Deakin Law School students among the top performers.

Deakin Law School has once again participated in the annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moots, held in Hong Kong and Vienna. An international commercial law moot, the Vis Moot focuses on the law of the international sale of goods, and the law of international commercial arbitration. 

2016 marks the 23rd consecutive year a Deakin Law School team has participated in the coveted competition. The team comprised of nine students – Andrea Anastasi, Paola Aristizabal Ramirez, D’Arcy Hope, Joseph Braverman, Karen Johnson, Vivienne Gale, Claire Porter, Bianca Baliviera and Mitchell Wilson – which was represented by Andrea and Paola in the Hong Kong rounds, while D’Arcy and Joseph argued the case for Deakin in Vienna.

As any former participant in the Vis Moot will attest, taking part in the competition is a challenging and demanding experience.  After concluding the team’s recruitment in Trimester 2 last year, work commenced on a full-time basis in the first week of November 2015 and these preparations continued through to Thursday 24 March 2016, at the conclusion of the oral rounds.

Over that time, the team prepared a detailed set of written submissions for the claimant in the hypothetical dispute, two detailed sets of written submissions for the respondent, and then argued the case at the oral rounds against teams from all over the world – including Brazil, Poland, and the USA.  In doing so, the team was required to address difficult issues of international commercial law including damages under the Vienna Sales Convention, and document production requests in international commercial arbitration.

The Deakin Law School team performed admirably in the oral rounds, taking advantage of the opportunity to argue the case in front of some of the world’s leading international commercial law academics and practitioners.  Deakin Law School's excellence was recognised by the team’s progression through to the elimination rounds in Vienna – being among the top 20 per cent of participating law schools. In the lead-up to the Hong Kong and Vienna rounds, the Deakin Law School team was also recognised as the winning team in the first Australian Pre-Moot competition, involving a number of the participating Australian teams competing in a series of simulated rounds ahead of the event.

On behalf of the Deakin Law School, we congratulate our 2016 team members, and wish them all the best with their continued study.

If you are interested in learning more about the Vis Moot program – either as a student or as a Vis Moot alumnus, please contact Dr Hayward at benhay@deakin.edu.au to be added to the Deakin Law School’s Vis Moot contact list. Further information can also be found on the Deakin Law School website.