India’s only Tier II moot, the DM Harish Memorial International Moot Court Competition 2017, saw the revival of MPL VI champion NLU Jodhpur - which had been conspicuously absent since winning the Stetson India rounds.

However, Jodhpur was eventually defeated in the finals by Christ University, School of Law.

The The Christ team consisted of Aditya Mitra, Kruthika R and Shruthi Balki.

The NLU Jodhpur team was made up of speaker Lakshana Viravalli (who also won best speaker of the finals), speaker Sreelakshmi S, and researcher Atyotma Gupta.

GNLU Gandhinagar and Howard University School of Law were the other semi-finalists at the moot.

Further consolidating its strong performance at GIMC 2017, Symbiosis Pune picked up a solid 20 points at the moot, winning the best memorial citation (the second one this season for the college after GIMC last week).

NUJS Kolkata team member Tanusmita Ghosal, meanwhile, bagged the best researcher citation, amassing 20 points for the law school.

Correction: The earlier published version of the story had erroneously mis-stated the NUJS best researcher winner. The error is regreetted.

Alexander O’Hara from University of Queensland received the best speaker award.

The moot was hosted by GLC Mumbai from 9-12 February 2017. DMH, which regularly witnesses participation from several international teams, this year saw participation from University of Queensland, Australia, Queen Mary College, London and Howard University School of Law, Washington DC, to name a few.

Points Awarded at the 18th DMH 2017:

Winner: SLCU (30)

Runners-Up: NLUJ (25)

Semi-Finalists: GNLU (15) and Howard University School of Law (15)

Best Speaker: University of Queensland (20)

Best Researcher: NUJS (20)

Best Memorial: SLS Pune (20)

Organisers: GLC (2)

Post DMH Table Analysis:

Being a Tier II moot, DMH 2017 has flushed various citation holders with points and shuffled the MPL standings drastically. NUJS Kolkata has moved 4 places to the 2nd position, and apart from its M C Chagla best speaker citation, every single point earned by the law school comes from a Tier III or a Tier II international moot, demonstrating its strong presence in the international moot category.

SLS Pune on the other hand has moved to the 3rd position from its erstwhile 7th rank, based on very strong Tier IV performance, finishing as semi-finalists in three different domestic moots, and a runner-up at Jessup India rounds. NLU Jodhpur has finally made a move post winning Stetson, moving from the 10th to the 4th position, post minting a lot of points at high tiered international moots like Stetson India rounds and DMH 2017.

Three time MPL Champion and arguably the most successful law school when it comes to MPL and mooting, NLSIU Bangalore has been pushed to the 8th position this season, and presently 9th ranked RGNUL Patiala has failed to make its presence felt post K K Luthra. Amidst all of this, Nalsar Hyderabad has maintained its ominous lead at a towering 81 points based on some very strong tier IV and V performance.

However, as we proceed towards March and April, and the tier I and II moots kick-in, its remains moot, whether a 26 point lead over the present second position holder in MPL be enough or will Nalsar have to start earning more points in tier II and III moots as well?

Inclusion of New MPL Moots:

In the absence of any objections received against the inclusion of the 6th RGNUL National Moot Court Competition 2017 into tier V category, the same has been made a part of MPL VII. Similarly, NLU Jodhpur’s Antitrust Law Moot Court Competition 2017 has been upgraded to tier IV for MPL VII. The Indian national qualifying rounds for ICC shall be considered under tier III category for MPL VII.

We also propose the inclusion of the following moot court competitions into the tier V category of MPL VII, for which we invite suggestions and objections (if any):

1. NLUO Maritime Law Moot Court Competition
2. RML SCC Media Law Moot Court Competition
3. NLIU R K Tankha Memorial Moot Court Competition
4. NUSRL-NTAC Moot Court Competition
5. JGLS Technology Law and Policy Moot Court Competition

Update from Past Moot Courts:

Owing to lukewarm response from organisers/organizing committees/moot court committees, we request MPL citation holders to kindly email us a photograph of their certificate(s) for the following moots, so that we can update the table:

1. Semi-Finalists at M C Chagla Moot 2016
2. Semi-Finalists at Amity International Moot 2016
3. Semi-Finalists at Oxford Price Media South Asia Rounds 2016
4. Winner, Runners-up, Semi-Finalists, Best Speaker/Researcher/Memorial at Raj Anand IPR Moot 2016
5. Winner, Runners-up, Semi-Finalists, Best Speaker/Researcher/Memorial at Commonwealth Moot Indian National Rounds 2016

Additionally, if you feel there are moot courts that we have failed to include in this list, please get back to us on or .

MPL Stories to catch next week:

The 15th Surana and Surana National Corporate Law Moot 2017 and the Asia Pacific Rounds of the 15th ELSA WTO International Trade Law Moot 2017 are on our coverage radar next weekend.

MPL 7 season rankings