FDI Moot

What FDI Moot does

FDI Moot (Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitration Moot) is an annual international legal education competition organized by the Center for International Legal Studies (CILS), an Austrian registered public interest society headquartered in Salzburg, Austria. Operating since 2008, the competition is described as the premier investor-State arbitration moot globally, attracting university law student teams from more than half a dozen regions to compete in a case-based format that combines written memorials (Claimant and Respondent) with oral hearings judged by a pro bono College of Arbitrators composed of academics and practitioners in international arbitration. The competition is governed by a published rulebook, a Generative AI Policy, and a consistent annual cycle: Clarification Requests in June and August, memorial submissions in September, Regional and National Rounds in July-August, and Global Rounds rotating across international venues (2022 London, 2023 Lucknow, 2024 Berlin, 2025 Boston, 2026 Shenzhen, 2027 London).

The product surface comprises the annual Global Rounds (the flagship event), Regional Rounds across six geographies (Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East, North America, South Asia), National Rounds (China via FDI Moot Shenzhen, Pakistan, Vietnam, North Africa), Pre-Moots organized by partner institutions, an Archives repository of case files and results from 2008 onward, a College of Arbitrators and Judges portal, and a Thomas Wälde Fund that subsidizes developing-country team participation. The underlying technology is a case-based moot court platform rather than a proprietary software product; the primary integrations are Stripe for credit-card registration payments and standard web infrastructure. Technology providers are not a competitive differentiator.

Commercially, the FDI Moot is a non-profit academic program. Revenue consists of team registration fees tiered by UNDP Human Development Index (€75-€850), with fees of €75 for African Regional and Vietnamese teams, €250 for Asia Pacific/Middle East/South Asia Regionals and Chinese National, and €250-€850 for direct Globals participation depending on country HDI. The activity is materially supported by sponsorships (Skadden as Global Sponsor since 2008, plus Three Crowns, WilmerHale, King & Spalding, Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy, and Jincheng Tongda & Neal) and by pro bono contributions from arbitrators and judges. Customer segments are university law schools globally, with secondary engagement from arbitration academics and practitioners serving as judges.

The organization is steered by a Global Advisory Board of distinguished arbitrators and a network of five founding institutions (CILS, Suffolk University Law School, DIS, King's College London, Pepperdine University), and operates under GDPR compliance with collection of participant data for competition administration and visa support.

Name

FDI Moot

Legal name

Center for International Legal Studies (CILS)

Website

https://fdimoot.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

FDI Moot is a non-profit annual international moot court competition in investor-State arbitration, organized by the Center for International Legal Studies (CILS) in Salzburg since 2008, serving university law student teams worldwide through tiered-fee registration, regional and national qualifying rounds, and a rotating Global Rounds finale.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Education

NAICS

Spectator Sports (71121)

SIC

Services-Racing, Including Track Operation (7948)

akta.pro primary industry

Mock Trial & Moot Court (EDAMAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Speech & Debate Judging, Tabulation & Tournament Services (EDAMAOAO), Speech & Debate Competition Preparation (Events, Extemp, Impromptu) (EDAMAOAF)

Keywords

• International arbitration moot
• Moot court competition
• Investor-state arbitration
• Legal education competition
• Law student moot

Headquarters

HQ city

Salzburg

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Team Registration Fees: The primary revenue stream comes from team registration fees for participating in the FDI Moot competition. Fees are tiered based on the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI) of the team's home country, ranging from €75 for teams from low HDI countries to €850 for teams from very high HDI countries. Teams participating through regional rounds pay reduced fees (€75-€250 depending on region).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

FDI Moot is an annual international moot court competition in investor-State arbitration for university law students. Teams register, submit written claimant and respondent memorials, and argue oral hearings before panels of arbitrators from the College of Arbitrators. The competition runs through Regional and National qualifying rounds in July-August, with Global Rounds held in October at rotating international venues.

