MCB Teams make history for Sri Lanka at Vis East Moot in Hong Kong

The Moot Court Bench (MCB) started in 2020 with the aim of institutionalizing the training process for teams representing Sri Lankan Universities at the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competition, both in Vienna and Hong Kong.   

Since then, the MCB has expanded into an organization dedicated to developing legal advocacy skills among the law students of Sri Lanka through programmes catering specifically to the fields of Arbitration, Mediation, and Trade Law.   

In addition to coaching students for International Moot Competitions, in the recent past, the MCB has further expanded to offering its programmes to international students, and MCB personnel have now spread far and wide to coach international teams for the Vis Moots.   

This year, the MCB Teams representing the Royal Institute of Colombo and Sri Lanka Law College, consisting of Treshan Fernando, Abinesha Rajaratnam, Janithri Panditharatne, Naika Gooneratne, Lalinka De Silva, Anish de Silva, Nimanga Senanayake, and Lasith Hewasiliyange participated at the 20th Willem C. Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Hong Kong, under the guidance of the MCB Coaching Team comprising of Harish Balakrishnan, Iranthi Walgama, Dilsarah Derrick, Namali Ratnayake, and Gaya Kulatunga.   

The teams were afforded the opportunity to take part in many Pre-Moots and the Vis East Moot through the aid of the Commercial Law Development Programme (CLDP) of the US Department of Commerce which sponsored the team.

The two teams were selected to represent Sri Lanka after taking part in the MCB International Commercial Arbitration Programme, a three-month summer course from June to September 2022 on International Commercial Arbitration and the International Sale of Goods, with students from 10 universities across the nation taking part.
The programme concluded with the National Selection Rounds, where the top contenders from each university competed to secure a spot as one of the teams representing Sri Lanka in the 20th Vis East Moot. Over the course of 6 months, the teams spent long nights drafting memoranda, faced multiple practice rounds with international teams, and participated in various Pre-Moots while doing their daily research and undergoing training under the guidance of the MCB coaches. After a period of strenuous training, while juggling multiple personal commitments, the teams were finally ready to compete against over 100 teams from across the globe at the Vis East Competition in Hong Kong.   

Following the intense competition and back-to-back rounds over the course of seven days, the MCB Team representing the Royal Institute of Colombo made history, emerging Champions at the 20th Vis East Moot, becoming the first-ever Sri Lankan team to have achieved this feat!   

The MCB Team representing Sri Lanka Law College made it to the round of the Top 32, an honour bestowed upon only to a few out of the 111 competing teams and rewarded based on their exemplary scores. This was also followed by Anish and Nimanga both securing Honourable Mention Awards for the Best Oralist. 

 
This success has shown the global arbitration community how well Sri Lankan talent can thrive with the right preparation and dedication. This accomplishment was built on the foundation of properly institutionalized training, and as the MCB’s core objective is to provide such guidance to many generations of students for years to come, this accomplishment will undoubtedly be replicated in the future.

   
The MCB opens its International Commercial Arbitration Programme in June 2023, and is open to both amateurs who are looking for somewhere to begin, and those who are experienced and hope to sharpen their skills as well! If Arbitration is not your cup of tea, the MCB also offers programmes in International Mediation and International Trade Law which act as stepping stones for Sri Lankan law students to take part in the ICC Paris Mediation Competition and the John H Jackson Trade Law Moot respectively.   

More about the MCB on LinkedIn, Instagram, and their website www.themootcourtbench.com