MOCK ARBITRATION ONLINE
Simulated Arbitral Proceedings Between Ukrainian and Greek Law Students
http://mockarbitrationonline.blogspot.com.au/
Mock Arbitration is an innovative e-learning initiative that enables students from different European Universities to take part in the simulated arbitration proceedings online. The EU-based universities’ practice is called into the picture as an example to follow for Ukraine.
Dramatic globalisation of the legal sphere dictates the need for Ukrainian universities that train future lawyers to conduct systematic upgrades on the school program, making it truly internationalised and externally oriented. As of today, popularisation of extracurricular activities for young practitioners is extremely on the rise in Ukraine. For example, many Ukrainian students have taken the chance to demonstrate their academic knowledge in the international moot court competitions or spoken at the student associations’ panels like ELSA or Student UBA league. At the same time, venturing on a horizon-broadening, international-scale activity remains, in the majority of cases, within the personal responsibility of a student, which points out that present-day Ukrainian academic tradition requires urgent reinvention and must be re-oriented at inclusion of practical and interactive tasks in the basic Law school program.
The distinguishing feature of the Mock Arbitration is highly relisting dimension of the game: unlike the majority of moot courts, mock arbitration procedure encompasses reproduction of all dispute resolution stages as if in the actual arbitral case.
In 2013-2016 the game was launched between 4 universities: Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greexe as host institution and the claimant in the simulated proceedings; Odessa National University named after I.I. Mechnikov acting as the respondent to the claim; Charles University in Prague in the capacity of the Arbitration Centre; Leiden Law School representing the Arbitral Tribunal.
Figuratively, the game process was divided into two major stages, i.e. (1) the proceedings in the Arbitration Court attached to the Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic and Agricultural Chamber of the Czech Republic and (2) enforcement of the Arbitral Award in the territory of a defeated party.
The project was designed and administered by Prof. Dr. Panayotis GLAVINIS, Assoc. Professor of International Economic Law at the Faculty of Law of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The first case study for this initaitive in 2013-2016 was drafted by Kateryna Ianishevska, PhD candidate with the Faculty of International Law in Aristotle University who explores current Ukrainian law landscape. The new case study for the upcoming academic year 2016-2017 was prepared by Dr Emanuela Iftime, Lecturer of International Trade Law with the University Alexandru Ioan Cuza of Iasi, Romania.
Mock Arbitration Online has resulted into cultivating and fostering strong academic bonds between the Greek and Ukrainian Universities as well as other institutions involved.