“Keep Calm, because the eVis Pre-moot is on!”
Join us this March 10-12 for the Pre-Moot Virtual Training and March 13-14 for the Inaugural Middle East eVis Pre-Moot!
All year, you and your team have been working furiously to submit your memorandums and prepare for your oral arguments. However, the spread of the Coronavirus is severely impacting people’s ability to travel and participate not only in Pre-Moots but in the East and West Vis Moots themselves. We can only imagine how stressful and emotionally daunting the situation is for you and your team.
It is at this moment that we can showcase your reliance, commitment, and dedication to hard work. The Middle East eVis Pre-Moot is a prime opportunity to become part of a historic event that will bring the practice on international commercial arbitration into this century.
The Middle East Vis Pre-Moot Organizers are working day and night to finalize a customized platform to support your participation and host the first professionally digitized pre-moot event.
The eVis Pre-Moot is a closed event and will accept up to 30 teams on a first come first serve basis. Registrations will close on 6 March 2020, midnight Bahrain time.
Following registration, you will receive detailed connection instructions and course agenda, along with the Pre-Moot team competition schedule.
“Empowering Champions to Lead”
International Commercial Arbitration is an important and critical area of law that is growing in the Middle East. Parties entering in international commerce often require or prefer disputes be settled through arbitration. This requires a specific cadre of experts able to engage in arbitration with international parties, understanding the various international principles, cultures, and laws. As the Middle East strives to increase and attract international commerce to their respective countries, many governments from the region, are working towards improving the mechanisms for resolving disputes through international arbitration. In support of this initiative, legal education on international commerce has become a focal point for governments, academia, and the private sector.
The Middle East Pre-Moot is one year away from its 10th Anniversary. It is important that we highlight the significant amount of progress the program has made in the region, along with the impact it has had on international reflections on legal capacity in the Middle East and North Africa. By this year, the Vis Pre-Moot will have graduated over 350 law students and engaged with over 200 lawyers and arbitration practitioners.
At the end of the program, where will those students and lawyers be? Will they yield productive professional and personal networks? And more importantly, will they pay it forward and ensure that the efforts of years past do not vanish to mere memories?
The answer to this question rests with you and brings us to this year’s theme “Empowering Champions to Lead”. Thanks to the support of the individuals and institutions that have committed their time and effort to sustain this program, we have empowered champions of international commercial arbitration in a majority of the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. It is time for our champions to “take charge” and pay it forward, by working to institutionalize the Middle East Vis Pre-Moot and sustain country representation on the world stage.
- Date:
25-27 October, 2018
- Venue:
- University of Carthage – Faculty of Legal, Political and Social Sciences of Tunis
- Phone: (+216) 71 752 750 / 71 753 892
- Fax: (+216) 71 717 255
- E-mail: [email protected]
- Address: 14, Rue Hédi Karray Centre urbain nord, Tunis Adresse postale : B.P. 40, 1080 Tunis cedex, Tunisie
- Hotel:
- Concorde Hotel Les Berges Du Lac
- Address: Rue du Lac Turkana Les berges du lac, 1053 Tunis – Tunisia
- Phone: +216 71 961 951
- E-Mail: [email protected]
The 8th Annual Middle East Vis Pre-Moot 2018 will take place from February 19 to February 23 at the Royal University for Women, in Manama, Bahrain.
CLDP, in coordination with the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR-AAA), Royal University for Women (RUW), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), MENA Chambers Bahrain, and the University of Pittsburg (CILE) will host the Vis Middle East Pre-Moot 2018 (Pre-Moot).
The Pre-Moot is a five-day regional event that brings together over 50 regionally renowned lawyers, arbitration practitioners, and judges, alongside 15 law school teams from Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates to foster best practices in international commercial arbitration through a simulated arbitration. The program enables a collegial and supportive environment for practitioners, educators, and students to collectively develop oral advocacy skills, as well as improve the practice and implementation of arbitration. The Pre-Moot Program consists of three main activities:
- Oral Advocacy Training for Law Students, February 19-21, 2018, Royal University for Women: CLDP, in cooperation with the RUW will host a preparatory training on February 19–21 at the RUW. The training aims to prepare South Asia, Middle East and North Africa law students to compete in the 2018 Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, to be held in Vienna, Austria and Hong Kong in March 2018. Participants will include former mooties, coaches and students representing Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. The teams will be working to develop their respective oral arguments for the Vis competition.
