International Commercial Arbitration  



This
three-credit course follows the lifecycle of international commercial
arbitration.  The course will examine the
arbitration process, from drafting arbitration agreements to the appointment
and challenge of arbitrators, the conduct of proceedings, the issuance of
arbitral awards, and the review and enforcement of awards. The course will be
conducted as a mixture of lecture and seminar-type discussion, based around
each session’s readings from the case book. Students will be expected to come to class having done and prepared to
discuss each day’s readings.

This course is recommended (but not required) for
those of you who wish to try out for the

Law
School’s
Vis Moot
Arbitration Team.  The Vis Team will participate in the Willem C.
Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, which is held during the spring
semester and which takes place in

Vienna and
Hong Kong.  Try-outs are held around Thanksgiving Break,
and consist of oral arguments to current members of the Vis Team.  For those of you selected for the Team, the

Law
School pays for your travel expenses to compete in

Vienna and
Hong Kong.  Information on the Vis Moot is available at http://www.cisg.law.pace.edu/vis.html.
The Vis Moot is a student-run activity, and your participation in this class
has no bearing on whether or not you are selected by the current Vis Team
members to participate in the 2009 competition. The current Vis Team will
provide more details about the try-out process during our first class session.

It
is important to understand from the beginning that this class is not
specifically focused on training you to compete in the Vis Moot. Trying out
for, and participating in, the Vis Moot is an activity that you may (or may
not) decide to undertake in addition to taking this class. The class’s purpose
is to provide a thorough overview of the practice area of international
commercial arbitration, and many of the issues that we will read about and discuss
in class have no direct relevance to the Vis Moot itself.