Publié le 15.07.2020

Apply now to participate in the Vis Moot 2020/21 competition!


Dear Students,

We are looking for students who wish to represent the University of Fribourg at the 28th Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Vienna Moot) in 2020/2021.

The Vis Moot is the largest and most prestigious student competition in the field of international commercial and arbitration law. Last year, almost 400 teams from every corner of the world wrote memoranda and plead on a fictional commercial case to be resolved in front of an arbitration panel.

The Vis Moot not only offers the chance to gain experience in international commercial arbitration by arguing your case in front of specialized lawyers in Switzerland (Bär & Karrer, Bratschi, Homburger, Kellerhals Carrard, Lenz & Staehelin, Pestalozzi, Walder Wyss, etc.) and abroad (Pre-Moots), but also to extend your circle of friends and contacts in an exceptional environment.

The participation will be credited with 15 ECTS. At your choice, the points will be credited either as special credits or as special credits plus a graded seminar paper (Master), special credits and a proseminar paper (Bachelor), respectively.

The 28th Vis Moot will start in early October 2020 and will last until April 1, 2021. From October to January, the Fribourg team will write two memoranda. In the Memorandum for Claimant, the team adopts the plaintiff’s point of view. In the Memorandum for Respondent, the defendant’s position is defended. Following the written phase, the Team will prepare for the oral rounds. It will plead in front of trained lawyers in Switzerland and abroad and will also participate at pre-moots, which are small international competitions in the run-up to the competition in Vienna. The highlight of this half-year of “mooting” are the oral rounds in Vienna, Austria, where each team will participate, without pre-selection.

In the last few years, several teams of the University of Fribourg won numerous awards for their memoranda and pleadings. We sincerely hope that we keep up the good work!

The application is open to students who have completed four semesters of law studies and have a good knowledge of the English language. Applications (resume and cover letter (in English), grades, certificates, etc.) should be sent to christiana.fountoulakis@unifr.ch until the 26th of July 2020.

For further information we kindly refer you to www3.unifr.ch/ius/fountoulakis/fr/enseignement/willemvismoot/. You may also want to have a look at the official Moot website: https://vismoot.pace.edu/. For any further question, please contact David Schmid (dwcschmid@gmail.com) or join the zoom presentation held on Sunday the 19th of July at 4 pm followed by a Q&A (Meeting-ID: 904 321 5349).