The first CIETAC Investment Arbitration Moot took place in Xi’an Jiaotong University, from the 23 to 24 of February 2019. After two days’ competition, Fudan University Team excelled as the fourth in ranking, winning the second group prize, with two oralists, ZHANG Yujun and HOU Chuchen accorded advocacy awards on merit, ranking respectively the sixth and tenth place.

                                                       Fudan University Team

             (from left to right: HOU Chuchen, WANG Ruoyao, ZHANG Yujun, FENG Zhongjie)

 The CIETAC Investment Arbitration Moot is proposed by CIETAC in resonance with the Belt and Road Project, and with the object of promoting the development of investment arbitration. Under the authentication of Max Planck Institute for European Legal History, this competition used the case study of the twelfth Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot Court, the oldest and most prestigious student competition in the area of investment protection law. The case study has nine issues, including the jurisdiction of tribunal, substantive issues and applicable laws, as well as procedural matters. The competition is conducted in English, with experts, scholars, practitioners, from home and abroad acting as arbitrators. It requires both practical and academic capacities from the participants. 

                                     The Certificate of Award of the Fudan Team

                              Fudan University Team and Peking University STL Team

                                     (in the back roll, FENG Zhongjie, WANG Ruyao)

 The Fudan University team members are four LL.M. students in International Law, HOU Chuchen, ZHANG Yujun, WANG Ruoyao, FENG Zhongjie, coached by Mrs. CHEN Li, the vice-dean, and Mr. Chen Li, research fellow of Law School. The four members have been preparing for two months, acting at the same time as oralists and researchers. Under the instruction of the professors, they went through cases, articles and books on investment arbitration, constantly polishing their arguments and advocacy. In the competition, the members have won praise from both the arbitrators and the opponent parties.

           Fudan University Team and Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai Team

                  (from right to left, ZHANG Yujun, HOU Chuchen, WANG Ruoyao-sixth)

 After the competition in Xi’an, the team members went to Frankfurt to participate in the twelfth Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot Court. This competition is held by the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History, with 45 teams from all over the world, including Yale University, Singapore National University, Sciences Po and Tsinghua University. In the hearings, Fudan came across the champion team, Moscow State University of International Relations, the Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai and Beijing Normal University. During the time of competition, the members manifested excellent teamwork and a solid international law knowledge, as well as participated in various events held by the institute.

             Team members in front of the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History

 After the competition, one of the team members HOU Chuchen said, “From the initial curiosity, to the stress during the preparation, and finally to the confidence facing the tribunal, I am profoundly fascinated by investment arbitration after such experience and gained considerable improvement through the hearings. Moreover, the instruction of professors and the support among teammates contributed to a cherished memory.”

 Benefited from the support of law school, the team members were able to compete with top universities around the world and fully communicated with distinguished scholars and arbitrators, building up skills of academic research, legal composing, as well as advocacy. In the meantime, the participation of the team members also marked the presence of Fudan Law School in global moot court competitions. By encouraging her pupils to take part into the various moot, Fudan Law School demonstrated her international approach of education.