About the Vis Moot

The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (“Vis Moot”) is the largest and most prestigious international moot court competition in the field of arbitration and commercial law in the world. Initiated in 1993, the Vis Moot brings around 2000 students from over 380 universities in more than 60 different countries to the finals in Hong Kong and Vienna. Students act as counsels in an international commercial arbitration dispute based on a hypothetical lawsuit between two parties. The dispute is always based on a cross-border sale of goods under the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). On the procedural issues of the case, the legal basis is the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, combined with the parties' choice for either ad-hoc or institutional rules.

The competition consists of two parts: The preparation of two written memoranda in support of the claimant's and subsequently the respondent's position, and the oral hearings in Hong Kong and Vienna, taking place the week before Easter. The team of the University of Vienna traditionally attends various Pre-Moots around the world (in recent years e.g. Copenhagen, Paris, Helsinki, Belgrad, Stockholm, New York, and Boston) for practice rounds before the final hearings.

Since the 2021/22 academic year, Vis Moot coaching at the University of Vienna has been spearheaded by Professor Christian Koller (Department of Civil Procedure) and Professor Matthias Lehmann (Department of European, International and Comparative Law). The current coaches are Elliot Perkins, Lukas Petschning, Katarina Marko, and Julia Reichstamm. They are supported by experienced attorneys of the firm Paragon Advocacy.

A short video documentary on the Vis Moot can be found here.