Pitt Law students have consistently excelled in international moot court competitions, with the guidance and support of CILE. We generally have teams competing in the following competitions:
- Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot
- Jessup International Moot for International Court of Justice cases
Students are entitled to receive course credit for participation in any of these moots. That credit(s) will count towards the elective requirements in the International and Comparative Law Certificate Program.
Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot
A centerpiece of CILE’s outreach activities has been its participation in the Willem Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot competition, held each year in Vienna and Hong Kong. This outreach has combined both the training of Pitt Law’s own JD students to compete in Vienna and the promotion of rule of law in transition countries by helping their law students train for participation in the Vis Moot, often with the assistance of former Pitt Law Vis team members.
The consortium of teams overseen by CILE includes the University of Bahrain; University of Belgrade; Dar Al Hekma University, Saudi Arabia; Faculté des sciences juridiques politiques et sociales, Tunis, Tunisia; University of Jordan; Kuwait International University; Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukraine; Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University; Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University-International Relations, Ukraine; Mostar University, Bosnia & Herzegovina; University of Pittsburgh; University of Pristina, Kosovo; Qatar University; the Royal University for Women, Bahrain; Sarajevo University, Bosnia & Herzegovina; UAE University; University of Zagreb, Croatia; and the University of Zenica, Bosnia & Herzegovina.
A detailed account of CILE’s support for the Vis Moot as a means to promote legal education and the rule of law across the globe can be found on pages one through five of the 2014 edition of our annual newsletter.
Professor Emeritus, Harry Flechtner, has composed multiple songs relating to it: The CISG Song, The Mootie Blues, Ballad of Blue Hills '05, Why, Why, Oh Why, Malcolm Y?, and a full opera entitled AyEEEdah, for the 2012 Vis Moot. See also the CILE YouTube Channel.
Visit the Vis Moot website for more information about this competition
Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition
The annual Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is sponsored by the International Law Student Association. Regional competitions are held throughout the U.S., with the winner of each region advancing to the international round held in Washington, D.C. in the spring.
See the Jessup competition's website for more information
In past years, we have also had teams compete in the Manfred Lachs Space Moot and the Foreign Direct Investment Moot.