Challenge in Hamburg

Co-organized by CAM-CCBC, pre-moot gathers 38 teams and reveals Brazilian speaker

By Sérgio Siscaro

CAM-CCBC has taken an active role in the promotion of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods in Brazil. In this context, the Center has encouraged the participation of Brazilian teams in major international arbitration competitions, such as the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Vis Moot), of Vienna, and the Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Vis East Moot), of Hong Kong, through preparatory events, like the pre-moots in São Paulo and Hamburg. The latter, held in conjunction with the Hamburg Arbitration Circle on March 24, brought together, virtually, 38 teams from 14 countries, in addition to the participation of the international arbitrator Gary Born in the announcement of the best speakers. Among them, a Brazilian student ranked seventh: Lucas Mayon, from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro).

According to the Institutional Development Advisor at CAM-CCBC, Ana Flávia Furtado, the Hamburg pre-moot is always held on dates close to the Vienna competition. “It is organized as a last opportunity for students to take advantage of feedback from international referees, especially the German ones”, she says.

She explains that, unlike the São Paulo pre-moot (which had its last edition held by the Center between February 27 and 28), the Hamburg pre-moot has no eliminatory phase. “It is a less competitive, more relaxed environment. It is focused on the improvement of the participants, so that they have a better performance in Vienna”, she states.

Now, in its fifth edition, the event, which is officially called The 5th CAM-CCBC Hanseatic Pre-Moot, was attended by 20 Hamburg-based firms, whose lawyers acted as arbitrators. Eight students were awarded discount codes for the purchase of arbitration books on the website of the international publisher Kluwer.

Arbitration Day

A notable pre-moot side event was the Hamburg International Arbitration Day, on March 23. Promoted by the Center for International Dispute Resolution of the Bucerius School of Law, in Hamburg, the event promoted a debate on the participation of multiple parties in arbitration proceedings.

In four and a half hours, the participants discussed the theme from  Latin American and European perspective. Presented by Professor Stefan Kröll, from Bucerius, and by the Deputy Secretary-General of CAM-CCBC, Luiza Kömel, the seminar also included the participation of professors Fabiane Verçosa, from Escola de Direito da Fundação Getúlio Vargas do Rio de Janeiro (FGV-Rio) (Law School of Fundação Getúlio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro); Stavros Brekoulakis, of Queen Mary University of London; Flávia Mange, of Universidade Estadual de São Paulo (Unesp) (University of São Paulo State); and Daniel Girsberger, of the University of Lucerne. Also participating were attorney David Quinke, from Gleiss & Lutz, and Elke Umbeck, board member of the Hamburg Arbitration Circle.

Other pre-moot side events dealt with a wide range of topics related to the arbitration universe, such as, for example, the role of psychology in cases, the decision on the delimitation of jurisdictions, the revised International Bar Association (IBA) rules, and the quality of hearings conducted in a virtual format.

Virtual Model

Given the security protocols put in place because of the new coronavirus pandemic, this was the second year that the Hamburg pre-moot was held in a virtual model. If, on the one hand, this allows for the safety of those involved, on the other, it takes away one of the event’s attractions: the direct and personal interaction with other participants and arbitrators. “We hope that the face-to-face model will return after the pandemic is over,” concludes Furtado.