Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot is one of the most prestigious international moot court competitions for law students. Taking place annually in Vienna since 1994, it gathers up more 2000 students, practitioners and academics with an objective of fostering the study of the international commercial law and arbitration.
The participation of the team of the University of Lausanne in the XXI Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot has been marked by an Honorable Mention for the Best Memorandum for Claimant (Pieter Sanders Award - Best Memorandum for Claimant); Honorable Mention for the Best Memorandum for Respondent (Werner Melis Award – Best Memorandum for Respondent) and by the Honorable Mention for the Team Orals (Frédéric Eisemann Award). The final stage of the competition took place in Vienna from 12 to 18 of April, 2014 with over 300 participating Universities from 67 countries.
The team of the University of Lausanne, participating in XXI Moot was coached by Ellina Zinatullina, LLM under the supervision of Professor Andrea Bonomi. It was comprised of Sergii Drug, Ralph Obeid, Gao Xi Tracy, Sofia Villaverde Calvo, Stefania Lagna and Natália Solárová. The team has also benefited from the support of other faculty members and former Moot participants both during written and oral stages of the competition.
The hypothetical dispute of the XXI Vis Moot involved a contract for the sale of a medical equipment, submitted to arbitration. The participants were dealing with the complex issues of the pathological arbitration clause; permissibility of hearing claims in a single arbitration and the applicability of the CISG.
Coaches
The Team was coached by Ellina Zinatullina under the supervision of Prof. Andrea Bonomi.
Prof. Andrea Bonomi has been in charge of the Vis Moot program at UNIL since its team first took part in this competition in 2008.
For more details on hisextensive experience and publications, please visit UNIL’s website.
Contact Prof. Andrea Bonomi
Ellina Zinatullina is a former Moot participant (2013). She did her undergraduate legal studies in Russia and is now an LL.M. student at UNIL.
Before coming to Switzerland she worked in a Dispute Resolution department at the Moscow office of one of the Magic circle law firms.
Contact Ellina Zinatullina
Sergii Drug is a doctorate candidate at the University of Lausanne, pursuing the PhD research in the realm of International Arbitration under the supervision of Prof. AndreaBonomi.
He holds LL.M. degree from the University of Lausanne in International and European Economic and Commercial Law, as well as Master degree in Jurisprudence from the Ukrainian State University of Finance and Foreign Trade and a Master degree in English and Spanish Philology from the Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University. Sergii’s legal experience includes practice in the international law firm in Kyiv, as well as in-house lawyer at the Embassy of Mexico in Ukraine.
Xi Tracy Gao is an exchange student enrolled in the LL.M. program in International and European Economic and Commercial Law.
She is a candidate for a J.D. and J.M. degree in Peking University, China. She is a member of the Chinese Bar and has gained practical experience as an intern in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She enjoys volunteering and traveling.
Stefania Lagna is a L.LM. student at the University of Lausanne and holds a five year Degree in Law from the University of Turin.
Before joining the LL.M. program, Stefania had two years of professional experience with two leading Italian law firms specialized in Corporate and Commercial Law. Being a native Italian speaker, she is fluent in English and has a good command of French. In her leisure time, Stefania enjoys reading classic novels and watching auteur films.
Ralph Obeid is a Mlaw Student at the University of Lausanne, specializing in Comparative and International law.
He is Lebanese-Canadian and holds a Bachelor law degree with Private Law Certificate from Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Lebanon. Ralph has an excellent command in Arabic, French and English as well as a basic knowledge of German language. Ralph’s personal interests lay in the realm of travelling, hiking, history, geography, politics and sports.
Sofia Villaverde Calvo is a Master in Law & Economics student, specializing in Law, Management and Tax.
Being a native French and Spanish speaker, she is fluent in English and has a basic knowledge of German. Sofia is gaining legal practical experience through an internship in a Swiss multinational company. In her leisure time, she enjoys travelling and exploring new places.
Natália Solárová pursues the LL.M. degree in International and European Economic Law at the University of Lausanne.
She has a Bachelor degree in Law and International Relations from Kingston University London and a Graduate Diploma in Law from The University of Law Bloomsbury. Natália gained her prior experience in an editorial position at the EUStLaw Journal and will start her traineeship in DG Competition of the European Commission in near future. In her spare time, as a member of Amicus, she assists with representation of detainees facing the death penalty. Her hobbies are tennis and travelling
