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OTTAWA, April 27, 2011  —  A team from uOttawa’s Faculty of Law won the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna, Austria, last week, prevailing over teams from nearly 280 universities.

More than 1,000 students came from around the world to the University of Vienna to debate a problem they had been working on since last October. The winning team included uOttawa common law students Marc McLaren-Caux, Diane Laranja and Jonathan O’Hara, as well as Etai Hilzenrat from the Civil Law Section and Sherif Foda (LL.L. 2010) from the National Program. The team was coached by John Siwiec (LLB 2009/LL.L. 2010) and Professor Anthony Daimsis (2001).

This year’s problem involved an international sales contract, for the sale of squid for fishing bait, that went wrong. Arguments targeted procedural matters and, in particular, the constitutional legitimacy of the arbitral tribunal, as well as an allegation of breach of confidentiality between the parties.

Through the general and elimination rounds, the uOttawa squad faced off against several universities, including the University of Zagreb, the University of Brooklyn and a former championship team, the University of Wellington, with the majority of wins being unanimous.

In the quarter-finals, the uOttawa team defeated the College of Law of England and Wales before upsetting the German champion team from the University of Hamburg in the semi-finals. “One judge, after today’s semi-final round, thanked us for making him finally understand this problem and its nuances,” says Professor Daimsis. In the final round, the uOttawa team squared off against Montevideo, bringing home the victory thanks to its strict and systematic analysis of the issues.

In addition to winning the overall championship, team members also earned honourable mentions for both claimant and respondent written memoranda. Jonathan O’Hara received an honourable mention for his oral pleadings. “This is obviously a great honour for our students and our coaches, but it is also a glowing testament to the excellence of Canadian legal education on the world stage,” states Bruce Feldthusen, dean of the Common Law Section.

The Faculty of Law has participated in the Vis competition since 2000. This year’s team was the 10th uOttawa squad to advance to the elimination rounds and the third consecutive uOttawa team to qualify for the semi-finals. As a result of the dedication shown by this year’s team members and their coaches, the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law has set itself apart in the Vis and other international moot competitions, establishing itself as one of the world’s leading law schools.

Congratulations to the team members and their coaches.

About the Vis Arbitral Moot
Held annually in Vienna, the Vis Arbitral Moot aims to train law students in methods of alternative dispute resolution by having them work through the arbitration process in a concrete international business dispute. Teams compete by writing memoranda and providing oral arguments. They are judged by panels of arbitral experts.