On 18 March, Nicolas Cisneros, Katarina Hruba, Janina Mank and Jason Rudall, students in the Institute’s Master in International Affairs programme, concluded six months of preparation by defeating six teams from around the world before competing in the final round of the Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot Court competition. The team was coached by Facundo Perez Aznar and Dolores Bentolila, PhD candidates and assistants in the international law unit, with research and advocacy assistance by master students Pedro Bento de Faria, Master in International Studies specialising in law, and Brian McGarry who is pursuing the Institute’s joint Master with the University of Geneva in International Dispute Settlement.

"This is an outstanding result for the Graduate Institute’s debut in the Frankfurt Moot," said Ms Bentolila. "We faced strong competition but the team's preparation and cohesion kept putting them on top."

Twenty-seven teams from 16 countries took part in the moot, which took place from 14 to 18 March at the Frankfurt International Arbitration Centre. The teams spent the year engrossed in a work of historical fiction. Competitors applied the lens of contemporary investment law to Spain's 16th century default on loans from the Fuggers, a banking family based in present-day Germany.

The team worked closely with Graduate Institute Professor of International Law, Joost Pauwelyn. In the championship round, team members argued before some of the field's leading arbitrators, including Stanimir Alexandrov, Gary Born, Francisco Orrego Vicuna, and Charles Poncet.

The team reflected the Institute’s international character with Katarina Hruba being from Slovakia, Nicolas Cisneros from Ecuador, Janina Mank from Germany and Jason Rudall from the UK. They join the ranks of other recently successful moot court competition teams at the Institute.

More information can be found on the Global Arbitration Review website.