On April 17, 2025, Heidi Merikalla-Teir, Benno Kimmelman and I had the honor and pleasure to sit on the Final Round of the 32nd edition of the Willem C. Vis Moot Competition, in Vienna. Its sister competition in Hong Kong, the 22nd Vis East Moot Competition, had ended around two weeks before.
The figures are impressive. Admittedly without empirical evidence, I would bet the Vis Moot is the largest and most comprehensive educational exercise in the field of international commercial arbitration. Over the years, tens of thousands of students and practitioners have been changed by the experience. Kudos to those who are carrying the torch (and the piano): Vis Moot Directors Stefan Kröll, Patrizia Netal, and Christopher Kee, and Vis East Directors Louise Barrington, Sherlin Tung and Maricel Somerville.
In Vienna, 384 teams from 78 jurisdictions competed. That means 2,502 team members attending the competition in Vienna. All teams are required to submit memoranda on behalf of the Claimant and Respondent, which were read and ranked by 2,573 arbitrators worldwide. There were 768 hearings in the general rounds and 63 hearings in the elimination rounds, leading to the Final between McGill University (Claimant) and University of St. Gallen (Respondent). The team from the University of St. Gallen won the Eric E. Bergsten Award.
Vis East had a record number of 159 teams from 39 jurisdictions submitting memoranda, and 153 of them, from 35 jurisdictions, attended the competition in Hong Kong. More than 520 arbitrators ranked memoranda and more than 410 arbitrators heard oral arguments in 337 hearings from more than 1,000 students. In the Final Round, Singapore Management University (Claimant) prevailed over National Law University, Delhi (Respondent). The Final Round tribunal comprised Catherine Mun, Henrik Sajakorpi and Pilar Perales Viscasillas.
Arbitrators are key to the Vis Moot success. Students (“mooties”) rely on us for our feedback, advice, and example. It is touching and refreshing to see their focus and drive, but also their emotion and enthusiasm. Their hunger for knowledge and determination to build a network of professional connections makes the Vis Moot a unique personal and professional experience for everyone involved.
Next time you receive an invitation to attend Vis Moot or Vis East as an arbitrator, don’t let it pass. Come to Vienna or Hong Kong, join your fellow practitioners and arbitrators, and be moved by the opportunity to engage with and learn from such impressive students who will soon become the next generation of colleagues.
As for the Final in Vienna, quite an experience to hear high-caliber student-advocates pleading in front of a huge audience, standing their ground in the face of hard questions and forced to improvise to deal with unexpected turns. It bodes well for their personal careers and the future of international dispute resolution.
Long live the Vis Moot Competition and all the art that our craft entails.
