Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious moot competitions, held annually in Vienna.  The 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 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 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 very significant role in the competition.  In the past five years, the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade was competing in the final part of the competition and achieved a remarkable success in both 2008 and 2009 by winning an honorable mention for Memorandum for Claimant and an honorable mention for the best speakers on top of the 2007 success when winning the third place in the orals.

This year, the 17^th Vis Moot is taking place.  Over time, the moot has grown to become one of the worldćs biggest law competitions.  Last year (2008/2009) 228 universities from almost 60 countries participated.  This makes the moot an unforgettable experience for all those who are lucky enough to participate in it.

The documents relevant for this year’s competition can be found here:

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