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Master en droit européen - LL.M. (académique)

Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (VIS)

The Vis Moot is a competition in which, for a start, teams of students write memoranda to a problem involving the application and interpretation of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and other uniform international commercial law in the context of an arbitration of a dispute before an international arbitral tribunal under specified arbitration rules.

The fictitious case is set by experts in this field of law under the auspices of the Institute of International Commercial Law of the Pace University School of Law (U.S.A.). It is published on the organisation’s website during the first week of October every year. The competition consists of two stages: the written stage and the oral pleadings.

From October to February teams from universities worldwide prepare written submissions setting out the arguments on behalf of both the applicant and the defendant. The teams first have to submit the memorandum for the claimant by beginning of December. Each team receives then the claimant memorandum of a randomly selected competitor. Subsequently, based on this received submission, the students have then to write a memorandum for the respondent and to submit it in January/ February. All of the memoranda are ranked and awards are granted to the best of them, irrespective of the results achieved during the oral pleadings.

The second stage of the competition takes place in Vienna during Easter time and lasts a little over a week. Teams from over 200 universities fly in to compete against each other during the two days of General Rounds and aim to qualify in the Elimination Rounds (the top 64 teams). The results are announced at the Awards Banquet during which the Final takes place.

Subject (Field of law) :

UN Convention for the Sale of Goods, International Private Law, International Arbitration

Language:

English

Admission criteria :

The VIS Moot is open to students Master’s level with knowledge of and interest in Private International Law. Language proficiency in English, both written and oral, is required.

For further information see the “ Official rules for participation in an external Moot Court Competition ”.

Procedure:

Student teams of three to four members write memoranda on behalf of two parties to a fictitious legal dispute which have to be submitted to an arbitral tribunal.
 Teams plead in different sessions for both parties in Vienna where General and Elimination rounds take place. Special Awards for best memoranda and oralists are also granted.
 

For further details see the external rules of the Competition .

Timetable :

The written stage takes place from October to February.
 The preparation of the written submissions will start in the beginning of October as the fictitious case is published during the first week of October. The first organizational meeting is scheduled during the week after the publication of the case.
 The oral round takes place during the Easter period.

Coordination:

 

Credits:

12 ECTS (6 ECTS per semester).

Organization’s website :

http://www.cisg.law.pace.edu/vis.html