Organisers

The Düsseldorf Pre-Moot Rounds are organised by the regional subsection Rhine/Ruhr of the German Institution of Arbitration’s Young Arbitration Practitioners’ Group and the Düsseldorf Moot Association in cooperation with the Friends of the Düsseldorf Faculty of Law (www.jura.uni-duesseldorf.de/vereine/freundeskreis).

Purpose

The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court was born out of the impression that both international commercial law and arbitration practice were underrepresented in legal education. Although the Moot is disguised as a competition, it is primarily designed to be an educational tool that teaches advocacy skills and enables students to get to know unfamiliar fields of law.

The same applies to the Pre-Moot Rounds. Intended to be a final rehearsal opportunity for the teams participating in the Vis Moot, they are organised as a competition and, very much like in the Vis Moot itself, a winner will be determined in the end. However, the primary goal is not to find out who is the best. Rather, it is for the students to improve their pleading skills in the spirit of a “friendly game”. To achieve this purpose, the arbitrators are urged to provide the students with comprehensive and constructive feedback on their performances.

Yet, the Pre-Moot Rounds are much more than merely an educational tool. They are also designed to serve as a platform for networking, establishing relationships with lawyers and judges working in the fields of international business law and arbitration – and last but not least, to provide some fun!

Venue and Date

Düsseldorf, the capital of the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and one of the economic and cultural centres of Germany, is located in the densely populated Rhine/Ruhr metropolitan area. Since the era of industrialisation, Düsseldorf has been the place of business of major enterprises and globally operating companies. Besides being famous for its Mardi Gras, trade fairs and fashion, Düsseldorf is also known for the boulevard “Königsallee”, a popular shopping destination where some of the most reputed jewellery shops and designer labels have their stores. 

But Düsseldorf is not only a good place to shop: Because of the numerous bars side-by-side, Düsseldorf’s old town is sometimes called “the world’s longest counter”. The breweries that brew the so-called “Altbier” (a top-fermented German dark beer) are renowned all over the world!

It goes without saying that many of the major national and international law firms have offices in Düsseldorf. Their commitment to the Moot and the leisure activities this city offers convinced the organisers that Düsseldorf would prove to be a suitable venue for the Pre-Moot Rounds. Needless to say that the Düsseldorf Pre-Moot Rounds are here to stay – they will be held in Düsseldorf annually the last weekend before the Vis Moot in Vienna, allowing the participating students to do what the media coverage of the 1^st Pre-Moot Rounds appropriately called “Um die Wette plädieren” – pleading as hard as one can!