Banner
Conquering the Trial by Fire & Moving Onward —— UIBE Law School’s CIETAC Moot Court Team Won the Third Place in the CIETAC Cup
The 17th CIETAC Cup International Commercial Arbitration Moot ( “CIETAC Cup”) hosted by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC”) was grandly held in Beijing. This year’s CIETAC Cup attracted nearly 700 participants from 64 teams of renowned universities across China and involved 135 matches. More than 150 arbitrators, scholars, lawyers and experts from more than 10 countries and regions around the world were invited to serve as judges. This year’s moot court competition encompassed a record-high number of participating teams, players and matches.
After going through fierce competition in the general rounds and in the quarter-finals, the UIBE Law School team successfully advanced to the semi-finals. At the semi-finals, the team only lost to Peking University by a small margin which ended their CIETEC Cup journey. This is the first time since 2015, after winning three championships in four years, that UIBE Law School failed to reach the finals. But the outstanding performance of this year’s UIBE Law School team members still received wide appreciation from both judges and fellow teams, which fully demonstrated the profound lineage and impeccable history of UIBE law school in the field of international commercial arbitration.
Winning moments of the UIBE team (from left to right): Cao Jing, Zhang Yirufang, Du Boyang, Cai Lingke, Shi Xinyu, Shu Yunxiao
The CIETAC Cup is not only the highest-level English moot competition in the field of international commercial arbitration in China, but also the first regional pre-moot competition officially recognized by the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (“Vis Moot”). The 2019 UIBE team was comprised of Du Boyang (an oralist and junior enrolled in the undergraduate pilot program), Cai Lingke (also an oralist and a first-year Master of International Law student) and four researchers, Cao Jing, Zhang Yirufang (both first-year Master of Law students), Shu Yunxiao and Shi Xinyu (a junior and a sophomore enrolled in the undergraduate pilot program, respectively). Under the guidance of our excellent alumnus Feng Kun, led by a student coaching team comprised of outstanding champion oralists Wang Boyang (a first-year Master of International Law student), Zhao Chao (a second-year Master of International Law student) and Li Ruiting (a senior enrolled in the undergraduate pilot program), this newly established team made every effort to overcome difficulties and quickly developed into a high-quality team in just two short months, to achieve another successful result in the CIETAC Cup.
Awards scene: The UIBE team and judge representative Arthur Wolff
The UIBE team in competition: Cai Lingke (left), “Best Oralist” of the general round, Du Boyang (right), “Best Oralist” of the quarter-finals
With the strong support of the four researchers, the two oralists performed fluently and flexibly relying on their solid professional skills, in-depth research results and excellent English skills, and won high praise from the arbitral tribunal. Winning third place in total points, the UIBE team smoothly entered the quarter-finals. In the general round, Cai Lingke won the “Best Oralist” award by virtue of her steady and excellent performance. In the subsequent quarter-finals, the UIBE team continued its great efforts in competing with China Foreign Affairs University Team and Du Boyang was awarded “Best Oralist”.
UIBE team against China Foreign Affairs University in the quarter-finals
Such success cannot be achieved without tremendous and long-term support for international moot court competition development and training from UIBE Law School. Under the effective management of UIBE Law School, the unique Moot Court Club operates effectively, making English international moot court competitions very popular among students and creating an important platform for training talents with focus on international economics and trade. The 2019 UIBE Law School CIETAC Team is the latest emerging force in this high-end education platform.
Ranking amongst the top three and winning the championship three times in the past five years reflects the long-standing strength in international commercial law of UIBE Law School. Outstanding alumni lawyer Cao Lijun (Zhong Lun law firm), lawyer Si Jia (Hong Kong international arbitration expert), and lawyer Wang Chen (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius law firm) provided meticulous guidance to the team in the midst of their busy schedules. The 2018 winning team members, Liu Ben, Gao Zhuang, and Liu Zibo, also actively provided assistance. Thanks to the care and support from the entire law school, the alumni, and society, this team quickly matured and stood out in this intensive national competition, by successfully utilizing their school’s teaching and training advantages in international commercial arbitration.
With the CIETAC Cup conclusion, the team is now on a fresh start to prepare for the international round of “Vis Moot”. With the lessons and experience gained from the CIETAC Cup, the team will devote persistent efforts to achieve more breakthroughs and improvements in the international rounds and strive towards the goal of becoming an outstanding team in the international platform.