Product overview

FDI Moot is a premier international arbitration mooting competition organized by the Center for International Legal Studies (CILS). The platform offers a comprehensive suite of products including the annual Global Rounds competition (rotating globally, hosted in Shenzhen in 2026), Regional Rounds across six global regions, National Rounds for specific countries (China, Pakistan, Vietnam, North Africa), Pre-Moots for practice, and an Archives system for historical case materials. The competition involves team registration and memorial submission systems where teams prepare written Claimant and Respondent memorials, supported by a College of Arbitrators and Judges, and a Thomas Wälde Fund for financial assistance to teams from developing countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FDI Moot Global Rounds The flagship annual international moot court competition bringing together university teams from around the world to compete in investor-State arbitration hearings, held in rotating global venues. Teams submit written claimant and respondent memorials and argue oral hearings before panels of arbitrators from the College of Arbitrators.
• Regional Rounds Qualifying rounds organized by region (Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East, North America, South Asia) where teams compete for advancement to the Global Rounds, held online or in-person. Top quarter of teams advance to Globals.
• National Rounds Country-specific qualifying competitions including China (FDI Moot Shenzhen), Pakistan, Vietnam, and North Africa, where top teams advance to Regional or Global Rounds.
• Pre-Moots Non-competitive practice sessions authorized by FDI Moot for registered teams to practice oral arguments before arbitrators, organized by partner institutions worldwide in late September and October.
• Archives Historical repository containing case files, bench briefs, memorials, results, and annual reports from all FDI Moot competitions from 2008 to present, serving as an extensive learning library for the international arbitration community.
• Team Memorial Submissions Written memorial submission system where teams prepare and submit Claimant and Respondent memorials as part of the competition, judged by memorial judges before oral rounds. Global teams submit claimant and Respondent memorials in September.
• Thomas Wälde Fund Financial assistance program providing travel and accommodation subsidies (typically €300-€800) to qualifying teams from low- and medium-HDI countries to support participation in the Globals. Since 2011, Skadden has matched donations up to US$1500.
• College of Arbitrators and Judges Network of established practitioners and academics who serve pro bono as arbitrators during oral hearings or memorial judges for written submissions, providing expert assessment of team performance.
• Clarification Requests System Platform for registered teams to submit clarification questions about case facts, with two rounds of clarifications per competition year (June and August).

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Center for International Legal Studies (CILS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder and Organiser of the FDI Moot. CILS is an Austrian registered public interest society (ZVR No. 208672816). Hosts the administrative headquarters in Salzburg, Austria.
• Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner2026 Global Host. Hosts the Globals at SCIA Tower, Qianhai FTZ, Shenzhen, China. Also operates FDI Moot Shenzhen as China National Round organizer.
• Suffolk University Law SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder institution and host of 2008, 2012, 2017, and 2025 Globals. Located in Boston, USA.
• DIS (German Institution of Arbitration)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder institution and host of 2009, 2013, and 2024 Globals in Berlin, Germany.
• King's College LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder institution and host of 2011, 2015, and 2022 Globals in London, UK. Also hosting 2027 Globals.
• Pepperdine UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder institution and host of 2010 and 2014 Globals. Located in California, USA.
• Transnational Dispute ManagementminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGlobal Media Partner providing coverage and visibility for the competition.
• JusMundiminorGTM or Marketing PartnerResource Partner and Prize Sponsor for the FDI Moot competition.
• ITA LawminorGTM or Marketing PartnerResource Partner providing legal research resources for participants.
• Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy (MBH)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost of North Africa Regional Rounds in Cairo, Egypt. Sponsors winning team's €650 registration fee for Globals. Competition format: Virtual Preliminary Rounds 17-18 July 2026, In-Person Quarters/Semis/Final 31 July-1 August 2026.
• Lloyd Law CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn-Person host of South Asia Regional Rounds, 31 July - 2 August 2026.
• Jincheng Tongda & Neal (JT&N)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerNational Sponsor for FDI Moot Shenzhen (China National Round).
• ICADRPminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAdministering Pakistan National Round competition and registration.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot: The Willem C. Vis Moot is a global student competition in international commercial arbitration, making it a direct analogue through its university-team format, written submissions, oral advocacy, and arbitrator judging.
• Oxford International Intellectual Property Law Moot Court Competition: The Oxford IP Moot is a student competition based on written advocacy and simulated hearings in intellectual property law. Its law-school recruitment, expert judging, and international participant base are directly comparable.
• Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition: The Manfred Lachs Moot is an international law competition for law students that uses written memorials and oral arguments judged by subject-matter experts. It is relevant despite its narrower space-law specialization.
• Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition: The Jessup Moot is a global competition for law students that uses written memorials and oral pleadings before expert judges. Its international-law focus and institutional network make it highly comparable to FDI Moot.
• ICC Moot Court Competition: The ICC Moot Court Competition is an international criminal-law simulation for university teams involving written and oral advocacy. It serves a similar student audience and competes for academic and practitioner engagement.
• Price Media Law Moot Court Competition: The Price Media Law Moot Court Competition brings law students together for written and oral advocacy on media-law issues. It competes for similar university teams, faculty sponsors, legal practitioners, and international competition calendars.
• Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot: The Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot is a university competition focused on investment arbitration and closely mirrors the FDI Moot's subject matter, written memorials, oral hearings, and student participant base.
• European Law Moot Court Competition: The European Law Moot Court Competition is a student competition built around written submissions and oral arguments on European law. It is comparable through its university recruitment, advocacy training, judging network, and annual event format.
• Jean-Pictet Competition: The Jean-Pictet Competition is an international law simulation for students and young professionals involving written and oral advocacy before practitioners and academics. It competes for similar university participants, volunteers, and sponsors.
• John H. Jackson Moot Court Competition on WTO Law: The WTO Law Moot gives law students practical experience through written memorials and simulated WTO dispute-settlement hearings. Its international economic-law focus and academic competition model closely parallel FDI Moot.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses6 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fdi-moot

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles23 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FDI Moot