Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot

  The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, held annually in Vienna since 1994, is a competition that encourages law students to study and apply international commercial sale and arbitration. Law students from all over the world can participate in the competition. The competition focuses on a dispute arising from a sales contract between two countries that are parties to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. The dispute resolution clause in the sales contract provides that any disputes will be resolved through arbitration in a fictitious country, Danubia, which has adopted both the UNCITRAL Model Law and the New York Convention. The rules applied in the arbitration are chosen sequentially from the rules of the sponsoring arbitration centers of the competition.

  Our university has participated in the competition since the 2022-2023 academic year. A total of two coaches and four students can participate on behalf of our university.

  The preparation process for this competition, which requires intensive work, begins immediately after the team members are selected from the evaluated applications and lasts until mid-spring semester. For the event text provided in the competition, first a claimant's memorandum is written, then a response memorandum is prepared in response to the team’s assigned claimant's memorandum, which is distributed randomly among competitors. After completing the exchange of memorandums, preparations begin for the hearings that will take place in Vienna.

  Finally, usually at the end of March or early April, the oral hearings are held in Vienna, where teams are matched against each other irrespective of the memorandum exchanges. Depending on whether our team takes the role of claimant or respondent, oral arguments or defenses are presented. Throughout this process, students meet participants from all over the world and build cross-border bridges for their post-graduation lives. Additionally, they have the opportunity to freely explore the captivating city of Vienna during their free days or after a long hearing.

  The university covers the transportation and accommodation expenses for the competition, which is a highly intense yet rewarding event with participants from all over the world.

  Membership applications for our university’s Willem C. Vis team are announced at the end of the spring semester, based on need, on the faculty's website and social media accounts. The evaluation of the applications is carried out by the International Private Law Department of the Faculty of Law at IEU. The basic criterion in the evaluation is proficiency in English, but proficiency in international arbitration and international sales law, as well as the student's general grade point average, are also considered. Proficiency in English and knowledge of international arbitration and international sales law are assessed through an interview. In this context, students wishing to join the Willem C. Vis team will benefit greatly from taking the LAW 396 - International Commercial Terms or Documentation and LAW 494 - International Procedural Law and Arbitration courses to improve their knowledge of international arbitration and international sales law as well as the English terms used in these fields.

Having a valid Schengen visa or another passport that grants entry to Austria or holding a special (green) passport is not a mandatory criterion for the application. However, in cases where applicants are equally qualified, this criterion might be taken into account. The following conditions are also required for applicants:

- The candidate must be a student of the IEU Faculty of Law, enrolled in the Master’s or Doctoral program in Private Law,

- For law students, the applicant must be in their 2nd or 3rd year at the time of application,

- The applicant must not have any barriers to entering Austria,

  After interviews to determine the team members, successful applicants are decided no later than one week after the interview date. Applications not notified within this period will be considered as rejected.

  Second-year students whose membership applications are not accepted but are deemed beneficial for the next year's team can join as an intern member at their own expense. Intern members assist team members in their duties, and they will be trained for the competition in the following academic year. Students who successfully complete the internship process will be accepted as team members in the next academic year without having to reapply.

2024 - 2025 Academic Year Team

Asst. Prof. Hasan Serat GÖKÇEK Team Coach
Asst. Prof. Altan ÖZKAN Team Coach
Asst. Prof. Hasan Serat GÖKÇEK Team Coach