Ciarb Australia Vis Pre-Moot 2025

In 2025, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Australia Branch (CIArb) Pre-Moot will be held in Sydney 24-25 March 2025. Now in its eighth year, the Pre-Moot is organised by the CIArb Young Members Group (YMG), and hosted by Clifford Chance.

 

Overview of the Pre Moot

The Pre-Moot uses the moot problem of the Vis Moot and Vis East.   It is one of many pre-moot events held in the leadup to the Vis Moot each year. The Australia Pre-Moot is the only such event of a similar scale in Australia or Oceania.

The Vis Pre-Moot Guide sets out full details of the Pre-Moot, including guidance for teams and arbitrators, and information about event logistics.

The Pre-Moot will be held across two full days at Clifford Chance’s Sydney office. This will comprise 5 general rounds, semi final and grand final rounds, and associated educational and networking events.

Information for Teams

The Pre-Moot is open to all teams participating in the Willem C Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna, or the Vis East Moot in Hong Kong, in 2025. Team registrations will be capped at 8 teams on a first-in basis.

Teams should register via this link by Friday 21 February 2025.

Ciarb offers a contribution towards Australian teams’ interstate travel costs for the Pre Moot. The contribution is fixed at $1,000 per team, subject to an overall cap. Please see section 3.7 of the Pre Moot Guide for further details.

The team draw will be published here when available (including team schedule and round pairings).

Information for arbitrators

To run the Pre-Moot, we rely on the members of the arbitration community to generously volunteer their time to serve as volunteer arbitrators. We encourage practitioners, academics, and others with an interest, experience, or expertise in commercial arbitration to volunteer as arbitrators. Please register via this link.

Volunteer arbitrators will be scheduled for one or more rounds on 24-25 March 2025. Each round will have panel of 3 arbitrators. In allocating arbitrators to these panels we aim to match volunteers of differing levels of seniority and expertise.

Before the Pre Moot, volunteer arbitrators should review:

• the Pre Moot Guide;
• the Moot Problem; and
• the concise brief to arbitrators published by the Vis Moot organisers.

Arbitrators may also wish to consider:

• the Vis Moot Rules;
• the 2024 Finland Arbitration Institute Rules;
• the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration; and
• the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

Indicative timetable

The below indicative timetable is provided for information only and will be confirmed closer to the date.

Monday 24 March 2025
Start	Finish	Event
9:30am	10:00am	Registration and briefings
10:00am	11:30pm	Round 1
11:30am	1:00pm	Round 2
1:00pm	2:00pm	Lunch
2:15pm	3:45pm	Round 3
3:45pm	5:15pm	Round 4
5:45pm	7:30pm	Seminar and reception
Tuesday 26 March 2025
Start	Finish	Event
10:30am	12:00pm	Round 5
12:30pm	1:30pm	Lunch
1:00pm		Announcement of finalists
2:00pm	3:30pm	Semi-Final Rounds
4:00pm	5:30pm	Grand Final Round
5:30pm	7:00pm	Closing reception

 

Further information

For inquiries about the Pre Moot, please contact Kristian Maley, Ciarb Australia Young Members Group Chair, at premoot@ciarb.net.au.