Willem C. Vis Moot
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The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot[1] is a prestigious annual international moot court competition held in Vienna, Austria. The object of the Vis Arbitral Moot is to foster study in the areas of international commercial and arbitration laws and encourage the resolution of business disputes by arbitration. The problem for the moot is always based on an international sales transaction subjected to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, 1980 (also referred to as the United Nations or the Vienna Sales Convention, or CISG) and also involves procedural issues of arbitration. The moot consists of submitting written memoranda prior to the moot on designated dates for both sides of the dispute (Claimant and Respondent in legal terminology). The oral arguments phase of the moot is held in Vienna.
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[edit] Organizers & Sponsors
The Vis Moot is organised each year by Pace University School of Law located in White Plains, New York. It is sponsored by the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) / American Arbitration Association (AAA), the International Arbitral Centre of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association, Court of International Commercial Arbitration, Romania, German Institution of Arbitration (DIS), the International Chamber of Commerce, JAMS, the London Court of International Arbitration, the Moot Alumni Association (MAA), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA), Swiss Chambers' Arbitration, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), and the University of Vienna Faculty of Law.
The "man behind the Vis Moot" and author of each year's Moot Problem is Professor Eric E. Bergsten, Professor Emeritus of Pace University School of Law and a former Secretary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
[edit] Structure of the Competition
The Vis Moot consists of two parts: The preparation of two written memoranda in support of the claimant's and subsequently the respondent's position, and the oral hearings in Vienna.
[edit] Preparation of the Memoranda
The written phase of the Vis Moot commences on the first Friday in October when the Moot Problem, comprised of initial statements of claim and defence by the parties' attorneys as well as motions regarding procedural questions and exhibits, is distributed to the participating teams. According to an order by the Arbitral Tribunal both parties have to prepare a memorandum concerning factual and procedural issues.
First, the students are facing the challenge to slip into the role of the attorneys representing the claimant. The memorandum supporting the position of the claimant is due early in December. As the Moot proceeds, each team is sent a copy of the memorandum for claimant of one of the other teams in the Moot. The memorandum for respondent is prepared in response to the memorandum received, and is due in mid-February.
With the submission of the memorandum for respondent, the written phase of the Vis Moot is closed. Awards for the best memoranda in the Competition will not be presented to the teams before the last day of the oral arguments in Vienna. As opposed to other international mooting competition, there is no selection of the teams who can proceed to the oral arguments based on the quality of their memoranda - every team that is participating in the Vis Moot gets to go to Vienna.
[edit] Preparation for oral arguments
As popularity for the Vis Moot has continually grown, a number of schools now participate in sessions that provide Vis competitors the opportunity to practice the presentation of their argument, before ultimately traveling to Vienna for the actual Willem C. Vis Moot. In past years, law firms and universities throughout the United States and Europe have hosted pre-moots. Typical pre-moots will bring together anywhere between 4 to 12 schools to practice their arguments. The Dispute Resolution Society at Fordham University School of Law in New York City hosts an annual pre-moot. Fordham's 2007 pre-moot brought together 25 teams spanning universities from North America, South America, and Europe - earning recognition as the largest Vis practice session in the world.
Maybe not the largest, but certainly one of the most renowned pre-moots, is 'the Leuven Pre-Moot'. This practice competition is organized by the Institute for International Trade Law of the University of Leuven in Belgium. It takes place on the last Monday and Tuesday before the start of the Moot in Vienna. The concept is that of a real competition, with general rounds on Monday and knock-out rounds on Tuesday. Fourteen teams from seven different countries participate in the second edition (2006-2007) (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States). Six rounds, 27 sessions and 65 experienced arbitrators indicate the winner. Stetson, the winner of the first edition of the Leuven Pre-Moot (2005-2006), made it to the finals in Vienna.
[edit] The oral arguments in Vienna
The oral arguments take place in Vienna, Austria. They begin every year on the Saturday a week prior to Easter and close with the finals on Thursday of Easter week.
While the oral arguments proper start on Saturday morning, 9 a.m. (for those ten teams who have caught the first "slot"), it is preceded by a welcoming event followed by a reception on the evening of Friday. Even earlier, on Thursday night, the Moot Alumni Associations traditionally organizes its Welcoming Party for student participants, coaches and moot alumni.
The general rounds of the oral arguments take place at the Law Faculty of the University of Vienna (the Juridicum) on Saturday through Tuesday.
Elimination rounds among the highest ranking teams take place on Wednesday and Thursday, culminating in the final argument. The Moot closes with an awards banquet following the final argument.
[edit] Changing times, changing venues
The different occasions during the oral phase of the Vienna Moot have not always been held at the venues they take place at today. As the Vis Moot grew over the years, the space needed grew with it, and required a number of venue changes from year to year:
The Opening reception, for example, was held at the UNCITRAL headquarters during the first three Moots (1994-96), and subsequently moved to the building of the old Vienna Stock Exchange (the "Börse"), the Ronacher Theatre (until 2005) and then the Konzerthaus (13th Moot, 2006). In 2007, the opening reception is rumoured to be held at the Stadthalle (the Konzerthaus was apparently already booked), but it will return to the Konzerthaus in 2008.
From the 1st until the 3rd Vis Moot (1994-96), the oral hearings proper where held at the International Arbitral Centre of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (Wiedner Hauptstrasse 63 in Vienna's 4th district), thus taking place in the very rooms where ordinary arbitration hearings are held. Only from the 4th Moot (1997) onwards, the oral hearings took place at the Juridicum of the Faculty of Law, University of Vienna. Since the 11th Moot in 2004, some of the hearings are held at the nearby offices of the law firm Dorda, Brugger & Jordis.
