The Muscat Moot Arbitration 2026 is an inter-university moot court competition in commercial arbitration, organised by the Oman Commercial Arbitration Centre (OCAC) for law students at Omani universities and colleges. It is conducted in two parallel language tracks, Arabic and English, and culminates in the Final Round held during Muscat Arbitration & Mediation Days 2026 at the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre.
Eligibility
The Competition is open to law faculties of recognised Omani universities and colleges. Participation is by institutional nomination: each institution may field one team in each Track, nominated by an official letter from the Dean of the Faculty of Law (or equivalent authority) identifying the team members, the chosen Track and the faculty coach.
Teams consist of three to five currently enrolled undergraduate law (LL.B. or equivalent) students from the same institution, accompanied by one or two faculty coaches. Up to eight teams are admitted in each Track. There is no registration fee.
The competition
A fictional commercial arbitration dispute, seated in Muscat and administered under the OCAC Arbitration Rules, is released to teams in each Track in the language of that Track. The Arabic and English Cases differ in their facts and issues, and each is authoritative only for its own Track.
Each team argues both sides of the dispute, submitting a Memorandum for Claimant and a Memorandum for Respondent of between 4,000 and 6,500 words. Memoranda are anonymised and independently scored by at least two arbitrators on a 100-point scale, assessed on knowledge of the applicable law and arbitral practice, quality of legal analysis, structure and persuasiveness, use of authorities, and language and presentation.
In the General Rounds every team pleads at least twice, once as Claimant and once as Respondent, before a tribunal of three arbitrators. Each hearing lasts 90 minutes, divided equally between the parties, with two oralists on each side and a short rebuttal and surrebuttal. Teams are ranked on their combined memorandum and oral scores, and the top-ranked teams in each Track advance to the Elimination Rounds, which are decided on a knock-out basis on oral performance alone.
The Arabic and English Finals are held on the closing day of Muscat Arbitration & Mediation Days 2026 before a tribunal of three arbitrators, followed by the Awards Ceremony.
Calendar
November 2026
The General Rounds of oral pleadings take place in November 2026.
9 December 2026
The Arabic and English Finals will be held on 9 December 2026 during Muscat Arbitration & Mediation Days 2026.
Recognition
The following awards are presented in each Track at the Awards Ceremony on the closing day of Muscat Arbitration & Mediation Days 2026: