Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competition
Ø Competition Information
· What is Vis?
The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Vis) is an annual competition named after Willem C. Vis, the General Director of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The objective of this competition is to foster study in the areas of international commercial and arbitration laws and encourage the resolution of business disputes by arbitration.
For more information, please visit: http://www.cisg.law.pace.edu/vis.html
· Competition Format
Since its advent in 1994, Vis has now embraced its 19th anniversary. Like most moot court competitions, Vis competition consists of two crucial phases: (1) the writing of memorandums for claimant and respondent, and (2) the hearing of oral arguments based upon the memorandums. Both of the phases are conducted in English.
The written part requires determining and analyzing of contract law issues flowing from a fictitious transaction relating to the sale or purchase of goods under the Convention of International Sales of Goods (CISG) in the context of arbitration under specified Arbitration Rules. Following the written memorandum, an oral submission shall be given and heard by arbitral experts.
· Time and Venus
Each year, the oral round of Vis will be held in Vienna (Vis West) and Hong Kong (Vis East) respectively in March and April, while the same oral sessions for its sister moots in China, which is widely known as the “CIETAC Cup”, will be held in Beijing in November. These moots follow the same format, and adopt the same moot problem; it is therefore possible to participate in all these moots in the same year.
Ø PKU Law School and Vis
· Vis in China
Since its arrival in China, Vis has attracted thousands of law students competing to demonstrate their legal and advocacy skills in English. Participating universities in the previous years include Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Xiamen University, China Foreign Affairs University and Shenzhen University.
Every year in November, a national moot competition modeling on the Vis will be hosted by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) in Beijing as a warming-up exercise prior to the international rounds. Two prevailing teams will be sponsored by CIETAC to participate the rounds held in Vienna and Hong Kong respectively.
· Our Achievements
PKU Vis Team has a proud history in the Vis competitions held in China, Hong Kong and Vienna. In 2010, PKU Vis Team ranked 22nd in the final round of the international competition, which marked the best record among all Chinese teams in that year. In 2011, we again ranked 39th in the international round, which was at the top 30% of all Chinese representatives.
In 2012, participants from PKU Vis Team claimed three (3) "Best Oralists" in the preliminary round and another one (1) in the semi-final round in the CIETAC Cup, which made us the team with the highest number of best oralists that year.
Ø Application and Selection Procedure
In the hope to provide students with hands-on experience in addition to their academic study, PKU Law School has always been supportive of Vis both financially and in resource allocation. Every year, PKU Vis Team holds a try out open to all PKU law students to select qualified participants and assistants under the supervision of Law School's Youth League Committee and with the assistance of the Mooting Camp. The selection procedure may include CV/Resume screening, interview and written test.
Once selected, new Vis members will receive a series of professional trainings from our coaches on a wide range of subjects that aim to enhance their skills relating to legal research, memorandum drafting and oral pleading. In addition, our close relationship with American Arbitration Association has also grant our participants a privilege to compete with famous law schools including Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Colombia Law School and NYU Law School in a pre-moot exercise held in USA ahead of the real contest.