What level of education is required for participation in this moot?

The eligibility for participation is at the college level.

What type of event format does the moot follow?

The event follows an international commercial arbitration moot format, involving both written submissions and oral arguments.

Twenty-Third Annual Willem C. Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot 2025-2026

Mar 15–22, 2026Hong Kong, Hong KongIn-person

ConcludedRegistration closed

The Twenty-Third Annual Willem C. Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot is a prominent international competition focused on commercial arbitration and international sales law. Held in Hong Kong, this event brings together university students from around the world to engage in a simulated arbitration proceeding. Participants develop their legal research, writing, and oral advocacy skills by addressing a hypothetical dispute under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and international commercial arbitration rules.

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 5 countries stand on the dominant committee topic. Click through for the full country profile.

China

A major player in international trade, China's legal professionals are increasingly engaged in commercial arbitration, making participation in such moots highly relevant for understanding global commercial law.

Role in topic

As a significant global trading nation, China's legal and business communities have a vested interest in the development and application of international commercial law and arbitration. Participation in events like the Vis Moot provides valuable exposure to international legal standards and practices, which are crucial for its extensive cross-border commercial activities.

United States

The United States is a key jurisdiction for international commercial arbitration, with many legal institutions and practitioners actively involved in shaping its practice and theory.

Role in topic

The United States is a prominent center for international commercial arbitration, both as a seat of arbitration and as a source of legal expertise. Its universities and law firms frequently participate in and contribute to the discourse surrounding international sales law and dispute resolution, making the Vis Moot a significant platform for its legal students.

Germany

Germany is a strong proponent of international commercial law and arbitration, with a rich academic tradition in these fields and active participation in global legal forums.

Role in topic

Germany has a long-standing tradition of excellence in commercial law and is a strong advocate for international legal harmonization, particularly through instruments like the CISG. German universities and legal professionals are consistently active in international arbitration, viewing the Vis Moot as an important educational and competitive arena.

Singapore

Singapore has emerged as a leading hub for international arbitration in Asia, actively promoting its legal infrastructure and expertise in dispute resolution.

Role in topic

Singapore has strategically positioned itself as a premier international arbitration hub in Asia. Its legal framework and institutions are highly regarded, and its participation in events like the Vis East Moot underscores its commitment to fostering legal talent in international dispute resolution and promoting its role in global commerce.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom, particularly London, is a global center for commercial law and arbitration, with a strong influence on international legal practice.

Role in topic

The United Kingdom, with London as a major global financial and legal center, plays a pivotal role in international commercial law and arbitration. Its legal professionals and academic institutions are deeply involved in shaping the principles and practices of international dispute resolution, making the Vis Moot a relevant platform for its students to engage with these issues.

Topics & background

The history behind each committee topic and the states that shape it.

International Commercial Law: Harmonizing the Rules of Cross-Border Trade

International commercial law is the body of rules governing private commercial transactions across borders. Its modern foundations trace back to the medieval lex mercatoria, a customary law developed by merchants in European trade fairs, which was later absorbed into national legal systems during codification movements in the 18th and 19th centuries. The fragmentation that followed prompted a 20th-century push for harmonization through institutions such as UNIDROIT (founded 1926), the Hague Conference on Private International Law, and, after 1966, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The core dispute in the field is the tension between national sovereignty over contract and commercial law and the practical need for predictable, uniform rules that allow traders to transact across jurisdictions without prohibitive legal risk. Instruments like the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, the CISG, and various model laws attempt to bridge civil law and common law traditions, but uneven ratification and divergent judicial interpretation continue to produce uncertainty. Today, international commercial law sits at the center of debates over supply chain resilience, sanctions compliance, ESG-related contract clauses, and the digitization of trade documents (notably under the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records). Practitioners and states are grappling with how to keep harmonized instruments relevant as trade becomes increasingly services-based, data-driven, and exposed to geopolitical fragmentation.

