Peru to host 18th International Arbitration Moot

This year, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas will, for the first time, host the International Arbitration Moot, whose 2025 edition will bring together law students from 60 universities across 12 countries.

“The International Arbitration Moot is an academic international event co-organized by the Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina) and the Faculty of Jurisprudence of the University of Rosario (Colombia). Its goal is to promote the study of international commercial law and arbitration as a method of dispute resolution,” noted Beatriz Miranda de la Lama, director of the law program at UPC.

Miranda de la Lama explained that the competition is divided into two phases ‒ written and oral ‒ in which participants must defend their hypothetical clients before arbitral tribunals made up of expert lawyers in the field.

This year, the competition features a new element: the case to be addressed does not involve an arbitration proceeding, but rather a judicial annulment process of an arbitral award. Additionally, artificial intelligence will be incorporated into the arbitration processes.

Without a doubt, this competition represents a unique opportunity for participating students, as “they develop essential skills such as legal argumentation, critical analysis and communication. They also gain practical experience in conflict resolution through one of the most in-demand and rapidly growing mechanisms, giving them a competitive edge in the future job market,” stressed Miranda de la Lama.

Elvira Martínez Coco, a prominent jurist, arbitrator and the head coach of UPC’s arbitration team, explained that the decision to include artificial intelligence this year was in response to its increasingly common use in the legal field.

“The case [to be discussed in the competition] invites students to reflect on the use of AI in the drafting of an award ‒ and not just any award, but an ex aequo et bono award. This opens the door to extremely interesting discussions about whether it is appropriate to use AI in the drafting of arbitral decisions. Without a doubt, it will be a highly valuable reflective experience not only for the students but also for the professionals participating as arbitrators,” said Martínez Coco.

Significant honor for UPC

With UPC hosting the competition this year, Lima joins the list of cities to have hosted this important legal event, such as Washington DC (2012), Santiago de Chile (2015), Buenos Aires (2017) and Quito (2024).

“UPC is especially honored to be the host of the competition in 2025, which over the past decades has become an international benchmark. We consider it the legal-academic event of the year in Peru,” remarked Diego Vega Castro-Sayán, the secretary general and director of institutional relations at UPC.

Miranda de la Lama added that UPC had participated in the competition since its inaugural edition, finishing in first place on that occasion. “We have won on other occasions, as well as received various recognitions such as Best Oralist, Best Coach, Second Place, among others. In other words, UPC has shown great interest in the competition due to its importance and relevance.”

She continued: “the prestige of the team, the coaches, the arbitrators from our institution and, in general, of the university, left no doubt in the minds of the organizers that, with UPC as the host, the competition would be in good hands and maintain its usual high standards.”

Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas has a proud record in the International Arbitration Moot competition, winning it a record three times (2008, 2015 and 2018), outperforming other universities from Peru and around the world in the process.