At the invitation of Baghdad University, the Law Department of Tishk International University participated in The 28th Willem C.Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot 2020-2021 competition. Two of our bright students, Hadar Ashti Ahmed (Stage 4) and Firdaws Badei Baligh (Stage 2), under the supervision of Asst. Prof. Dr. Abdul-Basit Kareem Mawlood, Lecturer at Law Department and Expert at Commerce Affairs, engaged in this academic contest. Due to the circumstances related to Covid-19, the competition was held online via Zoom, starting on March 28th, 2020, and lasted till the 1st of March, 2021.
The Willem C.Vis International Commercial Arbitration Competition has been held annually in Vienna, Austria, attracting more than 375 universities from all over the world. This competition is one of the most prestigious legal tournaments in which more than 3,500 participants comprising of law students, lecturers, international organizations, representatives of arbitration bodies…etc. It is held over the course of 9 months and is conducted in the English Language.
The tournament is sponsored by (UNCITRAL) Organization; a subsidiary body of the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly that is responsible for the harmonization and development of international business and trade standards. The core purpose of this organization is to ensure the facilitation of international trade and investment, conducting its engagements at annual sessions held in New York City, or Vienna, where the agency is headquartered.
The participation of Iraq in this International competition is coordinated by the Commercial Law Department Program (CLDP) – a division in the United States Department of Commerce established in 1992, which provides government-to-government legal framework technical assistance, in aim to assist post-conflict countries’ ability to reach international and bilateral trade obligations, and requirements to promote economic growth. Therefore, CLDP financed the expenses relating to the participation in the competition, providing legal resources, facilitating entry tasks and requirements to the country in which the competition is held, and covering participant travel costs. Thankfully, with the assistance provided by CLDP, many universities in Iraq have participated in this competition in the past years as follows:
- The University of Baghdad participated in the years, 2012, 2013, 2016.
- The Iraqi University participated in 2014, 2015, 2016
- Al-Nahrain University participated in 2017, 2018
- The Iraqi University, Al-Nahrain, and Al-Mustansiriyah participated in 2019 and 2020.
- In the competition held this year (2021), Tishk International University participated alongside The Iraqi University, The University of Dohuk, Al-Mustansiriyah University, and Al-Nahrain University.
TIU participants were coached through the training program held at The Iraqi University, conducted by the Representative of The US Department of Commerce (Mays Abbasi). The preparatory classes lasted for more than 6 months and included an English Language course and lessons on how to prepare a pleading list. Further to this, the Law Department of The American University of Pittsburgh provided related lectures to participating students online, for the period of 1 month, from the 4th of September,2020, to the 4th of October, 2020.
A pre-moot was held in Bahrain on the 22nd of February and lasted for 4 days. The two students practiced how to plead at oral rounds against Villa University of Maldives, Galatasaray University, Turkey, Alexandria University, Egypt, and Kenya University, Kenya.
Participants started preparations for the final oral rounds held in Vienna from the 27th March to 1st April 2021. The competition was against Zurich University, Switzerland, Melbourne University, Australia, and universities in India and Japan. Our students put great effort into the program and won the admiration of the supervision team in The Iraqi University. The Program awarded the participators with an international appreciation certification to acknowledge their participation and achievements.
The Faculty of Law will continue its efforts to participate in the coming year and will endeavor to establish a training center for this international event in coordination with universities in Kurdistan and Iraq.
On behalf of TIU, we would like to thank both students for their bravery, competence, and hard work in this competition. The Faculty of Law will continue its efforts to participate in the coming year and will endeavor to establish a training center for this international event in coordination with universities in Kurdistan and Iraq. TIU is very keen and determined to participate in such international competitions and looks forward to seeing more of its students contributing to similar activities.
