The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot or Vis Moot is an international moot competition. Since 1994, it has been held annually in Vienna, Austria, attracting approximately 400 law schools from all around the world and spurring the creation of more than 30 pre-moots each year before the actual rounds are held in Vienna. It is the largest arbitration moot competition, and second-largest moot overall, in the world; considered a grand slam or major moot. A sister moot, known as the Willem C. Vis (East) Moot, is held in Hong Kong just before the rounds in Vienna. It was established in 2003 and attracts around 150 teams every year, making it the second largest commercial arbitration moot and also a grand slam moot. It uses the same moot problem as the Vis Moot, as does the various pre-moot friendlies.
The objective of both Vis moots is to foster study in the area of international commercial arbitration and encourage the resolution of business disputes by arbitration. The problem for the moot is always based on an international sales transaction subjected to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (referred to commonly as the CISG) and also involves procedural issues of arbitration such as jurisdiction and powers of an arbitral tribunal. The moot consists of submitting written memoranda for both claimant and respondent before the oral phase of the competition, though the written arguments have no bearing on either the preliminary rounds or knockout stages in the oral phase.
Background
About Willem C. Vis
The moot is named after Willem Cornelis Vis (1924–1993), an expert in international commercial transactions and dispute settlement procedures. Vis was born in Utrecht and graduated from Leiden University and Nijmegen University in the Netherlands.Eric E. Bergsten, 'In Memoriam: Willem Cornelis Vis (1924-1993)', 28 International Lawyer 583 (1994) He also read law, economics and philosophy at Magdalen College, Oxford. Vis began to work for European co-operation in 1957 as a member of the Council of Europe Secretariat, in its human rights and legal affairs directorates, and later, in 1965, became deputy secretary-general of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) in Rome. In 1968, he moved to the United Nations Secretariat in New York, where he became senior legal officer, then chief of the International Trade Law Branch of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, and secretary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). Vis served as executive secretary of the Vienna Diplomatic Conference that created the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). He helped craft the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, and was Representative of the Netherlands to the UNCITRAL and served as chair of its Working Group on International Payments. He served on the faculty of Pace University School of Law from 1980 until his death in 1993. At Pace, he continued to participate in the development of international commercial law, and was founding director of the Pace Institute of International Commercial Law.
Organisers and sponsors The moot is organised by the Association for the Organization and Promotion of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. The director was Pace Law School's professor emeritus Eric Bergsten, a former secretary of the UNCITRAL until his retirement in 2013 after the 20th annual moot. The current directors are Christopher Kee, Patrizia Netal, and Stefan Kroell.
The moot is sponsored by the International Centre for Dispute Resolution/American Arbitration Association, International Arbitral Centre of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, CEPANI (Belgium), Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Chinese-European Arbitration Centre, German Institution of Arbitration, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, International Chamber of Commerce, Permanent Court of Arbitration, JAMS, London Court of International Arbitration, Moot Alumni Association, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Swiss Arbitration Association, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, Beijing International Arbitration Centre, Vienna International Arbitral Centre, and the University of Vienna Faculty of Law.
Vis East
The Vis East Moot is the sister moot to the Vis Moot in Vienna. The Vis East takes place annually in Hong Kong. Founded in 2003 by Louise Barrington, a Canadian arbitrator based in Hong Kong, the Vis East was originally underwritten by the East Asia Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The Vis East uses the same moot problem and the rules are essentially the same as the Moot that takes place in Vienna. Nevertheless, they are two separate moots with separate registrations and fees, as well as separate winners – the Vis East is not a regional elimination moot for the Vienna competition. A law school can register for the Vis East, the Vienna moot, or both. While the same students can be on both teams, a student cannot present oral arguments in both the Hong Kong and the Vienna Moot in the same year even though both moots are held a week apart; further, students who have spoken in elimination rounds in previous editions (whether in Vienna or Hong Kong) cannot participate as an oralist in subsequent competitions. The first local host of the Vis East was the City University of Hong Kong; the 1st–3rd editions were held at City University's campus located in Kowloon Tong. The following two moots were hosted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong at its campus in Central. From the 6th edition to the 16th edition, the Vis East Moot moved back to City University of Hong Kong. The general rounds and elimination rounds are now held at Justice Place, in Central Hong Kong. The Directors of the Vis East Moot are Barrington and Sherlin Tung.
Online edition
In 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic, both Vis moots were conducted online during the originally scheduled dates, paving the way to the first editions of the Virtual Vis East and Virtual Vis respectively. Around 70 out of the original 140 teams that had signed up participated in the First Virtual Vis East, while the number for the virtual rounds for Vienna was around 250 out of 390. As air travel restrictions did not improve, it was decided that the 2021 and 2022 editions of both Vis moots would be online as well. Both Vis moots returned to the in-person format in 2023.
Moot problem
Danubia is a fictional country, which has enacted the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration as well as the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention). It always features as the seat of arbitration. The arbitration clause in the contract in the problem always provides that the dispute is to be decided by arbitration in Danubia under the institutional arbitration rules of one of the various arbitration institutions which sponsors the moot. The substantive issue always entails the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).
MootYearArbitration rules used in the moot problem1st1994UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules2nd1995UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules3rd1996International Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association4th1997Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce5th1998UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules6th1999International Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association7th2000Rules of the London Court of International Arbitration8th2001Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce9th2002International Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association10th2003Arbitration Rules of the German Institution of Arbitration11th2004Arbitration Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre12th2005Swiss Rules of International Arbitration13th2006Arbitration Rules of the Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association14th2007Arbitration Rules of The Court of International Commercial Arbitration, Romania15th2008JAMS International Arbitration Rules16th2009Arbitration Rules of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce17th2010Arbitration Rules of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration18th2011Arbitration Rules of the Chamber of National and International Arbitration of Milan19th2012Arbitration Rules of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission20th2013Arbitration Rules of the Chinese European Arbitration Centre21st2014Arbitration Rules of the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation22nd2015Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce23rd2016Arbitration Rules of the Vienna International Arbitration Center24th2017Arbitration Rules of Arbitration Center of the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada25th2018UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules26th2019Arbitration Rules of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre27th2020Rules of the London Court of International Arbitration28th2021Swiss Rules of International Arbitration29th2022Asian International Arbitration Centre Rules30th2023Permanent Court of Arbitration Rules31st2024Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce32nd2025Arbitration Rules of the Finland Arbitration Institute 33rd2026Arbitration Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre34th2027Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA-ICDR)35th2028Arbitration Rules of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration
Competition structure
The Vis Moot consists of two parts. The written phase of the Vis Moot commences on the first Friday in October when the moot problem, consisting of initial statements of claim and defence by the parties' attorneys as well as motions regarding procedural questions and exhibits, is distributed to the participating teams. According to an order by the arbitral tribunal, both parties have to prepare a memorandum concerning factual and procedural issues. The memorandum supporting the position of the claimant is due early in December. As the moot proceeds, each team is sent a copy of the memorandum for claimant of one of the other teams in the moot. The memorandum for respondent is prepared in response to the memorandum received, and is due in mid-January. With the submission of the memorandum for respondent, the written phase is closed. Awards for the best memoranda in the competition will not be presented to the teams until the last day of the oral arguments. As opposed to some other international mooting competitions, there is no selection of the teams who can proceed to the oral arguments based on the quality of their memoranda – every team that is participating in the Vis Moot gets to go to Vienna or Hong Kong.