Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2015

Abstract

Recent discussions of experiential education have at times considered the role of moot opportunities in legal education. Many, if not most, moot courts and related activities have been designed primarily as competitions. One moot, the Willem Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, is different in that it was designed, and has been consistently administered, as a tool for educating future lawyers. That education has included both skills training of the highest order and the development of a doctrinal understanding of important international legal instruments, especially those created and administered by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). This pair of essays begins with a description of the history and purpose of the Vis Moot, provided by the person who created and administered the Moot for its first twenty years. Professor Bergsten explains how what started as a small gathering has become an educational gathering of thousands each year, and a principal training ground for future arbitrators and arbitration counsel. Professor Brand follows with a description of how the Vis Moot platform has been used by the Center for International Legal Education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law to aid law school curriculum development in transition countries and to provide new legal education opportunities.

Share

COinS