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Middle East, South Asia and Eastern Europe: CLDP Virtually Hosts the 10th Annual Middle East Vis Pre-Moot

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Amidst the global impact of the coronavirus, the Annual Willem C. Vis Moot in Vienna and Hong Kong was cancelled. More than 400 teams from over 80 countries had anticipated to compete in the premier program this April. In response, on March 10-14, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, CLDP, in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for International Legal Education and the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution, successfully converted the 10th Annual Middle East Vis Pre-Moot into a virtual Vis Pre-Moot. The virtual pre-moot was the first to showcase a virtual program that was able to connect participants from around the globe simultaneously, overcoming technical obstacles that could impede connections. Additionally, CLDP and its partners developed virtual tools that improved mooting practices, such as virtual moot rules, automatic scoring, and electronic grade submissions. The pre-moot program provided a series of live sessions, recorded lectures, interactive virtual breakout sessions, and practice rounds. The highlight of the 5-day virtual program was a two-day competition, consisting of general rounds and elimination rounds, along with a “virtual gala.” The winner of the event was the Royal University of Colombo. More than 100 attorneys from around the globe volunteered their time to serve as advisors and arbitrators. The Vienna organizers have now called on CLDP to assist them in converting this year’s global moot into a virtual event. CLDP will now be working closely to support the Moot organizers in Vienna next month in designing and implementing the global event so as to enable the 400+ registered teams to submit their required oral arguments for competition. 

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