat of UNEP, and sets the global environmental agenda, adopts resolutions, and provides strategic direction to UNEP and to the multilateral environmental agreements it administers. The defining issue of recent sessions has been the negotiation of a legally binding global instrument to end plastic pollution. UNEA-5.2 in March 2022 adopted Resolution 5/14 mandating an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to conclude a treaty by end-2024; talks at INC-5 in Busan in late 2024 failed to reach consensus, with a 'high-ambition coalition' led by Norway and Rwanda pushing for upstream production caps and a group of oil-producing states resisting binding limits. Negotiations resumed in 2025 (INC-5.2 in Geneva) without final agreement. UNEA-6, held in February 2024, advanced parallel work on chemicals and waste, sand and dust storms, mineral resource governance critical to the energy transition, and the operationalization of the 2022 right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. Underlying the agenda is the triple planetary crisis — climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution — and a North-South contest over financing, technology transfer, and common but differentiated responsibilities.

Key players

Key terms & resources

The concepts worth knowing before Susan Stocker Mock Trial Tournament, plus lessons and profiles to go deeper.

Conference of Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA)All-China Women's Federation Ambedkar on Liberty, Equality and Fraternity Antarctic Treaty Antarctic Treaty System Arms Trade Treaty

In the news

Recent reporting to ground your prep

India's 131st Amendment Bill

Story

Hilton-Becerra Race Sets Up High-Stakes Clash

Story

US Job Openings at 6.7M

Story

India's Women's Quota Bill Fails

Story

Frequently asked questions

Related conferences

Susan Stocker Mock Trial Tournament

Apr 10–12, 2026Boca Raton, United StatesIn-person

ConcludedRegistration closed

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 1 countries stand on the dominant committee topic. Click through for the full country profile.

United States

The USA legal system is the foundation for mock trial competitions, emphasizing adversarial proceedings and constitutional rights.

Role in topic

Topics & background

The history behind each committee topic and the states that shape it.

United Nations Programme for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)

UN Women: Advancing Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment

Key players

United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

Key players

Paris International Conference on Cambodia (PICC; Historical)

Paris International Conference on Cambodia (1989–1991, Historical)

Key players

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)

Key players

International Maritime Organization (IMO)

Key players

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Key players

United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

Key players

United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA)

Key players

Key terms & resources

The concepts worth knowing before Susan Stocker Mock Trial Tournament, plus lessons and profiles to go deeper.

In the news

Recent reporting to ground your prep

India's 131st Amendment Bill

Story

Hilton-Becerra Race Sets Up High-Stakes Clash

Story

US Job Openings at 6.7M

Story

India's Women's Quota Bill Fails

Story

Country perspectives

Topics & background

Key terms & resources

Frequently asked questions

Related conferences

2025-2026 Santa Clara County Mock Trial Invitational

16th Annual University of Cincinnati High School Mock Trial Invitational

University of Denver Denver Duels Invitational 2026

Montgomery County High School Mock Trial Competition 2026

Great Chicago Fire Invitational XII

21st Annual Ramblin' Wreck Invitational Tournament

Related conferences

2025-2026 Santa Clara County Mock Trial Invitational

16th Annual University of Cincinnati High School Mock Trial Invitational

University of Denver Denver Duels Invitational 2026

Montgomery County High School Mock Trial Competition 2026

Great Chicago Fire Invitational XII

21st Annual Ramblin' Wreck Invitational Tournament

Country perspectives

Topics & background

Key terms & resources

Frequently asked questions

Related conferences

2025-2026 Santa Clara County Mock Trial Invitational

16th Annual University of Cincinnati High School Mock Trial Invitational

University of Denver Denver Duels Invitational 2026

Montgomery County High School Mock Trial Competition 2026

Great Chicago Fire Invitational XII

21st Annual Ramblin' Wreck Invitational Tournament

Related conferences

2025-2026 Santa Clara County Mock Trial Invitational

16th Annual University of Cincinnati High School Mock Trial Invitational

University of Denver Denver Duels Invitational 2026

Montgomery County High School Mock Trial Competition 2026

Great Chicago Fire Invitational XII

21st Annual Ramblin' Wreck Invitational Tournament