Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious moot competitions, held annually in Vienna. The Vis Moot is organized by the Association for the organization and promotion of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Moot and sponsored by numerous institutions worldwide, such as UNCITRAL, International Chamber of Commerce, American Arbitration Association, The London Court of International Arbitration, Swiss Arbitration Association and the like. The goal of the Vis Moot is to “foster the study of international commercial law and arbitration for resolution of international business disputes”.
The problem for the Moot is always based on an international sales transaction that is subject to the 1980 UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sales of Goods. The Moot centers on a simulation of international commercial arbitration before which a dispute arising out of the sales contract is being resolved. The procedural issues of arbitration are also discussed and usually resolved by the application of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration.
The Vis Moot commences on the first Friday in October each year, when the moot problem is distributed to the participants. It consists of two parts. The first one is preparation and submission of written memoranda prior to the oral hearings. There are two memoranda to be written: one for the Claimant, the other for the Respondent. The writing of these memoranda usually takes about five months. The oral arguments take place in Vienna, usually in the mid-March. The oral part of the moot lasts for one week.
Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade has participated at the Vis Moot since the Tenth Moot in 2003. Our involvement has started under the auspices of cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh and their Center for International Legal Education (http://www.law.pitt.edu/academics/cile) and continued thanks to the generous support of the local legal and business community. On Pitt - Belgrade cooperation on the Vis Moot competition see: studenti/Moot/Moot.pdf (published in CILE Notes, volume 13, fall 2008).
Every year our Faculty has played a significant role in the competition. Our team's success achieved so far includes: 14 annual entries into the final rounds of the competition, 9 honorable mentions for best claimant and respondent memorandum and 16 honorable mentions for best oralists in the last ten years, winning the remarkable second place for the best oralist, third place among 177 participating teams from over 40 countries in 2007 and the fifth place in oral rounds in 2011 and 2014 among 290 teams from more than 60 countries.
In 2019, our team has qualified into the final, oral rounds of the competition and beside second place for the best oralist, another student received an honorable mention for best oralists among more than 370 universities from 85 countries. In 2013, the success of our students reached new heights – out of 290 competing universities, claimant memorandum drafted by the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law students has won the first place and the prestigious Pieter Sanders Award for Best Claimant Memorandum.
This success was recognized not only by all the national newspapers and media, but top government officials including the Minister of Justice, Minister of Education and the President of the Republic of Serbia, while our team was awarded as one of the Belgrade Winners among the most successful companies and individuals in the annual gala organized by the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce in May 2013.
Over the time, the Moot has grown to become one of the world's biggest law competitions. Namely, more than 400 universities from over 80 countries took part at the 27th Vis Moot competition in 2020. This makes the Moot an unforgettable experience for all those who are lucky enough to participate in it.
- Predavač: Milena Djordjevic