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Over 350 students from 52 law school teams from around the world had the chance to present their advocacy skills at the 5th Annual Willem C. Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot from 3 March to 9 March in Hong Kong. This annual student competition, is a “sister” to the original Vis Moot in Vienna, today’s biggest international arbitration competition on international trade law. For the second year, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) hosts the Vis (East) Moot with The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (East Asia Branch) as the principal sponsor.

This year’s moot court involved an order for a fine red wine. The Claimant bought boxes of red wine but found unexpected ingredients, which gave rise to a dispute under the Convention on the International Sale of Goods. Appearing at least four times before internationally renowned arbitrators, the students argued on behalf of their “clients” in a grueling test of legal skills and knowledge.

From the day the Problem was released in early October, student teams had worked to compose two extensive memoranda, one for the position of the Claimant and one for the position of the Respondent. Subsequently, the students represented their “clients” in the oral hearings against other teams.

The eight-member team from the Juris Doctor Programme and Master of Laws Programme in International Economic Law of the School of Law of CUHK did remarkably well during the moot. They are Alice Fei-mong Tsui, Spencer Yin-chuen Wong, Caroline Jing Huang, Justin Yue-ho Ho, Betty Zi-yan Wang, Casey Chi-chung Chan, Carol Shu-ling Huang and Chester Tien-yi Hui. Spencer Wong was awarded the top oralist from the Greater China region and was granted an internship to work at Lovells’ Hong Kong this summer.

“The goal of the Vis (East) Moot is to foster the study of international commercial law and arbitration. Even though Hong Kong is not a signatory to the CISG, most of our trading partners are. So it is imperative that our young lawyers be familiar with the CISG if they intend to work in international commerce. The Vis East trains the law leaders of tomorrow in methods of alternative dispute resolution. It offers law students a unique educational experience and is helping to develop a culture of international arbitration in the Asian region,” said Ms Louise Barrington, Director, Vis (East) Moot.

The results of the awards are as follows:

Eric Bergsten Award for Best Claimant Memorandum:
Albert-Ludwigs Universitat, Freiburg Germany

Fali Nariman Award for Best Respondent Memorandum:
Hofstra University School of Law (US)

Neil T Kaplan Award for Best Oralist:
Gautham Sood, Loyola Los Angeles

David Hunter Award for Team Prevailing in Oral Arguments:
Griffith University of Australia

For further information, please visit the Vis (East) Moot website at www.cisgmoot.org.