Vis Moot Court

Overview

Moot Courts

Moot Court in the Law of Obligations

Interview on the benefits of participating in the Vis Moot

The UZH News Magazine features an interview with Prof. Dr Loacker on the characteristics and benefits of participating in the Vis Moot. You can read the interview here and here (PDF, 846 KB).

Experience report Vis Moot

A report on the participation of the University of Zurich team in the Vis Moot Court can be found in the journal of Zurich law students N'jus (PDF, 3 MB).

General information

Content	The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot is an annual competition for law students. 366 universities from 66 countries participated in 2017/18. In the Willem C. Vis Moot, participants simulate arbitration proceedings, which consists of an exchange of written submissions and oral proceedings. The fictional case concerned will be published online in October. The registered universities subsequently write an application and a response, and then present the case to a fictitious arbitral tribunal in Vienna. The arbitral tribunals are composed of experienced professors and lawyers from a wide range of backgrounds. The substantive aspect is concerned with a case concerning the Vienna Sales Law (CISG), while the procedural aspect focuses on international arbitration. The written submissions and the pleadings must both be made in English.
Advantages	Unique opportunity to familiarise yourself with the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and international arbitration on a practical basis Supervision and support from experienced coaches Participation in test hearings at renowned law firms in Zurich and pre-moots in Switzerland and abroad Travelling expenses (flights and accommodation) are generally and mainly covered by sponsors
Crediting	The Moot Court comprises a total of 18 ECTS credits. It can be credited in the Master's degree either as an elective module (18 ECTS credits) or as a Master's thesis (12 ECTS credits) and elective module (6 ECTS credits). For crediting as a Master's thesis, you must already be enrolled in the Master's programme at the time of registration. Bachelor students who have already achieved 150 ECTS credits can only have the course credited as a Master elective module (18 ECTS credits). Other crediting in the Bachelor is not possible. This listing does not guarantee that the desired crediting will be possible. The credit request will be examined individually after admission to the Moot Court in the autumn semester.
Vis Moot School Switzerland	The Vis Moot School Switzerland serves as preparation for the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna. Further information can be found here and in the course catalogue.
Responsible Chairs	Chair Prof Dr Leander D. Loacker, MPhil Chair Prof Dr Helmut Heiss, LLM
Contact	Tel.: +41 (0)44 634 55 29 mootcourt@ius.uzh.ch Room: RAI F-061
Further information (external sites)	Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Wien) Willem C. Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Hong Kong) The Spirit of the Vis Moot (Youtube)

Application for the UZH Vis Moot-Team

Requirement	Master's programme or Bachelor's programme (with 150 ECTS at the time of application)
Selection criteria	Good knowledge of English (ideally with certificate) Experience in other moot courts, ideally OR moot court participation Grade point average Ability to work in a team Time availability (i.e. free time, especially with regard to studies and professional commitments)
Information event	An information event (in English) will take place on 8 May 2024, 12:15 - 13:00, in room RAI-F-041. Please register in advance by e-mail (mootcourt@ius.uzh.ch). You can download the slides of the information event for the Willem C. Vis Moot Court 2024/25 here (PDF, 188 KB).
Application	Please submit your application in English as a PDF ("Lastname_Firstname_Vis Moot Application") with a letter of motivation, CV, transcript of records or university certificates and any language certificates to mootcourt@ius.uzh.ch by 22 May 2024.

Team 2023/2024

The Vis Moot Team of the academic year 2023/2024 (from left to right):

Nathalie Kneisel, Giovanni Giusti, Andrea Staudenmann, Mila Grönros, Franco Fischer, Annalena Schläpfer

Triple victory for Zurich moot team

At the Vis East Moot 2023/2024 in Hong Kong, the RWF student team - out of a total of 150 teams worldwide - won first place for the best written submission on both the plaintiff and defendant side.

At the subsequent Vis Moot 2023/2024 in Vienna, our team successfully defended its first place - this time against 373 teams around the world - for the best written submission on the defendant's side.

This triple victory among hundreds of teams with the best students is cause for great joy. Although the Zurich teams can look back on a long history of success in the private law moot courts (since 2018 under the academic leadership of Prof Loacker and Prof Heiss), the triple is a remarkable first. Our warmest congratulations.

Team 2022/2023

The Vis Moot Team of the academic year 2022/2023 (from left to right):

Perla Bachmann, Ionela-Alina Martalogu, Christa Louise Schmidt, Nathalie Candrian, Ann-Kathrin Fischer, Anaïs Frischknecht, Daria Shylova, Melina Balsarini

At the 20th Vis East Moot 2023 in Hong Kong, the team achieved 2nd place for the Memorandum for Claimant and was awarded an Honorable Mention for the Memorandum for Respondent. It also moved on to the oral final rounds of the 32 best teams. Ann-Kathrin Fischer, Louise Schmidt and Alina Martalogu also received an Honorable Mention for their oral presentation of the case.

At the 30th Vis Moot 2023 in Vienna, the team was awarded an Honorable Mention for both the Statement of Claim and the Response. It also moved into the oral final rounds of the 64 best teams. Anaïs Frischknecht received an Honorable Mention for her oral presentation of the case.

We warmly congratulate the team.

Team 2021/2022

The Vis Moot Team of the academic year 2021/2022 (from left to right):

Joël Donzé, Hadjar Sbaih, Daniel Molino, Lara Langer, Jonathan Benz, and Gabriel Adal

The Zurich team succeeded in achieving 2nd place for the so-called "Memorandum for Claimant" at the 19th Vis East Moot Court 2022 in Hong Kong. In addition, they were awarded an Honorable Mention for their "Memorandum for Respondent".

We congratulate you on this outstanding success!

Team 2020/21

The Vis Moot Team of the academic year 2021/2022 (from left to right):

Zoë Pulver, Nanina Lätsch, Marc Bär, Nicole Jaggi, Clio Huber, Neda Rassi

The Zurich team succeeded in winning first place in the category "Best Memorandum for Respondent" and was thus awarded the coveted Werner Melis Award.