The students from the China-EU School of Law Dispute Resolution Study Group led by Assistant Professor Monika Prusinowska recently had a chance to put some of their skills into practice. On 7 November, the students trained cross-examination of witnesses in arbitration proceedings in a workshop. Two students played the roles of counsels on the side of claimant and respondent in the case, four acted as factual witnesses and the others supported the workshop with their feedback.

Cross-examination is the examination of a witness by a counsel of the opposing party. While direct examination of the witness provides the party with a chance to tell their story of the case, cross-examination is the opposing party’s opportunity to show to arbitrators that the story is not reliable.

"I believe that learning from practice and making your own mistakes is a very valuable. Playing around a case scenario makes it easier understandable and simply funnier”says Monika Prusinowska. The session was assisted by Prof. Susan Wintermuth who acted as an arbitrator and provided insights into the techniques of cross-examination in common law tradition.