Foreign Direct Investment International Moot Competition

2010 FDI Moot Oral Rounds in Malibu California 22-24 October

The 2010 Oral Rounds will be held 22-24 October 2010 at Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, Cailfornia (on the Pacific Coast ca. 45 minutes north of Los Angeles).

Our co-founder, Pepperdine is home of the highly regarded Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, as well as the winning team of the 2009 FDI Moot.

The 2010 problem will be released at the beginning of March. We look forward to seeing you in California!

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Pepperdine wins 2009 FDI Moot Final

On Saturday 24 October 2009, before a tribunal composed of Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Böckstiegel, Prof. Martin Hunter and Mr. James Hosking, Pepperdine University Law School prevailed over St Petersburg State University to win the 2009 Skadden, Arps FDI Moot final. The other semi-finalists were Kings College London and the University of Belgrade. The best counter-memorial was submitted by Murdoch University School of Law, and the best memorial for claimant was submitted by Kings College, which was also the overall highest ranked team (memorials and preliminary oral rounds). The 2009 Thomas Waelde Advocacy Prize was shared by three winners: Aaron Echols of Pepperdine, Otylia Babiak of Suffolk University Law School and Marija Skundric of Belgrade University.

The 2009 FDI Moot was hosted by the Deutsche Institution for Schiedgerichtsbarkeit (DIS) at the FIAC, Chamber of Commerce and Industry Frankfurt/Main. We would like to thank all our partners (especially DIS Secretary General Jens Bredow and Mr. Peter Kraft) and all our sponsors (Skadden, OUP, The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the Frankfurt Arbitration Circle, TDM), the teams, the arbitrators, and the tribunal secretaries (Düsseldorf Jessup team, young colleagues from the Frankfurt law firms) for their hard work.

Photo: Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Böckstiegel presents the 2009 Skadden Arps Trophy to Aaron Echols and Jonathan Matthews of Pepperdine.

Aims of the FDI Moot

Increasing international investment, the proliferation of Bi- and Multilateral Investment Treaties, national investment promotion legislation, and "internationalised" investment contracts have contributed to the rapid development of a new field of international law that defines obligations between "host States" and foreign investors and creates procedures for resolving related disputes, e.g. through the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

These investment disputes involve not only vast sums, but also probe the panoply of rights, duties, and shifting objectives at the juncture of national and international law and policy. Through the FDI Moot law students -- future practitioners, academics and policy makers -- may attain a practical understanding of these issues. At the same time, the case and the hearings offer a forum of different dynamics for current academics and practitioners from the around the world to discuss the latest developments - and assess emerging talents - in these fields.

Structure of the Competition

The FDI Moot involves a hypothetical case in connection with an investment by a private investor in a foreign host state. The FDI Moot spans a period of approximately six months each year and has two phases: the writing of memoranda for claimant and respondent and the hearing of oral argument based upon the memoranda.

Support

Several international organisations and institutions and prominent practitioners and scholars in the field who serve on its Advisory Board endorse the FDI Moot's aims. Academics and practitioners who are expert in international investment regulation and/or international arbitration serve as arbitrators and judges. Law publishers, financial institutions, etc are welcome to sponsor social events around the oral hearings, and law firms and investment promotion agencies are invited to support their local teams competing in the FDI Moot (e.g. registration fee, travel, lodging or dining grants) and prizes.

Skadden

Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates - Law Firm Sponsor

Media Partner

Previous competitions - 2008, 2009