PCA to host Hague Vis Pre-Moot on 22-23 March 2021 and a Buenos Aires Vis Pre-Moot on 5 March 2021

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is pleased to announce that it will host two Vis Pre-Moots to prepare students for the 2021 edition of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot: the 14th edition of its traditional Pre-Moot in The Hague and the 2nd edition of its Buenos Aires Pre-Moot, following the successful inaugural edition in 2020. In this regard, the PCA is also delighted to announce that its arbitration rules have been selected by the Vis Moot organizers to be used in the 30th anniversary edition of the Vis Moot in 2022-2023. This landmark development solidifies the long history of close cooperation between the Vis Moot and the PCA.

The PCA Hague Vis Pre-Moot will take place 22-23 March 2021, in principle to be carried out remotely from the PCA’s headquarters in the Peace Palace. The PCA will also host a Buenos Aires practice moot on 5 March 2021. As with the Hague Pre-Moot, the Buenos Aires version will in principle be held remotely. If conditions allow, however, the Buenos Aires Pre-Moot will be held in-person (or in a hybrid fashion) at the San Martín Palace where the PCA Buenos Aires Office is located. In this vein, and to facilitate remote hearings on the same time-zone should the Pre-Moot be held remotely, preference will be given to those teams located in regional proximity to Buenos Aires.

At the Hague event, over the two days, each team will have the opportunity to plead twice as Claimant and twice as Respondent. Highly qualified international arbitration specialists from a variety of jurisdictions will serve as arbitrators and provide feedback to the teams. All teams will be scored and ranked and each team will separately receive the scores of its individual oralists. The top three teams will be announced at a final virtual event.

For the Buenos Aires version, over a single day, each team will plead at least once as Claimant and once as Respondent. The teams will be similarly assessed by experienced international arbitration specialists and will receive feedback at the conclusion of each practice hearing. Each team will be scored and ranked and will also separately be provided the scores of its individual oralists.

In past years, participating universities of the PCA Vis Pre-Moots have included: Aarhus University, Allameh Tabataba’i University of Tehran, Amsterdam University, Catholic University of America, Centro Universitário Curitiba, College of Law UAE University, Columbia University, HEDAC de Versailles, Dar Al-Hekma University, École de Formation des Barreaux de la Cour d’Appel de Paris, Elon University, Erasmus University, Federal University of Parana, Getúlio Vargas Foundation (São Paulo), Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Hofstra University, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, ILS Law College (Pune), Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, Jagiellonian University, King’s College London, Leiden University, Loyola University, Maastricht University, McGill University, MGIMO-University (Moscow State Institute of International Relations), Monash University, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, National University of Juridical Sciences, National University of Singapore, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Queen Mary College University of London, São Paulo University, Sciences Po Law School, Stetson University College of Law, Stockholm University, The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Universidad Católica Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, Universidad Panamericana Guadalajara, Universidade Catolica Portuguesa, Università degli Studi di Milano, Universität Passau, Université de Paul Cézanne d’Aix-Marseille, Université Paris 1 – Panthéon Sorbonne, University College of London, University of Auckland, University of Bonn, University of Buenos Aires, University of Chile, University of Cologne, University of Copenhagen, University of Gießen, University of Indonesia, University of Montevideo, University of New South Wales, University of Notre Dame (Sydney), University of Prishtina, University of Sheffield, University of Sydney, University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, University of Turku, Utrecht University, Victoria University (Melbourne), and West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences.

Teams that would like to participate in the Hague or the Buenos Aires PCA Vis Pre-Moots in 2021 are invited to submit an expression of interest to [email protected], noting in the subject line whether they wish to be considered for one event or the other.
Expressions of interest should be submitted by no later than 10 January 2021. Limited spaces are available. Teams will be informed by 15 January 2021 whether they have been selected for participation in either the Hague or the Buenos Aires PCA Vis Pre-Moots. There is no registration fee. Each participating team shall receive as a gift a small collection of PCA materials, in anticipation of the use of the PCA Rules in the 30th edition of the Vis Moot.