Vanessa Lam
14 May 2015: A team of University of Canberra law students recently put their mooting skills to the test competing in the Willem C Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Competition in Hong Kong.
The Moot, held on 15-22 March, is the world's most prestigious international trade law competition with students taking part in simulated court proceedings, including drafting briefs and participating in oral arguments in front of a panel of international arbitration experts.
107 teams from more than 30 countries took part in the competition with the University of Canberra one of three Australian teams to make the top 32 elimination rounds. The seven students spent six months preparing for the competition, as a part of the Mooting law elective units.
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UC law students Michael Bennett, Rebecca Cigna, Max Rixe, Daphne Cockerill, Kayleigh Smith, Brian Familiar, Peter Wong and Dr Dalma Demeter (centre) at the Willem C. Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Hong Kong. Photo supplied.
It's the fourth year the University has participated in the international competition with this year's team receiving an honourable mention for the Best Respondent Memoranda for their submission of a 35-page memorandum and placing 27th overall.
Third year Jurdis Doctor student Peter Wong also received an honourable mention for best oralist for arguing the procedure of the case. Mr Wong, who finished in 14th place out of 193 entrants, said he was pleased with the result and enjoyed working with his teammates.
He added that the experience of getting to travel to Hong Kong and being surrounded by like-minded people was exciting.
"If you have any desire to do advocacy work, mooting is the perfect unit to do. It teaches you to speak, present yourself and how to speak to the educators - it's a wonderful learning exercise. Also, if you want to have an international career, mooting is the perfect unit to start making some contacts with lawyers and students from overseas," Mr Wong said.
Assistant professor of law and mentor Dalma Demeter said she was proud of the students' achievements at the competition.
"The team's performance was impressive, with each and every student proving to be a true professional capable of succeeding in a tough business and legal environment."
For more information about mooting visit our website.
