Civil Procedure, Arbitration Procedure

Profession

The foreign states laws have formed a well-established concept — Dispute Resolution. The American Bar Association (ABA) on its website provides the following definition of this concept: “dispute resolution is a term referring to the number of processes that can be used to resolve a conflict, dispute or claim.” Currently, the forms of dispute resolution are divided into state (dispute resolution by state courts) and alternative (arbitration courts, international commercial arbitration, mediation, etc.).

Educational Process

Students study modern patterns and methods of effective dispute resolution: civil procedure, international commercial arbitration, mediation, conciliation, negotiations. Trainees in the programme are taught to use modern computer technologies in civil and arbitration proceedings. In particular, they acquire the skills of filing claims online, through the system Moi Arbitr (”Мой арбитр”). A significant part of the programme is devoted to the study of civil procedural law of the foreign countries, especially the unified law of the European Union states. It is mandatory to do an advanced foreign language course, defend a Master’s thesis in a foreign language and obtain appropriate certification documents.
All courses are taught by teachers who combine their work with practical activities, in particular, arbitrators of the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation and experts of the ICC RUSSIA Arbitration Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
Disciplines: Current Issues of Civil Procedure, International Commercial Arbitration, Mediation and other Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods, Means of Appeal against Judicial Acts, Enforcement of Commercial Courts and Courts of General Jurisdiction; European Union Law: Procedure for Resolving Private Law Disputes; European Union Advocacy, International Commercial Arbitration in Asia, Africa and Latin America and a number of others.

Practice

The training includes mandatory participation in legal counselling. At the student's choice, this can be online counseling on the platform of the Legal Clinic, internship in the courts of Moscow and the Moscow Region, an internship in a law firm (after an interview). Students have the opportunity to apply their knowledge in 6 week practice: to participate in the negotiation process, to draw up legal documents, including procedural ones. Undergraduates can apply their theoretical skills in practice by participating in well-known international student competitions in civil procedure and international commercial arbitration (in Russian and English). Every year Master’s degree students take part in such international competitions as: 1. International Commercial Arbitration Competition- The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Vienna, Austria). 2. Annual International Commercial Arbitration Competition named after M.G. Rosenberg (Moscow). The certificate of participation in the tournament gives an advantage when applying for a job in Russian and international law firms.

Career

Upon successful completion of the educational programme, the graduates may work at Russian and foreign courts, in arbitration and mediation, for Russian and international legal and consulting companies, and banks. The main advantage of the programme graduates is the knowledge of the finest nuances of work in court or arbitration as clients’ representatives, the ability to draft legal documents, e.g., statements of claim, appeals and cassation complaints, and statements of defence.
Moreover, the programme provides an opportunity to continue postgraduate research, as well as to teach at law schools.
The graduates who have mastered the programme work at the Legal Department and the Judicial Department of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation. They are leading specialists and heads of legal departments in well-known Russian and international companies and law firms, such as Baker McKenzie, Clifford Chance, Deloitte, Allen & Overy, Lidings, EPA&P, Rappoport and Partners, D. Pototsky and Partners advocates’ bureau, Almaz-Antey Concern JSC, Leroy Merlin, Credit Suiss bank, Sberbank, Zenit bank and others.
The acquired fundamental knowledge and research skills allow graduates to do further research in the field of theory and history of law and state, comparative law, as well as in other legal fields. The graduates have the opportunity to successfully engage in analytical work for government agencies, including the federal level (the Federation Council and the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, etc.), large law firms, international organizations, as well as to continue doing research and teaching at Russian and foreign universities.