Students of STL Win Runner-up in the 2024 International Investment Arbitration Pre-Moot Competition

From October 12 to October 13, 2024, the VII FDI Online Pre-Moot, hosted by the Russian Institute of Modern Arbitration, successfully took place. A total of 21 teams from countries including Argentina, Russia, Brazil, the Philippines, Greece, Indonesia, Iran, China, Colombia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Mexico, Russia, and Singapore participated in the event. Over two days of intense competition, students from the Peking University School of Transnational Law (abbreviated as STL) demonstrated their solid legal knowledge and excellent debating skills, ultimately winning the runner-up position in the Pre-Moot.

The FDI Moot (Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitration Moot) is a global student competition organized by the Austrian Center for International Legal Studies (CILS). It is ranked among the three major international moot court competitions alongside the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. The competition aims to inspire more young students to learn about international investment arbitration and promote the academic and practical development in this field. The competition focuses on the simulation of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) proceedings under platforms such as the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) or the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), addressing disputes between investors and host states.

The FDI Moot consists of a global round and regional/national rounds. This year's Pre-Moot was organized by the FDI Online Pre-Moot Organizing Committee and hosted by the Russian Institute of Modern Arbitration. It serves as a warm-up event for the upcoming global round in Berlin in November. Our students achieved this success after qualifying for the global round through their performance at the 2024 FDI Moot Shenzhen Cup in August.

The representative team from our institute was guided by the director of moot court events Qiu Xiaoya and senior C.V. Starr lecturer Jiang Zizhan, with student coach Li Mengchao from the 2021 cohort. Team members included Li Haoyuan, Wei Tianshu, Shu Xi, and Yang Liuqing from the 2022 cohort. During their preparation, team members received guidance and support from various faculty members, alumni, and fellow students both inside and outside the school.

In the Pre-Moot, our team competed against teams from Singapore, Mongolia, Malaysia, and Colombia. The case centered around the arbitration request made by Astracommex Regional Telecommunications Company (registered in the Kingdom of Nebuland) against the Republic of Celestria. Key issues in the dispute included the tribunal's jurisdiction, security for costs, progressive taxation, and the tribunal's adverse inference powers.

Facing strong opponents from around the world, our representative team showcased outstanding legal competence with a calm demeanor and stable performance, leaving a remarkable impression and achieving excellent results.

Group Match 1: Our team Kandinsky vs. Rapheal from Singapore

Group Match 2: Our team Kandinsky vs. Vrubel from Mongolia

Quarter-finals: Our team Kandinsky vs. Cézanne from Malaysia

Semi-finals: Our team Kandinsky vs. Caravaggio from Colombia

Finals: Our team Kandinsky vs. Rapheal from Singapore

We extend our warm congratulations to our representative team for their achievements and sincerely wish them success in the global round in Berlin this November.