From 8 to 12 February 2026, the 16th Annual Middle East Willem C. Vis Pre-Moot was held in Bahrain. The pre-moot was organized by the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution and held at the Royal University for Women. 18 teams from 14 countries took part in the pre-moot.
With the support of KIAP and a number of other firms, the HSE University team successfully performed at the pre-moot. The team reached the quarterfinals, the claimant's memorandum was recognized as the best, and the team also secured the second place for the respondent's memorandum.
From February 14 to 15, the 16th Moscow Pre-Moot was also held, where the HSE University team became the winner. On March 5, the team took second place in the pre-moot organized by Nikolskaya Consulting and Russian Women in Arbitration. From March 9 to 13, the HSE University team is taking part in the Shanghai Pre-Moot.
The HSE University team consists of 5 students of the Faculty of Law, including Dinara Ibragimova, a student of the master's program and a junior associate at KIAP. One of the team's coaches is Artem Gritsuk, a junior associate at KIAP.
KIAP lawyers always actively support participation in international moot courts, including the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. All lawyers of the KIAP international commercial arbitration practice are former participants and continue their path as coaches and arbitrators. In 2026, among other things, Anastasiya Ryabova, an associate at KIAP, will act as an arbitrator at the XVIII Belgrade Open Pre-Moot and Boston Vis Pre-Moot.
The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot is the most well-known and prestigious competition in the field of private international law and international commercial arbitration. Traditionally, the problem concerns a dispute considered in arbitration and arising out of a contract that is governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
KIAP congratulates the winners and participants of the pre-moots and wishes them a successful performance at the upcoming Shanghai Pre-Moot and the main rounds in Hong Kong and Vienna.
More information about the competition can be found here.