- Roundtable for Arbitrators, February 21, 2018, Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution: CLDP, in cooperation with UNCITRAL, BCDR, MENA Chambers Bahrain, RUW, and CILE, will host a forum for lawyers, judges, and arbitration practitioners from the region on February 21, 2018 at the BCDR-AAA. The Roundtable aims to provide guidance on current pressing developments in the practice of arbitration, as identified within the Vis Moot problem. Over 60 participants from the region will gather to take advantage of the unique opportunity to exchange best practices with their respective counterparts from the region and around the world.
- Pre-Moot Competition, February 22-23, 2018, Royal University for Women: CLDP, in cooperation with the RUW will host a regional competition from February 22 to February 23 at the RUW for over 100 students from South Asia, Middle East and North Africa law students. Law students will be judged on their oral arguments by regional and internationally renowned arbitrators who attended the Roundtable for Arbitrators (February 21). The Pre-Moot provides a unique opportunity for legal practitioners to understand and appreciate the implementation of an effective and fair arbitration through judging law students in a simulated arbitration. The program results in developing an exclusive network of lawyers, judges, academics for the next generation of arbitration practitioners in the world’s most pressing emerging markets.
Downloads
Claimant Memo – Al-Iraqia University
Claimant Memo – APIIT Law School
Claimant Memo – American University of Afghanistan
Claimant Memo – Dar Al-Hekma University
Claimant Memo – Carthage University
Claimant Memo – Herat University of Afghanistan
Claimant Memo – Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
Claimant Memo – Kardan University
Claimant Memo – Kuwait International Law School
Claimant Memo – Middle East University
Claimant Memo – Nangarhar University
Claimant Memo – Qatar University
Claimant Memo – Royal University for Women
Claimant Memo – Sri Lanka Law College
Claimant Memo – United Arab Emirates University
Claimant Memo – University of Bahrain
Claimant Memo – University of Jordan
Respondent Memo – Al-Iraqia University
Respondent Memo – APIIT Law School
Respondent Memo – American University of Afghanistan
Respondent Memo – Dar Al-Hekma University
Respondent Memo – Carthage University
Respondent Memo – Herat University
Respondent Memo – Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
Respondent Memo – Kardan University
Respondent Memo – Kuwait International Law School
Respondent Memo – Middle East University
Respondent Memo – Nangarhar University
Respondent Memo – Qatar University
Respondent Memo – Royal University for Women
Respondent Memo – Sri Lanka Law College
Respondent Memo – United Arab Emirates University
“for more documents and training materials, follow the link below”
https://pittvis.wordpress.com/
Downloads
CAM CCBC Arbitration Rules 2012 with 2016 Amendments
CAM CCBC Recommended Arbitration Clause
A Start of A Journey
International Commercial Arbitration is an important and critical area of law that is growing in the Middle East. Parties entering in international commerce often require or prefer disputes be settled through arbitration. This requires specific cadre of legal expertise, able to engage in arbitration with international parties, understanding the various international principles, cultures, and laws. As the Middle East strives to increase and attract international commerce to their respective countries, many governments from the region, are working towards improving the mechanisms for resolving disputes through international arbitration. In support of this initiative, legal education on international commerce has become a focal point for governments, academia, and the private sector.
The Annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Vis Moot), held in Vienna and Hong Kong, is the pre-eminent moot competition on commercial law and arbitration. The Vis Moot is an educational tool for arbitrators, judges, lawyers, professors, and law students, to foster the study and practice of international commercial and arbitration laws and encourage the resolution of business disputes by arbitration. The Vis Moot provides a comprehensive simulation of a factitious international commercial dispute, and enables participants, both judges, lawyers, and legal scholars alike, to gain technical and legal understanding of the international commercial arbitration process. In 2013, teams from 290 universities and 67 countries took part in the written and oral advocacy competition.
Since 2011, the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR-AAA), in coordination with the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) of the US Department of Commerce, along with other international resource partners, established the Middle East Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Pre-Moot Program (Pre-Moot Program). The Pre-Moot Program aims to increase the capacity of litigation lawyers and arbitrators in the Middle East, through participation in Vis. Through the Pre-Moot Program, BCDR-AAA and CLDP cooperates with key regional academic institutions to develop a cadre of legal experts able to resolve commercial disputes within international best practices. Alumni of the program become champions of international commercial arbitration and work closely with US and Middle East firms, businesses, and partners to strengthen economic ties and cooperation. Former regional participation includes teams from Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia, Oman, UAE, Qatar, and Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
The Pre-Moot Program aims to create a sustainable Vis Moot program with each academic institution it works with. The Pre-Moot Program consist of three-phases, which includes comprehensive training on legal research and analysis, memoranda writing, oral advocacy skills, international commercial law instruments, international sales contracts, and arbitration. Through this program, university faculty members and former Vis students, from the region, gain the tools and knowledge to train students and design curriculum emphasizing international commercial law and arbitration. The Vis program provides students an opportunity to take part in a unique, challenging, and practical moot experience, often resulting in their continued interest in pursuing a career in international commercial law.
The Pre-Moot is designed for judges, lawyers, law professors, and prospective arbitration practitioners, to provide a practical simulated experience on the process of international arbitration, the role of arbitrators, and best practices, through participation in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Vis Moot).
The Pre-Moot engages law students to compete, in front of regional and international practitioners, who all gain practical arbitration experience through a supportive, collegial, and academic environment.
An integral part of this effort is the engagement of leading regional arbitration practitioners, such as yourself.
The Pre-Moot provides a unique opportunity to:
. Network with International and Regional Arbitration Leaders
. Gain and share professional experience
. Recruit qualified lawyers
. Be part of regional network of leading transactional lawyers
Watch McClean Lecture: The Genesis and Development of the Vis Moot
Downloads
A Start of A Journey
International Commercial Arbitration is an important and critical area of law that is growing in the Middle East. Parties entering in international commerce often require or prefer disputes be settled through arbitration. This requires specific cadre of legal expertise, able to engage in arbitration with international parties, understanding the various international principles, cultures, and laws. As the Middle East strives to increase and attract international commerce to their respective countries, many governments from the region, are working towards improving the mechanisms for resolving disputes through international arbitration. In support of this initiative, legal education on international commerce has become a focal point for governments, academia, and the private sector.
The Annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Vis Moot), held in Vienna and Hong Kong, is the pre-eminent moot competition on commercial law and arbitration. The Vis Moot is an educational tool for arbitrators, judges, lawyers, professors, and law students, to foster the study and practice of international commercial and arbitration laws and encourage the resolution of business disputes by arbitration. The Vis Moot provides a comprehensive simulation of a factitious international commercial dispute, and enables participants, both judges, lawyers, and legal scholars alike, to gain technical and legal understanding of the international commercial arbitration process. In 2013, teams from 290 universities and 67 countries took part in the written and oral advocacy competition.
Since 2011, the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR-AAA), in coordination with the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) of the US Department of Commerce, along with other international resource partners, established the Middle East Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Pre-Moot Program (Pre-Moot Program). The Pre-Moot Program aims to increase the capacity of litigation lawyers and arbitrators in the Middle East, through participation in Vis. Through the Pre-Moot Program, BCDR-AAA and CLDP cooperates with key regional academic institutions to develop a cadre of legal experts able to resolve commercial disputes within international best practices. Alumni of the program become champions of international commercial arbitration and work closely with US and Middle East firms, businesses, and partners to strengthen economic ties and cooperation. Former regional participation includes teams from Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia, Oman, UAE, Qatar, and Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
The Pre-Moot Program aims to create a sustainable Vis Moot program with each academic institution it works with. The Pre-Moot Program consist of three-phases, which includes comprehensive training on legal research and analysis, memoranda writing, oral advocacy skills, international commercial law instruments, international sales contracts, and arbitration. Through this program, university faculty members and former Vis students, from the region, gain the tools and knowledge to train students and design curriculum emphasizing international commercial law and arbitration. The Vis program provides students an opportunity to take part in a unique, challenging, and practical moot experience, often resulting in their continued interest in pursuing a career in international commercial law.