Key players

International Arbitration: Private Dispute Resolution in a Fragmenting World

International arbitration emerged as the preferred mechanism for resolving cross-border commercial disputes because national courts were perceived as slow, parochial, and unable to deliver readily enforceable judgments abroad. Its modern architecture rests on three pillars: the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, the 1985 UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (amended 2006), and the institutional rules of bodies such as the ICC, LCIA, SIAC, HKIAC, and ICSID for investor-state matters. The field's central dispute concerns the balance between party autonomy and state oversight: how far should national courts intervene in arbitral proceedings, on what grounds may awards be set aside or refused enforcement, and how should arbitration accommodate public-interest concerns such as corruption, sanctions, and human rights? Investor-state arbitration in particular has triggered backlash, with several states withdrawing from the ICSID Convention or terminating bilateral investment treaties, and the EU pushing for a Multilateral Investment Court. Current debates focus on transparency, third-party funding, diversity of arbitrators, the use of AI in proceedings, and the impact of unilateral sanctions on arbitrators' ability to act. Seat selection competition among Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Paris, and emerging hubs like Dubai and Riyadh reflects both commercial demand and geopolitical realignment.

Key players

International Trade Law: From GATT Multilateralism to Geoeconomic Fragmentation

International trade law governs the rules under which states permit and restrict the cross-border flow of goods, services, and increasingly data. Its modern multilateral framework began with the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and culminated in the 1995 establishment of the World Trade Organization, which introduced binding dispute settlement and expanded coverage to services (GATS), intellectual property (TRIPS), and agriculture. For nearly two decades, the WTO presided over progressive liberalization and a robust Appellate Body jurisprudence. The core dispute today is the breakdown of that consensus. Since 2019, the Appellate Body has been paralyzed by the US blockade of new appointments, the Doha Round remains unfinished, and major economies have turned to industrial policy, export controls, and unilateral tariffs justified on national security grounds. The proliferation of plurilateral and regional agreements (CPTPP, RCEP, USMCA, AfCFTA) reflects both adaptation and fragmentation, while measures like the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism raise novel questions about the compatibility of climate policy with non-discrimination obligations. The field now sits at the intersection of trade, security, and sustainability. States are negotiating WTO reform, including a functioning dispute mechanism (MPIA as an interim fix), rules on digital trade and e-commerce, fisheries subsidies, and the treatment of state-owned enterprises—all against a backdrop of US-China decoupling and supply chain reshoring.

Key players

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG)

Adopted in Vienna in 1980 and entering into force in 1988, the CISG is the most successful private-law treaty produced by UNCITRAL. It governs contracts for the international sale of goods between parties in different contracting states, providing uniform rules on formation, obligations of buyer and seller, remedies, and risk of loss. The Convention represents a deliberate compromise between common law and civil law traditions, drawing on the earlier Hague Conventions of 1964 (ULIS and ULF), which failed to achieve broad ratification. With over 95 contracting states—including most major trading economies—the CISG provides default rules for a substantial share of world trade. Yet several notable jurisdictions remain outside the regime, most prominently the United Kingdom, India, and South Africa, and even within contracting states parties frequently exercise Article 6's opt-out, particularly in commodity sales governed by English law. Persistent doctrinal debates concern the scope of Article 7's mandate for uniform interpretation, the treatment of validity and consumer issues excluded under Article 4, and the interaction with domestic law on burden of proof, set-off, and limitation periods. Current issues include the CISG's application to digital goods and software, its interaction with Incoterms and supplementary instruments like the UNIDROIT Principles, and proposals for an updated CISG Advisory Council opinion regime to promote interpretive coherence. The Convention also faces scrutiny over its silence on issues of force majeure beyond Article 79, an area of acute interest after pandemic and sanctions-related disruptions.

