17th Willem C. Vis Moot, 2010 – TOP 4 TEAMS

Osgoode Hall Law School v. University of Ottawa

King’s College London v. University of Hamburg

The final rounds are tomorrow.

17th Williem C. Vis Moot – Day 8

While the Canadian teams, Ottawa and Osgoode, are working their way through the final rounds, I’m cramming as much as I can on my last day in Vienna, cold and rainy though it is. 

Touring the catacombs underneath St. Stephen's Cathedral.

Albert Einstein's House

Easter Eggs

17th Vis Moot (2010) – Elimination Rounds: TOP 64 TEAMS

I had snapped a photo of the sheet listing the top 64 teams – unfortunately, it’s quite blurry. I’ve done my best to interpret the team names but some of these might be incorrect!! If so, I am extremely sorry for the error and please let me know asap!

TOP 64

NALSAR University of Law v. Griffith University

Fordham University v. University of Milan (winner)

University of Tubingen v. University of Georgia

Harvard University v. University of San Diego

University of Ottawa (winner) v. University of Denver

University of Rijeka (winner) v. University of Stockholm

University of Miami v. American University

University of Frankfurt v. College of Law of England and Wales

Brooklyn Law School v. National University of Juridical Sciences

Osgoode Hall Law School (winner) v. Humboldt University

University of Belgrade v. Florida Coastal School of Law (winner)

McGill University (winner) v. University of Heidelberg

University of Hong Kong v. University of Mainz

University of Washington v. University Carlos III de Madrid

University of Copenhagen v. London School of Economics (winner)

Tbilisi State University v. Rutgers University

University of Indonesia v. University of Freiburg

University of Pittsburgh v. University of Technology, Sydney

Columbia University v. University of Aarhus

University of Munster v. Duke University

University of Warsaw v. King’s College London (winner)

Queens University v. University of Vienna

University of Freiburg v. Deakin University

Loyola School of Law Los Angeles v. Jagiellonian University

University of Lucerne v. University of Lausanne

University of the Saarland v. University of Wisconsin

Tulane University v. Judicial Research Training Institute

Catholic University of America v. George Washington University

University of Utrecht v. UNICURITIBA

University of Hamburg (winner) v. Cornell Law School

University of Dusseldorf v. Chinese University of Hong Kong

University of Munich v. University of Hannover

List of the Top 64

2010 Willem C. Vis Moot – Day 6 in Pictures

From left to right, Ms. Louise Barrington, Mr. Tau Jingzhou and Dr. Beata Gessel-Kalinowska vel Kalisz.

Unfortunately, the picture is blurry...Louise carries about 50 USB flash drives with her when she travels...its a virtual office! Ah, the life of an international commercial arbitrator.

Alex Gordon, left, a Harvard alumni...I try not to hold it against him. After all, his team was tragically defeated by ours back in 2005 before a panel that included Martin Hunter... not that I'm the sort of person to keep track of that sort of thing and incessantly bring it up every time I run into him.

My little sis came all the way from from Norway to visit me in Austria and grab a beer with me.

The University of Ottawa went up against the University of Denver in the Elimination Rounds. Attached is a clip of Ottawa’s presentation on the merits for claimant:

The top 64 teams gather on the top floor of the Juridicum at 9:30 p.m. to hear the winners of the first 32 of 64 teams to perform in the elimination rounds. The remainder of the top 64 will be heard tomorrow morning.

Anthony Daimsis, Coach of the University of Ottawa's moot team, and his team await the results of the first elimination round.

I am so annoyed that this picture is blurry!!! Arrrg!

2010 Willem C. Vis Moot – Day 5 in Pictures

I took a day trip to Melk, which is 80 minutes by train out of Vienna. The fare is quite reasonable -  approximately 27 Euros return for two people.

View from the Train

View of Melk from the train station

Bee Hive

View from the stairs to Melk Abbey

Inside Melk Abbey's Courtyard

The Danube

The Library in Melk Abbey

A secret door hidden in the bookcase

So very cool!

The Melk Abbey Church

A human skeleton, dressed up and posed at the altar.

Looking up - the church ceiling

Another skeleton chilling at an altar.

There's always a gift shop!

2010 Willem C. Vis Moot – Day 4 in Pictures

Prepping for my 8.30 am arbitration

Attending the ACICA Cocktail Party in old Vienna Stock Exchange Building

Hosted by the Australian Ambassador to Austria.