The Pre-Moot is designed for judges, lawyers, law professors, and prospective arbitration practitioners, to provide a practical simulated experience on the process of international arbitration, the role of arbitrators, and best practices, through participation in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Vis Moot).
The Pre-Moot engages law students to compete, in front of regional and international practitioners, who all gain practical arbitration experience through a supportive, collegial, and academic environment.
An integral part of this effort is the engagement of leading regional arbitration practitioners, such as yourself.
This year marks the 5th Annual Middle East Vis Pre-Moot, hosted under the auspices of the Judicial Council of Jordan, in collaboration with the University of Jordan, the LEAD Advisory Group, BCDR-AAA, CLDP, and the ICC.
The Pre-Moot provides a unique opportunity to:
. Network with International and Regional Arbitration Leaders
. Gain and share professional experience
. Recruit qualified lawyers
. Be part of regional network of leading transactional lawyers
Tentative Program Activities:
Student Program: March 3-5, 2015
University of Jordan
Arbitrator Roundtable: March 5, 2015
Location: TBD
Pre-Moot: March 6-7, 2015
Superior Court
Tentatively Planned Social Activities:
CLDP Vis Pre-Moot Alumni Meet & Greet: March 6, 2015
Location: TBD
Arbitration Reception: March 5, 2015
Location: TBD
Award Ceremony: March 7, 2015
TBD
Participating Countries for the 5th Annual Middle East Vis Pre-Moot:
. Bahrain
. Jordan
. Tunisia
. Iraq
. Saudi Arabia
. Kuwait
. Oman
. Qatar
. Afghanistan
. Iran
Downloads
UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (ENGLISH)
UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (Arabic)
ICC Arbitration and Mediation Rules (ENGLISH)
ICC Arbitration and Mediation Rules (Arabic)
To play the training videos, you should have received a passcode from your Premoot Coach or contact us ([email protected])
Day 1
Welcome and Opening Remarks
• University of Jordan
• LEAD Advisory Group
• BCDR
• CLDP
• CILE
Review of Agenda and Learning Objective
Introduction to Vis and the Program
Speaker(s):Professor Ronald Brand, CILE
Ms. Janet Checkley, Vis Moot Alumni and Pre-Moot Advisor
Moderator(s): Ms. Mais Abbas Abousy, CLDP Attorney-Advisor
Mr. Zmarak Khan,CLDP Attorney-Advisor
Interactive Session: Vis Problem Read Through
Focus: During this session, the students will review the problem and identify questions and issues to be addressed throughout the program. Students will have the problem available in advance and will be expected to have read it prior to arriving at the training session.
Speakers: Professor Ronald Brand, CILE
Moderators: Ms. Janet Checkley, Ms. Mais Abbas Abousy
Interactive Session: Development of Problem Roadmap
Focus: After reading the Vis 2015 Problem (“Problem”), the participants discuss how to develop a roadmap of the facts and issues presented by the Problem.
Moderator(s): Professor Ronald Brand, Ms. Janet Checkley, Ms. Mais Abbas Abousy, and Mr. Zmarak Khan
Identification of Key Issues Identified in the Problem
Focus: An interactive session, where the participants identify issues within the problem, which are disputed for the parties.
Speakers: Professor Ronald Brand,
Moderators: Ms. Janet Checkley and Ms. Mais Abbas Abousy
Discussion of Substantive vs. Procedural Issues Presented in the Problem
Focus: Interactive exercise, where each team categorizes the issues identified in the above session into Substance vs. Procedure and then discusses them
Speakers: Professor Ronald Brand
Moderators: Ms. Janet Checkley and Ms. Mais Abbas Abousy
Discussion of Application of Research Methods to Issues in the Problem
Discussion of Overnight Research Assignments for Vis Team Members
Focus: Students will draft an outline of the arguments for the Claimant Memorandum and the Respondent Memorandum, focusing on the development of strong Argument Headings to present the following day.
Day 2
Review and Discussion of Outcomes from Research Assignment
Creating Basic Outline of Arguments for Claimant
Focus: This session will discuss how to create an outline of arguments for the Claimant, with a particular focus on how to strategically structure the parties’ arguments (substance and procedural) in a manner that would support their claim for damages. The students will focus on how to draft headings for their arguments, and how to cite legal resources to support their claims.
