The wrap

NLSIU Bangalore pummelled the opposition in the third season of the Mooting Premier League and dethroned MPL 1 and 2 champion and global mooting powerhouse Nalsar Hyderabad, by dominating the mid-field of MPL competitions.

NLU Jodhpur displayed great intensity during the season and ended runners up in the second position.

NLU Delhi displayed consistency and finished fourth in MPL 3.

NUJS Kolkata came fifth during the season; three places down compared to MPL 2.

GLC Mumbai, RMLNLU Lucknow and Jindal Global Law School were new additions in the top 10 mooting law schools last season.

Tier 1 (Global Championships) topper: Nalsar Hyderabad at 50 points

Nalsar Hyderabad earned the highest points from Tier 1 moots which included the world’s most prestigious moot court competitions.

After a long nine-year wait, it was incredible to see an Indian team win the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, Vienna again. The Nalsar team consisted of speakers Jagdish Menezes and Ishita Bhardwaj, researcher Ridhi Kabra and coach Manish.

Nalsar speaker Jagdish Menezes lamented the lack of institutionalisation of the Vis mooting culture in Indian law schools. NUJS Kolkata was the only other Indian team to have won the moot back in 2003.

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• MPL 3 Homepage
• MPL 3 season standings
• MPL 3 rulebook

NUJS Kolkata also finished runner-up in the Tier 1 moots with 40 points, thanks to their speaker and memorandum citations at the Vis Vienna and Vis Hong Kong moots.

Tier 2 (World Class): NLSIU Bangalore takes it away with 90 points

NLSIU Bangalore topped the Tier 2 moots which consist of the world’s widely recognised international mooting events.

NLSIU Bangalore earned a total of 90 points after emerging victorious in the Asia Pacific rounds of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot and winning best speaker/memorandum citations in the Oxford International Media Law Moot and D M Harish International Moot.

Prem Ayyathurai, the NLSIU speaker in Manfred Lachs, appreciated the attitude of the NLSIU moot court society and attributed NLSIU’s mooting success during the season to the personal involvement of the moot court society.

NLU Jodhpur came second in the Tier 2 moots with 55 points as it emerged victorious in the Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition and finished semifinalists in the Asia Pacific rounds of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot.

NUJS Kolkata and NLSIU Bangalore were the only other Indian teams to win the Stetson moot in 2005 and 2001 respectively.

Tier 3 (Elite Class): NLSIU Bangalore (70 points)

NLSIU Bangalore won the Jessup and Stetson South India rounds, finished runner-up at the Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Court Competition and topped the Tier 3 moots with 70 points. Nalsar Hyderabad won the Henry Dunant moot and one of the two BCI moots, finishing second with 55 points.

Tier 4 (National Challengers): NLSIU Bangalore (120 points)

NLSIU Bangalore won four Tier 4 moots - GNLU International Moot Court Competition, ISRO funding rounds for Manfred Lachs, Nani Palkhiwala Moot and the NLIU Juris Corp Moot Court Competition, taking home a whopping 120 points from this tier.

GLC Mumbai won the Amity Moot Court Competition and the NUJS – Herbert Smith Corporate Law Moot and finished second in Tier 4 with 66 points.

Tier 5 (Best of the rest): NUJS Kolkata (61 points)

NUJS Kolkata won the highest points from Tier 5 moots with 61 points, followed by NLU Jodhpur with 50 points.

Other Statistics

Herbert Smith gets involved: MPL 4 has sponsorship again

Herbert Smith, the international, London-headquartered firm that is soon to merge with Australian firm Freehills to become one of the world’s largest firms, has kindly agreed to sponsor the fourth, fifth and sixth seasons of the Mooting Premier League.

Herbert Smith will contribute a prize pool of Rs 60,000, which will be distributed between the top three mooting law schools in the MPL 4 – Rs 30,000 for the winner, Rs 20,000 for the runner-up and Rs 10,000 for the third-placed college at the end of the season.

The funds will be made available to the law school’s mooting committee only and are to be used to fund future mooting endeavours by the winning law schools.

MPL 4 – Do we need to add, delete, upgrade or downgrade any moots?

Team MPL is currently performing the annual review of the current MPL Tier system of moots. The presence of a moot in the MPL tier system is guided by key criteria such as popularity, participation, competition, perception, and so on.

Readers and mooting enthusiasts are requested to suggest changes in the Comments below or shoot an email to

New MPL 4 Correspondent

Team MPL is also looking for an additional MPL Correspondent to independently and accurately report results from all the national and international MPL moots. The position is remunerated and requires serious part-time commitment, professionalism and writing skills.

You will be at the heart of the Indian mooting scene and learn the ropes from seasoned MPL correspondent Prashanth R. You’ll be involved in strategising and implementing key changes in MPL 4, confirming results of moots accurately and promptly, updating the MPL Season Standings and reporting regular breaking and exclusive stories on the outcomes of MPL moots. You will also have some responsibility for maintaining and updating the mooting pages on Legallypedia.

Students should not be very closely involved with a moot court committee in the coming season but mooting experience and good knowledge of Indian mooting is essential.

If you have what it takes, please email . Please briefly introduce yourself and outline: (a) why you think you would make a good MPL correspondent, (b) how would you improve the MPL, and (c) your mooting-related experience. Please apply by no later than Saturday, 15 September 2012.

Ps: First MPL 4 moots coming up this weekend. Keep your eyes peeled on LI, home of MPL.

For more information please refer to the MPL 3 rulebook.