From November 29 to December 8, 2023，the 21st “CIETAC CUP” International Commercial Arbitration Moot (the “CIETAC CUP”) organized by China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (the “CIETAC”) was successfully held. After the fierce competition of 209 matches in the round robin, elimination, semi-final and final, the China University of Political Science and Law won the champion, and the East China University of Political Science and Law won the runner-up.

(site of the final)

This year's “CIETAC CUP” is the first “CIETAC CUP” to be held online and offline after the COVID-19 epidemic, attracting 97 teams from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hong Kong(China), Macao(China) and other countries and regions as well as provinces and cities within China to participate in the competition, with a total of more than 1,000 students competing. The participating teams cover a wider area, the event radiation scope is further expanded, and the team structure is more diversified. The number of participating teams, the number of team members and the number of matches reached a record high again, and the overall level of the competition continued to improve. The competition also invited more than 350 Chinese and foreign arbitrators, professors, lawyers and experts from 28 countries and regions around the world to serve as judges, and received strong support from many internationally renowned arbitration institutions and a number of law firms.

(Wang Chengjie, Vice-Director and Secretary-General of CIETAC, delivered a speech at the award ceremony)

At the award ceremony held on the evening of December 8, Wang Chengjie, Vice-Director and Secretary-General of CIETAC, delivered a speech on behalf of the organizers. He said that in order to adapt to the high-level opening up pattern and the increasingly diversified foreign-related legal service needs, it is necessary and urgent to train a group of high-quality foreign-related legal talents. CIETAC, as the earliest foreign-related arbitration institution established in China, has always attached great importance to personnel training. Since the establishment of “CIETAC CUP”, CIETAC have continued to deepen the competition: By sponsoring the champion and runner-up teams of the “CIETAC CUP” tournament to participate in international competitions abroad, setting up the “Friends of the CIETAC CUP” platform, holding the “Voice of the CIETAC CUP” series of training activities, and attracting overseas teams to participate in the competition to continuously improve the professional level and international influence of the “CIETAC CUP” event. In the future, CIETAC will continue to increase its investment in the “CIETAC Cup” competition, focusing on building it into an important platform for promoting the cultivation of international legal talents in China, and contributing to the cultivation of foreign-related legal talents.

(the award ceremony)

To encourage teams to actively participate, this year's “CIETAC Cup” has established various awards for defense teams, the “Best Document Award” aiming at enhancing writing skills, and the “Best Debater Award” for individuals. Representatives from 14 sponsoring law firms and media support organizations presented relevant awards to the participating teams. Several representatives of arbitrators expressed in their award speeches that the “CIETAC Cup”, as the most influential simulated arbitration competition in China, has made outstanding contributions to the cultivation of legal talents in China for more than 20 years. Through this platform, students have continuously improved their comprehensive abilities and used it as a starting point for their legal career. They hope that the “CIETAC Cup” can continue to play an important role in supporting the reform of legal education in China, and cultivate more high-quality legal talents. The participating team members expressed their gratitude to the “CIETAC Cup” for providing a platform for young legal professionals to showcase themselves, cultivate their abilities through simulated practice, and exercise their growth. They also stated that they will continue to work hard to learn, combine theoretical knowledge with practice, and better participate in the construction of the rule of law. The online live broadcast of this competition attracted more than 400000 viewers online, with the final and award ceremony attracting more than 200000 viewers online.

(Exciting scenes at the competition venue)

In recent years, with the development of the global economy and the continuous deepening of international exchanges, China's participation in international economy, trade and affairs has continued to deepen. Building a team of foreign-related legal talents is a leading power and basic project for coordinating the promotion of domestic and foreign-related rule of law. When conducting collective learning on strengthening the construction of foreign-related rule of law, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to improve the practice oriented training mechanism, and cultivate a group of foreign-related rule of law talents with firm political stance, excellent professional quality, understanding of international rules, and proficient in foreign-related legal practice as soon as possible. By holding the “CIETAC Cup” competition, introducing international competition questions and simulating real arbitration, CIETAC aims to implement the spirit of the important instructions of the Party and the state on the cultivation of foreign-related legal talents, and further improve the legal practice level and arbitration practical ability of law school students, and the competition has become a significant platform for foreign-related legal talents in our country Since its inception in 2000, the CIETAC Cup has attracted more than 10,000 students from more than 200 universities at home and abroad to participate in the competition, which has led tens of thousands of young people from relevant law schools to pay attention to and understand international commercial arbitration every year, and has reserved a large number of talents for the development of arbitration. As the earliest foreign-related arbitration institution established in China, CIETAC will continue to sum up experience, actively explore innovative training pattern, further organize the “CIETAC Cup” competition, build the platform of “Friends of CIETAC Cup”, improve the “Voice of CIETAC Cup” mechanism, and continue to cultivate high-end foreign-related compound talents with professional legal literacy, familiar with international legal rules and good at handling international arbitration legal affairs, and make positive contributions to promoting the construction of foreign-related rule of law in China.