Speakers: Professor Ronald Brand and Ms. Janet Checkley
Moderators: Ms. Mais Abbas Abousy and Mr. Zmarak Khan
Developing the Structure of the Claimant’s Memo
Focus: The students, led by the Vis Alumni, shall work together to develop the structure/outline of the Claimant’s argument
Speakers: Professor Ronald Brand and Ms. Janet Checkley
Moderators: Ms. Mais Abbas Abousy and Mr. Zmarak Khan
Discussion of Overnight Research Assignments for Vis Team Members
Focus: The students will be divided into groups that will each focus on arguments for the Claimant or Respondent, based on the different substantive or procedural issues presented by the Problem. The students will research legal resources using books or online resources and will also begin the development of strong Argument Headings to present the following day.
Speakers: Professor Ronald Brand and Ms. Janet Checkley
Moderators: Ms. Mais Abbas Abousy and Mr. Zmarak Khan
Discussion of Overnight Assignment for Vis Team Members
Day 3
Review and Discussion of Outcomes from Overnight Assignment
An Introduction to Legal writing: Heading, Format, and Citation
Focus: This session shall focus on providing a preliminary understanding of how to draft the Claimant and Respondent memorandums with the required Vis format.
Speakers: Ms. Janet Checkley
Moderators: Professor Ronald Brand and Ms. Mais Abbas Abousy
Review Previous Competition Memos
Focus: Students and Advisors shall read through previous memos and describe examples of strengths and weaknesses of good written advocacy
Speakers: Ms. Janet Checkley
Moderators: Professor Ronald Brand , Ms. Mais Abbas Abousy, and Mr. Zmarak Khan
Setting Vis Team Timeline and Determination of Roles and Responsibility
Focus: Each team, along with their respective advisors, shall determine internal team deadlines that would lead to the submission of both the claimant and respondent memo, as well as develop a training plan for practicing oral arguments.
Meeting with Vis Alumni and Program Resource Partners
Downloads
CISG Overview (Powerpoint slides)
Introduction to arbitration (Powerpoint slides)
Vis Moot Introduction (Powerpoint)
CISG ISSUES – 2014 VIS PROBLEM
ICC Arbitration and Mediation Rules (Arabic)
ICC Arbitration and Mediation Rules (ENGLISH)
UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (Arabic)
Lodging Location:
[Note: Please be informed that there has been a change in the recommended hotel. The new recommended hotel is “Retaj Al Rayyan”, and not “Retaj Royale”. Participants that have sent their details for booking can call on the hotel contact number +974 4420 4444 to check the status of their booking, after they have received their booking codes]
Hotel Address:
Retaj Al Rayyan Hotel
Dafna, Diplomatic District
P.O.Box: 25556 Doha, Qatar
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +974 4420 44 44
Fax: +974 4420 44 45
The Retaj Al Rayyan is offering the following rates:
Single rooms: 475 Q.R
Double Rooms: 550 Q.R
All the rate is including breakfast
All the rates are including free internet access in the public areas and the rooms
Kindly submit your request for lodging and coordinate directly with Mr. Christopher Evers at [email protected], and copy Chimai Tran-Luu at [email protected], no later than February 20th.
Competition Information
This year, the BCDR-AAA is pleased to work in coordination with Qatar University to host the 4th Annual Vis Middle East Pre-Moot.
Please be informed that there is no participation fees for the Pre-Moot, however, kindly bear in mind the participating teams will have to bear the travel, accommodation and other costs in the country at which the event is held.
The competition will be held at the Qatar University from March 02-March 06, 2014.
The program will consist of three days of training (02-04 March), and two day of competition (05 -06 March).
Teams should anticipate to arrive on or about March 1 and depart on or about March 7.
Visa Requests:
Please be aware that each team is responsible for facilitating their visas to Qatar. QU has kindly offered to assist. If you have NOT submitted your information (passport scans), please send to Ms. Maya Ghassan Shahaf at [email protected] and copy Fatema Ali A H Bore at [email protected] ASAP
Submission of Memorandums:
Kindly send your final claimant and respondent memo to [email protected] and copy [email protected] by February 9th to qualify for “Best Respondent” and “Best Claimant” awards.
Downloads
The introduction to your argument
Tips to add polish to every oral argument