This blog is a contribution to the familiarization of law students with the law and practice of international commercial arbitration.

This distance learning tool was launched on 29 October 2013 with a view to enabling law students from different countries to participate in a simulated on-line arbitration case.

International arbitration is more than another way to settle international commercial disputes. It is a real forum where the law governing international economic relations is progressively elaborated, applied and enforced in a constantly changing world.

In this particular field, national legal orders and domestic courts recognize the necessity to ensure independence and self-regulation to the international business community, so as to promote international trade and encourage foreign investment.

Law students using this tool are getting acquainted with a discipline, which is particularly adapted to the modern requirements of an increasingly globalized economy. They are requested to apply the actual laws and regulations, which are in force in the jurisdictions involved.

The first case

This distance learning tool was tested for the first time in the year 2013-2014 based on a case drafted by Ph.D. Candidate at the Faculty of Law of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Ms. Kateryna Ianishevska. This was a very successful and encouraging experience and it went through all the stages of the international commercial arbitration, including the post-arbitral phase. Four Universities cooperated in order to conduct this arbitration: Odessa University, the University of Thessaloniki, Charles University of Prague, and Leiden University. 

The second case

In the academic year 2015-2016, based on a Memorandum of Inter-University Cooperation concluded between the Faculty of Law of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Faculty of Law of the University Alexandru Ion Cuza of Iasi, the successful experience was repeated on the basis of a case study drafted by Dr. Emanuela Iftime, a lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Iasi in Romania. This time, the participating teams comprised students from Greece, Romania, Cyprus, Ukraine, Ecuador, Brazil, Italy and China. Again, four Universities around Europe cooperated in this arbitration case from Romania, Greece, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

The third case

During the academic year 2019-2020, graduate students from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki following the LLM on International and European Legal Studies at the Faculty of Law of the said University participated in a new international arbitration mock case, involving a dispute arising from a contract for the sale of cane sugar between a Greek seller and an Egyptian buyer. This was a case that students played throughout the entire spring semester of 2020 within the framework of their Master's class on International Business Transactions. Their participation in this mock case was their major assignment for this course. While the case was in English, the students' submissions for this case were drafted in Greek. 

Disclaimer

It goes without saying that no one may rely on the way students play in this simulation in order to determine or change his or her legal position in a real dispute in which he or she may be involved. In addition, the views and opinions expressed herein by the participating students do not represent their Faculties or the arbitration centres they play for.

Administrator

This tool was designed by Dr. Panayotis GLAVINIS, Professor of International Economic Law at the Faculty of Law of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He is the administrator of this blog. Your comments are welcome at: mockarbitrationonline@gmail.com