Vis Moot

Since 2005, the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg has participated in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (“Vis Moot”). Students are offered a unique opportunity to hone their legal and rhetorical skills and broaden their horizons beyond traditional law studies.

The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot is an annual student competition in the field of international commercial law, which requires the participants to deal intensively with problems from the special fields of private arbitration and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

373 teams from 89 jurisdictions compete amicably in the Moot. Judges, arbitrators, lawyers and professors from all over the world act as arbitrators. This creates a special international climate, which has contributed to the worldwide reputation of the Vis Moot.

The “moot” as a simulated (arbitration) process has its roots in Anglo-Saxon legal education. The students appear as lawyers for one party in a mock trial and conduct the oral proceedings with the aim of winning the arbitration court over to the represented position. The basic skills for lawyers are practised and assessed here: negotiating confidently and being convincing both legally and through the way of presenting oneself.

Participation in the Vis-Moot requires continuous work over the period of half a year: from the release of the Problem at the beginning of October, over the drafting of two memorandums – one each for the claimant and the defendant – to the oral pleadings, which regularly take place in Vienna in the week before Easter as the conclusion and highlight of the Vis-Moot.

There is currently no comparable national competition at German law schools that promotes and develops the (team) skills of individual students in this unique way, but also provides a forum for friendly competition between universities. Participation in the Vis-Moot is therefore an exceptional chance for all those who would like to take on a professional challenge and at the same time gain their first, useful and incomparable experience on an international stage.

All those interested can find more information on how to apply here.