Key players

The UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration

Adopted by UNCITRAL in 1985 and amended in 2006, the Model Law was designed to assist states in modernizing and harmonizing their arbitration legislation, addressing the historic problem that national arbitration laws were often outdated, court-centric, or hostile to party autonomy. Rather than a binding treaty, it is a template for domestic enactment, offering a coherent regime covering the arbitration agreement, composition of the tribunal, jurisdiction, conduct of proceedings, recognition and enforcement of awards, and limited grounds for setting aside under Article 34—mirroring the New York Convention's enforcement grounds. The 2006 amendments addressed two important gaps: the written form requirement for arbitration agreements (Article 7, offering states two options) and a comprehensive regime for interim measures and preliminary orders (Chapter IV A). Over 85 states and roughly 120 jurisdictions have enacted legislation based on the Model Law, including major arbitral seats like Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, Canada, Australia, and most recently a number of African and Latin American states. Notable holdouts—England, France, Switzerland, Sweden, and the United States—have legislation that, while not Model Law-based, is broadly consistent with its principles. Ongoing debates concern adapting the Model Law to address third-party funding, expedited procedures, the use of technology including remote hearings and AI, and the treatment of investor-state and sovereign-party disputes. UNCITRAL Working Group II continues to refine adjacent instruments, including on expedited arbitration (adopted 2021) and early dismissal.

Key players

The New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards

Concluded in 1958 under UN auspices, the New York Convention is widely regarded as the most successful instrument in international commercial law. It obliges contracting states to recognize written arbitration agreements and to enforce foreign arbitral awards subject only to the narrow grounds set out in Article V—incapacity, invalid agreement, due process violations, excess of mandate, irregular tribunal composition, award not yet binding or set aside at the seat, non-arbitrability, and public policy. With 172 contracting states, the Convention provides the global enforcement architecture that makes international arbitration commercially viable. The core interpretive disputes concern the scope of public policy under Article V(2)(b), which some jurisdictions construe expansively to police corruption, sanctions, or competition law violations, while others apply it narrowly to preserve enforceability. Equally contested is the enforcement of awards set aside at the seat (the Hilmarton/Chromalloy debate), the treatment of state immunity at the enforcement stage, and the Convention's application to investor-state and sovereign awards. Diverging national approaches threaten the uniformity the Convention was designed to secure. Current issues include the Convention's interaction with sanctions regimes, particularly against Russian parties and assets; enforcement against state-owned entities under the alter ego doctrine; and proposals—generally resisted—to amend or supplement the Convention to address electronic awards, third-party funding disclosure, or annulment standards. UNCITRAL's guidance and the 2016 Secretariat Guide remain key reference points for harmonized interpretation.

Key players

Key terms & resources

The concepts worth knowing before Twenty-Third Annual Willem C. Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot 2025-2026, plus lessons and profiles to go deeper.

Arbitration Clause Basel Convention Charter of the United Nations Club Goods Commercial Commercial Diplomacy

Country profiles

The states in play, with the data that shapes their stance

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Frequently asked questions

Related conferences

Twenty-Third Annual Willem C. Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot 2025-2026

Mar 15–22, 2026Hong Kong, Hong KongIn-person

ConcludedRegistration closed

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 5 countries stand on the dominant committee topic. Click through for the full country profile.

China

Role in topic

United States

The United States is a key jurisdiction for international commercial arbitration, with many legal institutions and practitioners actively involved in shaping its practice and theory.

Role in topic

Germany

Germany is a strong proponent of international commercial law and arbitration, with a rich academic tradition in these fields and active participation in global legal forums.

Role in topic

Singapore

Singapore has emerged as a leading hub for international arbitration in Asia, actively promoting its legal infrastructure and expertise in dispute resolution.

Role in topic

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom, particularly London, is a global center for commercial law and arbitration, with a strong influence on international legal practice.

Role in topic

Topics & background

The history behind each committee topic and the states that shape it.

International Commercial Law: Harmonizing the Rules of Cross-Border Trade

Key players

International Arbitration: Private Dispute Resolution in a Fragmenting World

Key players

International Trade Law: From GATT Multilateralism to Geoeconomic Fragmentation

Key players

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG)

Key players

The UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration

Key players

The New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards

Key players

Key terms & resources

The concepts worth knowing before Twenty-Third Annual Willem C. Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot 2025-2026, plus lessons and profiles to go deeper.

Arbitration Clause Basel Convention Charter of the United Nations Club Goods Commercial Commercial Diplomacy

Country profiles

The states in play, with the data that shapes their stance

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier