The Finnish Vis Moot Team (f.l.t.r.): Kaisa Mattila, Santtu Rinne, Eila Ryyppö, Joonas Metsämäki, Katriina Toivanen, Henrik Sajakorpi, Arttu Ahava.
have the same reserved manner as our countrymen. They do not tell their life stories to strangers, but after you get to know them and start to win their trust and friendship, they are very warm and friendly people. This is essentially what Finns are like as well, so we felt like we were socially on the same page as the Swiss, and felt comfortable in their company. Though we did not extensively discuss the nature of legal studies in Switzerland as opposed to Finland, it seemed that the general gist was the same: books, books, books. Even our new library in Helsinki looks very similar to the new library in Zürich... Maybe our architect got his inspiration there! In general, our law studies are very theoretical, and as Finland is a civil law jurisdiction, very much focused on reading up on statutes and the correct way of applying them. In fact, the Finnish law degree is intended to impart the skills necessary for a master’s student to act as a judge, so there is little emphasis on oral advocacy and the writing of memos and other submis-
sions. Most of the Swiss students seemed to share this view based on their own studies. For many of us, participating in the Vis Moot is a great way to acquire and develop experience in these key fields. When doing our last minute shopping before leaving for Finland, we were very glad to find that there was one Swiss cliché that was 100% true: the Swiss seem to be crazy about chocolate, and their chocolate is delicious. Many of us carried large bags full of chocolate back home, to placate boyfriends/ girlfriends left behind or just to have inspiring goodies for the hard weeks ahead of us, working on the Vis Moot case. We were only told afterwards that grocery shopping in Zürich is a matter of loyalty: either Coop OR Migros, not both. Of course, we cheerfully (if unwittingly) broke this rule. Our apologies! Last of all, we want to thank our Swiss friends for their hospitality, and hope to return the favour during the Helsinki pre-moot!
Team Finland, Fribourg and Zürich enjoying the sun.
Seminar
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