Goal of the Vis Arbitral Moot. The goal of the Vis Moot is to foster the study of international commercial law and arbitration for resolution of international business disputes through its application to a concrete problem of a client, and to train law leaders of tomorrow in methods of alternative dispute resolution.

Structure of the Moot. The business community's marked preference for resolving international commercial disputes by arbitration is the reason this method of dispute resolution was selected.  Law students participate in two crucial phases: the writing of memoranda for both claimant and respondent, and the hearing of oral argument based upon the memoranda - both judged by a panel of arbitration experts.  The exercises concern questions of contract - flowing from a transaction relating to the sale and purchase of goods under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and other uniform international commercial law – in the context of an arbitration of a dispute under specified Arbitration Rules.

In the pairings of teams for each general round of the forensic and written exercises, every effort is made to have civil law schools argue against common law schools – so each may learn from approaches taken by persons trained in another legal culture.  Similarly, the teams of arbitrators judging each round are from both common law and civil law backgrounds.

Why Vis (East)? Since its inception in Vienna in 1993, the Vis has grown from eleven teams representing 9 countries to over 200 teams today.  Every year the numbers increase, as more law students discover the benefits of what has become one of the premiere international student competitions in the world. To accommodate the growing numbers wishing to participate, a second event was launched in Hong Kong, a sister to the Vienna Vis. The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators East Asia Branch is principal sponsor of the Vis East and School of Law of City University of Hong Kong is this year’s host. This year's Vis East welcomes over 500 students, coaches and arbitrators from around the world.

Using the same problem as the Vienna competition, and with substantially identical rules, the Vis East gives law students the opportunity to travel to Hong Kong to compete, on a date just before or after the Vienna orals.

The Vis East is not a regional elimination prior to the Vienna orals, but a separate competition.  Any law school may enter teams in either the Vienna competition or the Hong Kong competition, or both.  There will be a winning Vis team in Vienna, as always, plus a winning Vis East team in Hong Kong.

Supporters of the Moot Underwritten by The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (East Asia Branch) The Vis East Moot is supported by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, the International Chamber of Commerce, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, Lawasia, the International Law Association (ILA), arbitralwomen, the Swiss Arbitration Association and CIETAC.