The location for the Finals remained at the Vienna International Arbitral Centre even longer; the last hearing of each year's Moot was held there from the 1st until the 6th Moot (1994-99). From the 7th until the 10th Moot (2000-03), the final hearing took place at the Festsaal of the Vienna City Hall (the Rathaus), and since the 11th Moot (2004) is has moved to the probably largest meeting room available in Vienna, at the Messe, where it is likely to remain.
The Awards Banquet following the Finals was held at the Piaristenkeller, a historic Viennese restaurant, during the 1st and 2nd Moots (1994-95), then at the Rathauskeller of the Vienna City Hall (at the 3rd Moot, 1996) and subsequently at the same building's Festsaal (4th until 10th Moot, 1997-2003). Since the 11th Moot (2004), it has been held at the Messe.
[edit] Moot Problem
The arbitration clause in the contract, in the problem always provides that the dispute is to be decided by arbitration in "Vindobona, Danubia" under the institutional arbitration rules of one of the various arbitration institutions (like the ICC or the LCIA) which sponsors the moot. Danubia is a fictional country, which has enacted the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration as well as the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention), always featuring in moot problems as the seat of arbitration. "Vindobona" is surmised to be a reference to Vienna's old Latin nomenclature, when it was the last outpost of the Roman Empire.
[edit] Awards
The Pieter Sanders Award is for the Best Memorandum on behalf of the Claimant and the Werner Melis Award is for the Best Memorandum on behalf of the Respondent. The Martin Domke Award is for the Best Oralist during the general rounds of the competition. Second Place, Third Place and a number of Honorable Mentions are also given in the above categories. See the website for a complete list of award winners.
The winner of the oral rounds at Vienna is awarded the Frédéric Eisemann Award for the best prevailing team in the oral rounds. In the past, it was won by Columbia University (1st Moot 1994), University of Freiburg (2nd Moot 1995), Cornell University (3rd Moot 1996), University of Queensland (4th Moot 1997 and 7th Moot 2000), University of Münster (5th Moot 1998), Deakin University (6th Moot 1999), Monash University (8th Moot 2001), National University of Singapore (9th Moot 2002), National University of Juridicial Science, Calcutta (10th Moot 2003), Osgoode Hall Law School (11th Moot 2004), Stetson University (12th Moot 2005) and Queen Mary University of London (13th Moot 2006).
[edit] Prestige
The Vis Arbitral Moot in Vienna is considered one of the most prestigious moot court competitions in the world. The above list of sponsoring organizations coupled with the fact that the foremost scholars in the field of international sales law and international arbitration come to Vienna to act as arbitrators and judge the various teams in different stages of the competition clearly establish the high standing of this competition in the academic world. In fact, this competition has been referred to as the olympics of international trade law.[2] It draws participation from many law schools from all over the world. In 2006 over 150 teams took part in the competition.
[edit] Cultural Phenomenon
The Vis Moot's popularity has grown rapidly over the last decade of its existence. The moot gives an opportunity to law students to interact with law students from other countries and other cultures thereby equipping them with a multicultural approach which is undoubtedly an asset in international arbitrations as well as one of the aims of this competition. The other attraction of the competition are the parties that are organised by the Moot Alumni Association (MAA), which provide the students an opportunity to unwind after months of rigorous preparation for the moot. The MAA hosts a welcoming party a day before the Official Opening Reception as well as a farewell party a day before the finals and the awards banquet.
Even while there are no parties, participants go out to a bar to drink and meet other participants. The venue that has traditionally been considered to be the pub for the Moot was the Ma Pitom situated in the Bermudadreieck, the Bermuda triangle, as the Viennese call their pub and party district. During the 4th Vis Moot (held in 1997), it evolved into the central night-time meeting point for Moot participants, and has been home to many a moot celebration ever since. In August 2006, however, the owner of the Ma Pitom closed the bar and sold the place (it now hosts a restaurant called "Collina"), so an era of Moot partying had come to an end. The 14th Vis Moot 2007 will see a new venue, the Aux Gazelles in the Museumsquartier.
The backdrop of the beautiful city of Vienna also gives participating students the opportunity to explore the rich European history and famous sights of Vienna.
[edit] Vis Moot (East), Hong Kong
The Vis Moot (East)[3] is a sister moot to the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. The Vis Moot (East) annually takes place in Hong Kong, and its principal sponsor is the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (East Asia Branch). The Vis Moot (East) uses the same Problem and the rules are essentially the same as the Moot that takes place in Vienna. Nevertheless, they are two separate moots with separate registration, including registration fee, and separate winners - the Hong Kong Moot is not a regional elimination moot for the Vienna Moot.
The local organisation lies in the hands of Louise Barrington, now a Professor of Law at Chinese University of Hong Kong (from 2004-06, she was teaching at City University Hong Kong and the Moot was held there).
The Vis Moot (East) is much younger that the "original" Vis Moot in Vienna (while the Vis Moot was for the first time held in 1994, the 1st Vis Moot (East) only took place in 2004), and much smaller (in 2006, 154 teams from 49 countries participated in the 13th Vis Moot in Vienna, and 32 teams from 9 countries in the 3rd Vis Moot (East) in Hong Kong).
[edit] References
[edit] See also
- Moot Alumni Association (MAA), the Alumni Association of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot
