From left to right: Pieter Spuijbroek, Dewi Krop, Isabel Verkes, Tes Flapper, and Simon Mineur

Selection

Dewi (Master's in Privaatrechtelijke Rechtspraktijk - Private Legal Practice) and Pieter (Commerciële Rechtspraktijk - Commercial Legal Practice) heard a promotional pitch about the Vis Moot Court during a lecture. 'The moment the spokesperson said "you'll be going to Hong Kong", half the lecture hall wanted to sign up immediately.'

However, the selection procedure is strict and consists of various components including an interview with the coaches in English and solving a case study.  'Your English has to be very good,' says Simon Mineur (Master's in Privaatrechtelijke Rechtspraktijk). 'Although you quickly acquire excellent legal English just by participating in the Moot Court.'

International commercial arbitration

The Vis Moot Court always focuses on a case study in international commercial arbitration. This year the case study concerned a dispute between a fashion brand and a manufacturer that was alleged to have employed child labour. The teams first had to submit a statement defending the claim of the fashion brand and then, in a subsequent round, defend the defendant (the manufacturer).

Dewi enjoyed the task of pleading most of all. 'Law students from common-law countries do this much more during their studies than we do. The best thing about it was the intensive collaboration within a team of ambitious students. We really learned a lot from each other.' Teammate Tes Flapper (Bachelor's in Law) says,  'I found that I really enjoyed pleading, which is why I'm now contemplating choosing the Master's programme in Private Legal Practice.'

Isabel Verkes (Master's in European Private Law) points out the differences to the education students receive during their degree programmes. 'In the courses you follow as part of your degree, you receive a global overview of the subject, but here the case study served as the starting point. You also had to decide for yourself which legal aspects you wanted to emphasise. What I enjoyed most was coming up with strategies. International arbitration is less formally regulated, which means that there is more scope for this.'

Pushing boundaries

The team tries to sum up the boundaries they pushed together: learning to work harder, travelling more and further, learning your own strengths and weaknesses, drinking more coffee than ever in one night and learning to communicate more effectively. 'As a result of this, I've started to read and study quite differently,' says Pieter. 'When I'm reading a case, I'm already rapidly analysing the arguments for and against.'
The interaction with other nationalities proved instructive. Isabel: 'We were on quite close terms with German students. Just like the Netherlands, Germany is quite developed when it comes to the CISG, but they have a very different approach in legal proceedings, with fewer commercial arguments, for example, and a greater emphasis on formal aspects. It was useful to see how German students approached this, as sometimes the arbitrators the Moot Court are also German, which will affect the way in which you argue a case.'

Dewi: 'While pleading, we really noticed that arbitrators differed in their assessment according to their country of origin. Germans prefer a strict legal argument, with Asians you need to speak very clear English, and Americans like some theatre in the courtroom.'

Networking

In between, the students had drinks with leading international professors, arbitrators and lawyers in international trade law. Dewi: 'The Moot Court offers great networking opportunities.'  Tes explains: 'You also visit a whole range of law firms, both in the Netherlands and abroad. When practising pleading in Germany, we also visited firms there and they find the experience you gain in the Moot Court really interesting.' In this way, Pieter and Isabel found work placement positions and Tes now works as a student staff member at a law firm.

Simon agrees that it allows students who already know this is the direction they want to take to lay a good foundation for a network. But that is not the only reason for taking part: 'Irrespective of the level at which you begin, you learn a lot as a person, as a student and as a lawyer. To have the chance to do this during your studies is just fantastic.'

• UvA Course Catalogue Willem C. Vis Moot Court