On Tuesday 3 March Simpson Grierson hosted a "Vis Moot Showcase" evening. The Showcase evening was held to raise awareness of the Vis Moot, and to highlight the legal issues that the competition is dedicated to; namely international commercial arbitration, and the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (the CISG). The Showcase event kicked off with an introduction from Justice Glazebrook on the benefits of arbitration and the CISG. Dr Petra Butler of Victoria University's Law Faculty highlighted the value and importance of the CISG, and introduced her new text on the topic: UN Law on the International Sale of Goods. Dr Butler is also consultant Coach of this year's team, with Richard May as Coach. Professor Campbell McLachlan QC, another faculty member from Victoria University, then introduced his recently published, and prize-winning text: International Investment Arbitration.
Then it was time for the main event: a moot of this year's problem. The highly distinguished Arbitral Panel was made up of Justice Baragwanath, acting as Chair, Justice Glazebrook, and Professor Campbell McLachlan QC. At the conclusion of the moot Justice Baragwanath told those in attendance that, in order to fully prepare the team for the international competition, the speakers would be given a "rough ride" of questioning. That decision was readily apparent once Katherine and David began their submissions! However, both Katherine and David answered the judges' difficult questions succinctly and persuasively, without losing the flow of argument, and the feedback from the judges suggests that both are very well prepared for the competition. The Arbitral Panel then retired with the team to provide more detailed feedback on advocacy and the substantive issues.
Overall, the event was a great success and received an excellent turnout. We would like to thank Simpson Grierson for their support in hosting the event, and all those who attended, and in particular Simpson Grierson Partner, Tim Stephens and our distinguished Arbitral Panel.
Tonight Katherine, David, and Petra will be flying out of Welllington to start the Vis Moot adventure. We will reguarly update the blog so keep yourself posted!
Then it was time for the main event: a moot of this year's problem. The highly distinguished Arbitral Panel was made up of Justice Baragwanath, acting as Chair, Justice Glazebrook, and Professor Campbell McLachlan QC. At the conclusion of the moot Justice Baragwanath told those in attendance that, in order to fully prepare the team for the international competition, the speakers would be given a "rough ride" of questioning. That decision was readily apparent once Katherine and David began their submissions! However, both Katherine and David answered the judges' difficult questions succinctly and persuasively, without losing the flow of argument, and the feedback from the judges suggests that both are very well prepared for the competition. The Arbitral Panel then retired with the team to provide more detailed feedback on advocacy and the substantive issues.
Overall, the event was a great success and received an excellent turnout. We would like to thank Simpson Grierson for their support in hosting the event, and all those who attended, and in particular Simpson Grierson Partner, Tim Stephens and our distinguished Arbitral Panel.
Tonight Katherine, David, and Petra will be flying out of Welllington to start the Vis Moot adventure. We will reguarly update the blog so keep yourself posted!
No comments:
Post a Comment