The annual Global Oral Hearing of the Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitration Moot will be held at the University of Miami School of Law in Coral Gables, Florida, November 7 through 10.
The FDI Moot gathers academics and practitioners from around the world to discuss developments and gain a greater understanding of growing international investment, the creation of international investment treaties, domestic legislation, and international investment contracts.
“I believe that Miami Law was chosen to host the 2019 FDI Moot because both the School of Law and the city of Miami are prominently positioned for the study and practice of international investment law and arbitration,” says Sandra Friedrich, director of Miami Law’s International Arbitration Institute and White & Case International Arbitration LL.M. Program.
Increasing international investment, the proliferation of international investment treaties, domestic legislation, and international investment contracts have contributed to the development of a new field on international law that defines obligations between host States and foreign investors and refers to internationalize procedure, like the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, for resolving related disputes. These disputes involve not only vast sums, but also a panoply of rights, duties, and shifting objectives at the juncture of national and international law and policy.
The FDI Moot was initiated in 2006 by the Center for International Legal Studies in Salzburg, Austria, as an international moot court competition focusing on investor-state disputes. Miami Law participated in the FDI Moot for the first time in 2016, and the team advanced to the quarter-finals with coaches Friedrich and Paula Arias, director of the International Moot Court Program.
The FDI Moot helps future lawyers attain a practical understanding of these issues. The case and hearings offer a unique forum for academics and practitioners from around the world to discuss developments and assess emerging talents.
The moot spans six months each year in two phases: written memorials for claimant and respondent, and the hearing of oral argument with regional or national rounds for Asia Pacific in Seoul, South Asia in New Delhi, Southern Africa in Pretoria, Kenya in Nairobi, Ethiopia in Dire Dawa, and Viet Nam in Ho Chi Minh City. Pre-moots are held in Budapest, Dublin, St. Petersburg, São Paulo, and Warsaw.
The venue for Global Finals normally rotates among the four co-founders: the German Institute of Arbitration, King’s College London, Suffolk University Law School, and Pepperdine University School of Law. Occasionally, the FDI Moot goes off-circuit as it will this November when Miami Law will host the notable competition for the first time.
“It also is a testament to Miami’s growing importance as an arbitral seat and its growing community of experienced international arbitration practitioners, many of whom will serve as arbitrators in the 2019 Moot,” Friedrich says.
For more information, visit the registration page or contact Senior Program Coordinator Farah Barquero at fbarquero@law.miami.edu.