From November 19 to 23, 2018, the 16th CIETAC CUP International Commercial Arbitration Competition, hosted by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), was held in Beijing. The CESL team eventually ranked 13th out of 56 teams and won the second prize for the overall performance.

From left to right: Contestants WANG Lulu, GUO Jingjuan, WANG Chengyue, LI Ziyu, TAO Zhilin, Coach Assistant YANG Weiming, Professor Monika Prusinowska, Contestant Anne Berlips,CESL Phd visiting scholar João Ilhão Moreira, Professor Susan Wintermuth

The competition attracted 56 teams and more than 500 individual contestants this year. It also invited more than 100 arbitrators, lawyers and experts from more than 10 countries and regions to serve as judges in the competition. The CIETAC CUP uses the same legal problems as the Annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot and the competition language is English. The participation helps prepare the Chinese teams to attend the Annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot held in Hong Kong and Vienna in spring 2019.

The CESL teams winning the second prize award.

In the competition, the CESL Vis Team performed well in general rounds and the Team member Li Ziyu was named one of the best individual participants in the tournament. Guo Jingjuan was awarded the Team Contribution Award.

The competition round of Anne Berlips and Li Ziyu.

During the preparation of the Vis Moot competition, the team members need to analyze a 62-page case material and write two memoranda, one for this case's claimant and one for respondent. At the same time, Professor Wintermuth and Professor Prusinowska lead the team's oralpleading trainings every week. They have also invited João Loreto Ilhao Moreira, a visiting scholar from the University of Oxford, former Vis Moot participants Meng Fanqin, Yang Weiming, Zheng Yan, as well as Vis researchers to act as pre-moot arbitrators and assist the team in polishing their skills.

In the CIETAC CUP, the CESL Vis Team competed with the teams from the East China University of Political Science and Law, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Nankai University and the Beijing Normal University. In this competition, the CESL Vis Team gained valuable experience, such as how to clearly state arguments and how to defend the client's interest. These skills will greatly benefit the future of the participating students.

The competition round of Tao Zhilin and Wang Chengyue

The competition round of Guo Jingjuan and Wang Lulu

After the competition, Professor Susan Wintermuth and Professor Monika Prusinowska invited the participants and former CESL Vis Team mooties to attend a yearly CESL Vis Moot Alumni gathering dinner, providing a platform for connecting and exchanging experiences.

The CESL Vis Alumni Dinner

Article by Wang Chengyue (CESL double master students from 2017 intake)

Translation by Anne Berlips (CESL Master of European and International Law student from 2018 intake)