Students Participate in International Commercial Arbitration Competition in Buenos Aires

Students Participate in International Commercial Arbitration Competition in Buenos Aires

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New York, Sept. 16, 2011—A team of Columbia Law School students will compete today at the Moot Competition on International Commercial Arbitration hosted by the University of Buenos Aires School of Law (UBA).
 
The event aims to promote the study of international commercial law and arbitration as a method of conflict resolution. The Law School students, Jean Choi ’13, Abiel Garcia ’12, Janeth López ’13, Daniel Mulé ’13, Florentino Salazar ’13, and Gladisley Sanchez ’13, undertook research on the long-arm of arbitral jurisdiction, the impact of non-assignment clauses in international trade, the law of excuses in international sales, as well as other issues. They prepared for this competition throughout the summer, writing briefs for claimant and respondent, and rehearsing oral arguments before mock arbitrators of different nationalities and legal traditions.
 
All six students received rigorous training in legal research, writing, and oral advocacy from Professor Alejandro Garro, Carolina Cardenas (ICDR/AAA Case Manager), Alfredo Ferrante (Visiting Scholar at Columbia Law School and Professor of Civil Law at Oviedo University in Spain), and Ignacio Zapiola LL.M.’11).
 
The team’s participation in this Arbitration Moot is underwritten through a generous grant from the Inter-American Commercial Arbitration Commission and the Columbia International Arbitration Association. The Argentine law firms of Perez Alati, Grondona,Benites, Arntsen & Martinez de Hoz (Jr.); Hope, Duggan & Silva; and Rafael Lobos from the law firm of Beccar Varela have provided in situ support, including the hosting of pre-moot sessions with the teams of the American University and the Universidad de Montevideo.
 
The main educational goal of this moot is to foster an interest in international commercial law in general and international arbitration in particular. Inspired by the Willem C. Vis Moot, this Arbitration Moot is co-organized by the Universidad de Buenos Aires and the Universidad del Rosario de Bogotá. The language of the competition is Spanish and this year’s competition features 53 participating schools from 17 countries. More information on the competition can be obtained at www.derecho.uba.ar/institucional/competencia_arbitraje.php
 
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