A good time was had by all.

More Viennese Markets

Arbitrating the General Rounds - University of Instanbul v. St. John's College, New York. Pictured left is co-arbitrator Steven T. Walther, Commissioner for the Federal Election Comission in Washington, D.C.

Me asking a mean question.

Here’s a sample clip of the moot that I received from a spectator – the speaker is a student from St. John’s University – both teams did an excellent job in their arguments – it was very impressive.  Hopefully, this will give you a sense of how the general rounds  will proceed. This clip is rather short – I hope  to capture a longer video clip during the elimination rounds.

Vienna at Night

The famous "Sacher Torte" from the Hotel Sacher

Grocery Shopping

2010 Willem C. Vis Moot – Day 3 in Pictures

Walking to Cafe Central - one of the world's most beautiful cafes.

Cafe Central - photos just don't do it justice.

The Hofburg

Demel Konditorei - An incredible pastry shop founded in 1785.

Pastry Chefs at Work...

Cafe Hawelka... a great little hangout

A good place to spend an idle afternoon playing chess and drinking beer.

Caffe Alt Wein - My favorite Viennese cafe

A scene at the cafe bar

Standard Viennese Fare: "Goulash"

The Best Restaurant in Vienna

The cellar of the Bresl dates back to the 1300s, with walls of Roman construction...plus the food is wonderful.

Posing for the camera

17th Willem C. Vis Moot – Day 2 in Pictures

My first arbitration round was at 8.30 am on Saturday, April 27, 2010:  University of Groningen (Netherlands) v. George Washington University (USA). The round was held at the University of Vienna’s Law School, the Juridicum:

The Juridicum, located at Schottenbastei 10-16.

Milling around outside of the Juridicum

Registration is held on the Juridicum's top floor ("DG") accompanied by the all-important coffee stations.

Following arbitration of the first round, we met with the oralists in the Juridicum to give feedback. My co-arbitrators were Dr. Petra Butler (sitting to my right - she was last year's coach of the 2009 winning team, the University of Wellington) and Dr. Chi Manjiao from China (not pictured).

Team shot - Gronigen and G. Washington

Walking back to my apartment from the Juridicum - live music

Scenes from the market

Pretzels anyone?

Whar a boar!

Beret Sale! Only in Europe...

17th Annual Willem C. Vis Moot – Day 1 in Pictures

I am so glad to be here this year…I almost didn’t make it. I was co-opted into attending the PLRB in San Antonio (one hour behind Toronto time), and returned the day before heading out to Vienna (6 hours ahead of Toronto time), further to which I had booked tickets with British Airways…fortunately, I just missed the strike dates.

Remember the Alamo...by stopping at the gift shop, where you can buy a souvenir coffee mug for the low low price of $12.99 USD.

Waiting at the Toronto Airport Gate

Landing at Heathrow Airport

Landing at the scenic British Airways Terminal

The Heathrow Airport Terminal

A Five Hour Stopover

Spot the Mootie! Someone is carrying Schlectriem's Commentary on the CISG!

Vienna International Airport

Heading to the Trains

In my opinion, the most economical way to get to Vienna’s city center from the airport is by train. There is an express train (CAT), however I prefer the plain old ordinary train which costs only 3,60 Euros and will provide you with a good introduction to the city’s public transportation system. Simply follow the sign that looks like a little lightening bolt – this will lead you to the train platform (the station is known as “Flughafen Wien” which translates as “Airport Vienna”):

The Train Station at Vienna International Airport

At the platform, there are plenty of ticket terminals which look like this:

Pick the "VOR Single Trip Ticket - Selection of Destination"

Pick "Wein Mitte" as the destination - this will take you to the city center where you can transfer to the Subway (U-Bahn) which is included in the cost of your ticket.

Click "Buy Ticket"

The machines accept cash or credit card. Make sure you remember to pick up the ticket – the conductors perform regular ticket checks. In order to determine which platform at which you board the train, have a look at the Schedule:

You will be boarding the OBB train, not a CAT train. As shown above, an OBB train to Wien Mitte departs from Platform 2 at 7:18 p.m. and 7:48 p.m.

At Wein Mitte, you simply transfer to the subway line with a station close to your hotel (you will need to map this out beforehand).

My Viennese Apartment - Home Away from Home

The kitchenette is a lifesaver.

View of the Street from my Window