MCB Teams makes history for Sri Lanka at Vis East Moot in HK

The Moot Court Bench (MCB) Team from the Royal Institute of Colombo created history by winning the 20th Vis East Moot, becoming the first Sri Lankan team to ever accomplish this feat, after seven days of gruelling competition and back-to-back rounds.

Only a select few of the 111 participating teams, chosen for their exceptional performance, made it to the Top 32 round, including the MCB Team representing Sri Lanka Law College. Then, for the Best Oralist, Anish and Nimanga both received Honourable Mention Awards.

For teams representing Sri Lankan universities at the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competition in Vienna and Hong Kong, the Moot Court Bench (MCB) was established in 2020 with the goal of institutionalising the training process.

Since that time, the MCB has grown into a company devoted to helping Sri Lankan law students become skilled at legal advocacy through programs that are tailored to the fields of trade law, arbitration, and mediation. The MCB has recently broadened its scope to include providing its programs to foreign students in addition to coaching students for international moot competitions. Additionally, MCB staff members have now dispersed globally to mentor 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 Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) of the US Department of Commerce, which sponsored the squad, gave the teams the chance to participate in numerous Pre-Moots and the Vis East Moot.

The two teams were chosen to represent Sri Lanka after participating in the MCB International Commercial Arbitration Program, a three-month summer course on international commercial arbitration and the international sale of goods that was held from June to September 2022 and included participants from ten universities across the country.

The National Selection Rounds, which took place to select the teams that would represent Sri Lanka in the 20th Vis East Moot, marked the program's conclusion. These rounds pitted the top candidates from each institution against one another. The Teams spent numerous late nights over the span of six months drafting memoranda, competing in numerous practice rounds against international teams, and taking part in different Pre-Moots while conducting daily study and receiving training from the MCB Coaches.

The Teams were finally prepared to compete against more than 100 teams from around the world at the Vis East Competition in Hong Kong after a period of gruelling training while juggling multiple personal commitments.

With the proper preparation and commitment, Sri Lankan talent can flourish, as this success has demonstrated to the international arbitration community. This success was built on a solid foundation of properly institutionalised training, and since the main goal of the MCB is to continue offering such instruction to future generations of students, this success will surely be repeated.

In June 2023, the MCB will launch its International Commercial Arbitration Program, which is available to both novices looking for a place to start and seasoned professionals looking to hone their craft. The MCB also provides programs in international mediation and international trade law, which serve as stepping stones for Sri Lankan law students to compete in the ICC Paris Mediation Competition and the John H Jackson Trade Law Moot, respectively.