In August, the preliminary rounds of the 2021 FDI Moot Shenzhen were held online as scheduled. Hosted by the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA), the event is a qualifying competition in China for the global FDI Moot (one of the three major moot arbitration competitions in the world). The purpose of the competition is to stimulate young students' enthusiasm for studying and practicing in the field of international investment arbitration. This results in training high-quality legal talents who are familiar with international rules and have a global vision. This year, the FDI Moot Shenzhen attracted 42 teams from top universities in China (including Hong Kong and Macao), and over 200 professionals from 57 countries around the world acted as referees.
Group photo of team members: Zhao Huihui, Ye Chuhang, Wang Xue, Wang Sujiao, Wu Linhong, Li Zhuofan
At the beginning of August, after the two-day preliminary rounds, CESL’s FDI Moot Team ranked among the top 16 with outstanding results and successfully advanced to the elimination rounds. From August 14th to 15th, despite challenging competition, Zhao Huihui and Ye Chuhang, CESL’s two oralists remained calm and performed exceptionally well. They were able to defeat the opponents to enter the top eight, the top four and even proceed to the grand final round. On the afternoon of August 15th, CESL represented the Respondent against the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) representing the claimant. With over 3000 spectators viewing online, the two teams presented strong legal arguments and demonstrated compelling oral advocacy skills to compete for first place.
Final Round: oralists Zhao Huihui and Ye Chuhang were pleading
The final round was judged by Prof. Zhao Hong, Mr. Alberto Ninio and Mr. Feining. Zhao Huihui, the advocate addressing procedural issues, took the lead and left a deep impression on the arbitral tribunal with her professional manner and confidence; Ye Chuhang, the advocate addressing merits issues, made the arbitral tribunal more convinced by her brilliant content and flexibility in answering questions. In the end, CESL won the championship! Their victory was ultimately announced at an awards and closing ceremony that evening.
Winning team: the award was presented to the CESL 2021 FDI Moot Team
Champion speech: Zhao Huihui, representing the team, delivered a speech
The FDI Moot Shenzhen competition uses the same case as the global round, which is a hypothetical investor-state dispute between an investor Vemma and the host state of Mekar. Since the publication of the record, team members have devoted themselves to researching relevant materials and practicing their argumentations. Supported and guided by coaches Monty SILLEY, Monika PRUSINOWSKA, Tao Zhilin and Ouyang Yueying, the team completed writing of memoranda and went through many rounds of discussion, practice and oral training sessions. Having spent three months preparing for the competition from scratch, members were fully prepared for entering the final rounds and giving the great performance which resulted in victory.
Reunion after the final round: Members and coached are overjoyed by the results
Last year, the CESL’s two FDI Moot Teams won the runner-up and the fifth place respectively in the 2020 FDI Moot Shenzhen. This year, the CESL 2021 FDI Moot Team won the championship, an historical achievement for CESL in this competition. At the end of October, the FDI Moot Global competition will kick-off in Seoul, South Korea. At that time, the CESL Team will go out again. We hope they can achieve more excellent results!
Contributed by Wang Sujiao, CESL 2020 Double Master
