The Vis Pre Moot took place on 5-7 March 2021 and was organised in the run up to the annual Willem C Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna (Vis Moot), which will be held online in 2021.

This will be the first time the LSE-LCIA London Vis Pre-Moot has taken place virtually and will give students the advantage of practising in the same format as the main Vis Moot event. 

Volunteers acted arbitrator in three member tribunals. Claimant and Respondent teams presented their arguments by first addressing jurisdictional issues, followed by the merits of the case. Each team had 30 minutes to present its case. Arbitrators may ask questions during the presentations or thereafter and marked the overall performance of each speaker.

Nicolás Miranda Larraguibel acted as arbitrator for the round with National Law School of India University, India v. King’s College London. He has previously participated in other moots as an arbitrator, including Universidad Católica de Chile Moot, Santiago, Chile and Instituto Peruano de Arbitraje, Lima, Perú.

Nicolás is currently a Partner with Chilean dispute resolution boutique firm Abogabir Miranda and was previously at Baker Botts LLP in London in the International Arbitration group. He is also an arbitrator at the Centre of Arbitration and Mediation of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (Chile). He was awarded a Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Prize for obtaining the first place in International Arbitration.

Commenting on the competition, Nicolás said: “This Vis Pre Moot is an outstanding platform to prepare for the Moot. The quality of the mooting participants is impressive – it is an honour to arbitrate alongside highly regarded arbitrators at this year’s Vis Pre-Moot.

“The fact that this Moot was conducted through virtual hearings allowed all the participants -including arbitrators - to experience a possible new reality in International Arbitration.”

Participants represented a range of institutions from around the world, including:

  • London School of Economics (LSE), UK
  • Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, UK
  • Jagiellonian University, Poland
  • Charles University, Czech Republic
  • National Law School of India University, India
  • MGIMO University (Moscow State Institute of International Relations), Russia
  • Universidad Francisco Marroquín, Guatemala
  • The West Bengal National University of Juridical Science Kolkata, India
  • Universität Hamburg, Germany
  • University of Sydney, Australia
  • Stockholm University, Sweden
  • University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
  • University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • University of Vienna, Austria
  • King's College London, UK
  • University of Cambridge, UK