Charles University hosted the 18th Annual Prague Pre-Moot
Charles University hosted the 18th Annual Prague Pre-Moot
For the 18th time, Charles University hosted the regional preliminary round of the prestigious international moot court competition, the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. Over 370 teams from around the world participate in the competition each year, where students deepen their knowledge of private international law, commercial law, and arbitration. This year marks the 33rd edition, and the Charles University team has been a regular participant for more than twenty years.
The Prague Pre-Moot took place from 6 to 8 March 2026, and welcomed 26 university teams from 18 countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine. The competition kicked off with a festive reception in the faculty atrium, where participants had the opportunity to get to know each other informally. Throughout the weekend, matches were held and evaluated by over 80 arbitrators, including former Vis Moot participants and practicing professionals.
Bielefeld University and Jagiellonian University (Krakow) advanced to the finals. The final round was arbitrated by Petr Vošahlík (BBH), Sofie Emilie Andersen (Gorrissen Federspiel) and Fëllënza Limani (Squire Patton Boggs). After a competitive round, the team of Jagiellonian University emerged victorious, and third place went to the team from the University of Helsinki.
The prizes for best speakers of the Pre-Moot went to Niklas Delker (Bielefeld University) in first place, Franziska Leithäuser (Bielefeld University) in second place, and Angela Misevska (Vienna University of Economics and Business, WU) and Alžběta Kavanová (Charles University) tied for third place.
The Prague Pre-Moot took place thanks to significant support from the law firm BBH. The Faculty of Law at Charles University also contributes to the team members’ travel expenses from its scholarship fund. The Czech team is now continuing its preparations for other regional tournaments and has already partially headed to Hong Kong. The main finals of the competition are traditionally held in Vienna just before Easter.
The Charles University Faculty of Law competition team consists of Monika Doubravová, Alžběta Kavanová, Kristýna Laurincová, Andrea Poláková, Natálie Skalická, Oto Suchomel, and Marek Švajda. The students have been preparing for the competition for months under the guidance of experienced coaches and mentors.
For those interested in Vis Moot or moot court in general, the Faculty of Law at Charles University offers the seminar “Vis Moot Arbitration in International Sale of Goods I.” Each year, a new competition team is selected from among the seminar participants, allowing them to gain practical experience in international arbitration and the application of the CISG.
