Take part · CDRC Vienna 2027
Three ways into the moot.
Compete, assess, or make the whole thing run. Whichever you choose, you join the CDRC family — and a week in Vienna that tends to change how people practise.
For universities
Bring a team
€500 base + €150 per additional member
Two tracks — mediation and negotiation. As mediator, you facilitate the negotiation. As negotiator, your team works both sides of a live commercial dispute. You are assessed not on who argues loudest but on who moves the room the best.
Who can enter
Tracks
Mediator team or Negotiator team.
Commitment
The full competition week in Vienna.
Fee
€500 base + €150 per additional member
For practitioners
Assess the moot
● Assessors never pay
Assess performances and give each mediator and negotiator team individualised feedback after every session. You help shape the experts of the future — and sharpen your own eye in the process.
Who
Selection
Commitment
A mandatory introduction session and all preliminary rounds.
Payment
No fee to apply or take part. (Travel & personal expenses aren't reimbursed.)
For the CDRC family
Make it happen
● Volunteers never pay
A tight team of enthusiastic “Smooth Operators” who make sure that the week in Vienna happens. Manage the welcome desk, the tech, the tabulations, the thousand small things. Bring energy; leave with friendships.
Who
Anyone with drive; a dispute-resolution background helps.
Commitment
The whole week — early starts, late nights, absolute punctuality.
Pathway
Early-career? The Pathway Programme pairs volunteering with a backup-assessor role.
Payment
No fee, no pay — what you gain is the network and the #CDRCfamily.
Application windows, fees and the rules for 2027 are published on the CDRC 2027 page — all editable from the backend, so they're always current.
Teams are encouraged to consult the CDRC Vienna Rules to gain a detailed insight into team structure, eligibility, and selection criteria. The following is initial guidance:
Mediator Teams
- Each university may lodge an application only for one Mediator Team.
- A Mediator Team consists of a minimum of one and a maximum of two students.
- Mediator Teams must nominate a minimum of one and a maximum of two coaches.
- The Registration Fees for the Mediator Teams are:
- Mediator Team (1 or 2 Team Members, 1 Coach): 500 EUR
- One additional coach: 150 EUR extra.
Negotiator Teams
- Each university may lodge an application only for one Negotiator Team.
- A negotiator team consists of a minimum of two and a maximum of four students.
- At least one student of the negotiator team must be a full or part-time law student in order to play the role of the Counsel in the competition.
- Negotiator teams must nominate a minimum of one and a maximum of two coaches.
- The Registration Fees for Negotiator Teams are:
- Negotiator Team (2 Team Members, 1 Coach): 500 EUR
- Each additional Team Member (up to 2 Team Members): 150 EUR per Team Member
- One additional coach: 150 EUR extra.
General Selection Criteria
We will select teams based on the criteria set out below (in no particular order):- Communication, presentation, and other skills manifested in the student’s application;
- Training, coursework, and experience of the applying students;
- Performance at previous mediation or negotiation competitions;
- Representation of geographic and cultural diversity.
Eligibility of (Graduate) Students
- To be eligible, students must be registered as full-time or part-time students in the academic year of 2025/2026 or 2026.
- Graduate students are permitted to participate if they have completed their undergraduate studies no longer than 2 years ago and have gained work experience (e.g. practiced law or been in business) of no more than 1 year since their graduation.
- No student can have any practical mediation experience outside a training or university context (clinical experience is permissible).
- Each student can participate only once in any student role.
- Each Team must review the CDRC Vienna Competition Rules.
- Each Team is responsible for ensuring that all Team Members are eligible to participate in the CDRC Vienna.
Our Expert Assessors are top leaders in the mediation and negotiation profession hailing from around the globe. They work closely with us and assess Mediator and Negotiator Teams that have been carefully selected based on qualifications, oral advocacy, presentation, persuasion, and creativity. The Expert Assessors help us score the performances of the competing Teams. They also provide each student with valuable, individualised feedback after each session, helping the students to learn, improve, and grow during the CDRC Vienna. And of course, there is the opportunity to network with fellow Expert Assessors as well as the students and their coaches.
The Expert Assessors are crucial to making the CDRC Vienna's an exceptional learning and networking experience. We take much care in selecting only the most outstanding professionals as Expert Assessors. The selection is based on their (in no particular order):
- competence;
- experience;
- mediation qualification and accreditation;
- training experience;
- experience in giving feedback and assessing students;
- availability throughout the CDRC Vienna; and
- feedback after past competitions.
- the mandatory introduction session for Expert Assessors; and
- all preliminary rounds.
Details