VU law students awarded at ICC Mediation Competition

Victoria University’s mediation team have won the Peter McMullin award at the 2018 Asia-Pacific International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Mediation Competition.

The competition, held on 27-29 July at the Melbourne Commercial Arbitration and Mediation Centre, is judged by some of the world’s top mediation experts, and gives students valuable skills in an essential area of dispute resolution in international commercial law.

Prominent lawyer and philanthropist Peter McMullin (after whom the award is named), annually selects the best new-coming team. Mr McMullin says:

“The group was awarded for their tenacity, amongst other things, but Celil Kardaslar and the VU team also demonstrated great determination and resolve, especially in the first months without a coach.”

Team captain Celil Kardaslar says he and team mate Bol Mathiang dug deep to achieve their success.

“We were the last team to join the competition, however through hard work and mutual collaboration we managed a stellar performance. My teammate Bol was also coping with a family bereavement and had to draw on his inner strength to compete. During the competition, we brought something unique to the other teams.

We were over the moon to win, and happy to be able to give something back to VU.”