Willem C. Vis Moot
The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna has been held annually since 1992/1993 and is the world's largest competition in international commercial law. It is organised by the Association for the Organisation and Promotion of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, whose members and sponsors include many of the world's leading universities and institutions in arbitration.
In 2002/2003, the Willem C. Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Hong Kong was established as a sister competition. More than 2,000 students from over 300 universities in more than 70 countries now participate in the two competitions.
Following the principle of a moot court, which simulates legal proceedings, students take on the role of counsel in an arbitration. Over a five-month period, participating teams prepare two substantial written memoranda in English, representing the claimant and respondent in an international dispute. They then present oral arguments in English against other teams.
The applicable substantive law is the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). Each year, the arbitration rules of a different international arbitral institution provide the procedural framework.
At Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the Moot year usually begins with the selection of the new team in June and July. The problem is published at the beginning of October. It comprises more than sixty pages presenting a commercial dispute between two international parties in the form of a case file.
With support from its coaches, the team prepares claimant memoranda for the Vienna and Hong Kong competitions by early December. It then prepares respondent memoranda by the end of January, responding to the claimant memoranda of two randomly assigned teams.
In the second phase, the team prepares for the oral hearings in Vienna and Hong Kong. Students learn the fundamentals of rhetoric and advocacy. Much of the preparation consists of practice pleadings, in which team members argue against one another and against teams from other universities. Coaches, former participants and lawyers from supporting firms act as arbitrators.
The Humboldt team also regularly attends one to three pre-moots. These practice competitions bring together teams from several universities. In the past, Humboldt teams have attended pre-moots in Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Rostock, Stockholm, Tbilisi and Warsaw, in addition to the Berlin Premoot.
The final oral hearings take place between March and early April, first in Hong Kong and then in Vienna. Each team participates in four preliminary hearings. The strongest teams advance to the knockout rounds. Prizes recognise the best claimant and respondent memoranda, individual oral advocates and teams in the oral hearings.
The Willem C. Vis Moot in Hong Kong and Vienna offers a unique opportunity to experience legal practice, develop advocacy skills and explore international arbitration and the CISG while representing Humboldt-Universität against internationally renowned universities.