Awards in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot

Pieter Sanders Award for the Best Memorandum for Claimant

The Pieter Sanders Award is given for the Best Memorandum on behalf of the Claimant. During the first three Moots, the Pieter Sanders Award was given for the Best Written Memoranda in support of the positions of Claimant and Respondent. (Subsequently, the Werner Melis Award was introduced as a separate award for the memorandum in support of the Respondent.)

The Award has been named after Professor Pieter Sanders (1912–2012), who is widely regarded as the "father" of modern international commercial arbitration. He was one of the principal drafters of both the 1958 United Nations Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Award (the "New York Convention") and the 1976 UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. Professor Sanders was also founder of the Law Faculty of Erasmus University Rotterdam (where he taught up to his retirement in 1981) and co-founder of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) as well as the Netherlands Arbitration Institute.

In the Second Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, held in Vienna in 1995, he served as one of the three arbitrators in the Finals.

Werner Melis Award for the Best Memorandum for Respondent

The Werner Melis Award is given for the Best Written Memorandum for Respondent. Unlike the three other awards in the Competition, this award did not exist during the first three Moots (1994–1996), but was only introduced in 1997. (During the first three Moots, the Pieter Sanders Award was given for the Best Written Memoranda in support of the positions of Claimant and Respondent.)

The Award has been named after DDr. Werner Melis (born 1935), Honorary President of the International Arbitral Centre of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (Vienna), Honorary Vice-President of International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) and a long-time supporter of the Vis Arbitration Moot.

The award is traditionally presented by Dr. Melis himself during the awards banquet concluding each Vienna Arbitration Moot.

Martin Domke Award for the Best Individual Oralist during the General Rounds

The Martin Domke Award is awarded to the Best Individual Oralist during the general rounds. This award for the general rounds of the Competition (i.e. the four oral hearings of each team on Saturday through Tuesday) will be won by the individual advocate with the highest average score during these rounds. To be eligible for this award a participant must have argued at least once for the Claimant and once for the Respondent.

The Award has been named after Martin Domke (1892–1980), Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University and a well-known scholar of international arbitration. Professor Domke was Vice President of the American Arbitration Association for 25 years and served as editor in chief of the then Arbitration Journal (now the Dispute Resolution Journal). He also was the author of Commercial Arbitration, published in 1965, and The Law and Practice of Commercial Arbitration, published in 1968.

Frédéric Eisemann Award for the Best Team Orals (Winner of the Moot)

The winner of the oral rounds at Vienna is awarded the Frédéric Eisemann Award for the best prevailing team in the oral rounds. It is the most prestigious award in the Competition (designating the "Winner of the Moot").

The Award has been named after Frédéric Eisemann (born 1908), the highly respected former Secretary General of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (1947–1973).

Teams Advancing into Elimination Rounds (1994–2016)

The following teams have all advanced at least one time into the Elimination Rounds for the Vis Moot. As the Vis has grown in the number of participating teams, the Vis has expanded from having originally only four teams advance into single elimination rounds to its current state where the top 64 of over 300 teams advance into single elimination rounds.

From 1994 to 1996, the top four teams advanced into single elimination rounds.

From 1997 to 1999, the top eight teams advanced into single elimination rounds.

From 2000 to 2002, the top sixteen teams advanced into single elimination rounds.

From 2003 to 2007, the top thirty-two teams advanced into single elimination rounds.

From 2007 to present, the top sixty-four teams advance into single elimination rounds.

Each team that advances to the elimination rounds receives at least an award for Honorable Mention for Best Team Orals. The top four teams receive additional distinction.

The below table shows each University's record of advancing from the General Rounds to the elimination rounds, and achieving at least an Honorable Mention for Best Team Orals:

Success in Oral Argument Elimination Rounds (by Country) (1994–2016)

The below table illustrates the number of times each country has sent a team to the elimination rounds at the Vis Moot, as well as the total number of Schools from that country that have advanced at least one time to the elimination rounds.

Semi-Finalists for Best Team Orals (by Country)

While all teams advancing to the "knockout" rounds are listed as receiving an honorable mention the top four teams that advance to the semi-final rounds receive separate designation as achieving either 1st, 2nd, or a tie for 3rd place. The following countries have been represented accordingly in each Vis Moot:

Most Successful Countries to Advance to Semi-Final Rounds

Below is a table of the number of times each country has been represented in the semi-finals.

Award-Winning Teams (1994–2016)

In the 23 years the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot has been conducted in Vienna, a total of 100 awards have been given:

Out of the approximately 320 universities that have sent teams to the Vis Moot in the past, only 53 have ever received an award (or more).

The List of Award-Winning Teams shown in the table below only covers the actual awards, not second and third places or honorable mentions. It counts all awards given since the inaugural Vis Moot held in 1994 up to the 23rd Vis Moot in 2016.

The Rank is based on the overall number of awards collected by the teams representing each university over the years (Award Total). It not only includes the Sanders Awards, the Melis Awards and the Eisemann Awards, but also the Domke Awards, although the latter award is technically given to an individual member of the team, not the team as a whole. Teams are ranked first by the number of Eisemann Awards received (since this Award designates the overall winner of the moot), followed by the number of other awards won. Furthermore, teams which have received a team award (Sanders and Melis Awards) are ranked higher than those teams which have not (i.e. where a team member has received a Domke Award).

Most Awards and Mentions

This table lists the team(s) that received the highest number of awards, 2nd or 3rd placings and honorable mentions for all four Awards in a given year.

Awards and Mentions in Every Category

The following table lists the universities that won awards, 2nd and 3rd placings or honorable mentions in all 4 Award categories in a given year.