From 15 to 23 March, the team from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) took part in one of the largest and most important competitions in the field of international commercial law in Hong Kong – and won. In the final of the Willem C. Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot 2026, the team from HU prevailed over the team from Hidayatullah National Law University in Raipur, India, ultimately outperforming 160 universities from around the world. The simulated arbitration proceedings dealt with a fictitious dispute between two companies arising from unforeseen changes in the regulatory framework.
Victory in the oral proceedings and further accolades
The last time a team from Germany won this annual competition was in 2010, HU won for the first time this year. The winning team members were Lina Horn, Olivia Stolzenwald, Helena Victoria Zabel, Paul Marquordt, Felix Schnabl and Fabio Herrera Aue. They were supervised by lecturers Noëmi Nina Simon and Jakob Zang. In addition to the overall competition, the team was also successful in other categories: It was awarded first place for its memorandum for respondent (Fali Nariman Award) and received an honorable mention for its memorandum for claimant. The HU team had been preparing for the competition since autumn 2025 and had taken part in various pre-moot courts in Europe and the USA.
“Precise legal analysis, strategic thinking, economic understanding and convincing rhetoric”
At the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court, students act as lawyers for fictional clients in simulated arbitration proceedings. “The students must represent both claimant and respondent – and thus argue the same case from different perspectives. During the oral hearings, they must defend their arguments before internationally experienced arbitrators and respond to critical questioning,” says Prof. Dr. Giesela Rühl, Professor of Private International Law and International Civil Procedure at HU and the team’s academic supervisor. This requires precise legal analysis, strategic thinking, an understanding of economics and convincing rhetoric.
Model case: Conflict between companies in the context of international regulation
This year’s competition revolved around a conflict between two companies that was both economically realistic and legally complex: A company from one country had agreed to supply several thousand rare orchids, used in the production of high-quality vanilla products, to a buyer from another country. Shortly before delivery, this very species of orchid was unexpectedly placed under protection by the relevant international organisation resulting in the competent authorities in the buyer’s country to refuse issuance of the necessary import permit. The buyer therefore declined to accept the orchids and make payment, whilst the seller resold the orchids at short notice to a third party – however, at a significantly lower price. The seller now wishes to be compensated by the buyer for the loss incurred whereas the buyer argues that he is the victim of unforseen political developments. “This case vividly demonstrates how companies can find themselves caught between political fronts – and what serious consequences regulatory interventions can entail for businesses,” says Giesela Rühl.