Student teams from five leading universities in Kazakhstan participated in this year’s competition and preliminary rounds were held for the first time and involved law students from the following universities: M. Narikbayev KAZGUU University, KIMEP University, L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Narxoz University, and Caspian University. Two student teams were the winners of the preliminary rounds and they participated in the final of the competition.
The competition involved a common law legal problem and required analysis and oral presentation of legal arguments in the presence of two senior AIFC Court judges: Justice Sir Robin Jacob and Justice Sir Stephen Richards.
The final was conducted in the English language which is the official language of the AIFC. KIMEP University won the final and was awarded “The AIFC Court & IAC Moot Final Winners Cup”. All participants, including those who took part in the preliminary rounds, won an opportunity to experience an internship at the AIFC Court and IAC.
The moot competition is a well-known student simulation of a court hearing in which young future lawyers have a chance to analyse a legal problem, research the relevant law, prepare written submissions, and present oral arguments to experienced practicing judges.
Mr. Christopher Campbell-Holt, Registrar and Chief Executive at the AIFC Court and IAC, commented:
“Our “Moot” competition is now in its second year. It plays an important part in our AIFC Court and IAC annual legal education program which we expanded this year to train more than three hundred Kazakh nationals in Nur-Sultan and Almaty. We have since 2018 trained more than five hundred Kazakh nationals. We want to ensure that Kazakh lawyers and future lawyers have the highest international common law skills that are necessary to represent parties at the AIFC Court and IAC. Our training is provided by our distinguished common law judges and by leading common law academics and law practitioners from the City of London, University of Cambridge, University College London, and the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution. We are delighted that this year we were able to expand our Moot competition to include five leading Kazakh universities and to broaden our engagement with the lawyers of the future in Kazakhstan.”
The AIFC Court and IAC held the Moot Final in the framework of their legal education program which delivers the highest standards of common law court and alternative dispute resolution related training to meet the needs of lawyers and judges in Kazakhstan and the Central Asia region.
AIFC. The AIFC was established on the initiative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. In December 2015 President Nazarbayev approved the Constitutional Statute “On the Astana International Financial Centre” (AIFC). The aim of the AIFC is to establish a leading international centre for financial services. The objectives of the AIFC are to attract investment into the economy through the establishment of an attractive environment for investment in financial services, develop local capital markets, ensuring their integration with the international capital markets. www.aifc.kz
The AIFC Court. The AIFC Court is an independent legal entity. It has its own procedural rules modelled on English common law procedures and leading international practice. The AIFC Court is separate and independent from the courts of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It consists of two tiers: a Court of First Instance, which includes a specialist division known as the Small Claims Court; and a Court of Appeal. It has exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising out of the activities and operations of the AIFC and jurisdiction in the case of other disputes in which all parties agree in writing to give the AIFC Court jurisdiction. It does not have jurisdiction in relation to any disputes that are of a criminal or administrative nature. It applies the most up to date and efficient case management practices.
The International Arbitration Centre (IAC).The International Arbitration Centre (IAC) is an independent legal entity. It has its own procedural rules modelled on best international practice. It has its own panel of leading international arbitrators and mediators having many years of arbitration and mediation experience in commercial law, including oil and gas, trade, construction, energy, financial services, banking, Islamic finance, insurance, and intellectual property. IAC arbitration awards are recognised and enforceable in Kazakhstan and internationally.
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