A team from the Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law (SAHSOL) at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) won the TIAC Nikonov International Tech Moot, hosted by the Tashkent International Arbitration Centre (TIAC) in Uzbekistan, according to LUMS. The team had five members: Muhammad Umar Motasim, Muhammad Hashir Ismail, Ali Saqib, Kainat Khan Niazi, and Bilal Ahmed Panezai. They argued against teams from Russia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Iran, and Central Asia, and took the overall title. Their written advocacy was also recognised, with their Respondent Memorial receiving the highest score in the entire competition. The university did not say how many teams took part in total or give the dates of the oral rounds.
The moot is a competition for law students built around arbitration disputes in the technology sector. In the 2025 edition, TIAC invited students from around the world to argue a technology-related dispute under the TIAC Rules of Arbitration before a tribunal of arbitrators and practitioners, with oral hearings held during Uzbek Arbitration Week. Participants gain experience in handling cross-border technology disputes and in the legal questions that arise where law and technology meet, such as software licensing, data, and digital services. The competition was founded by TIAC Director Diana Bayzakova, and the centre has promoted it as a forum where students, academics, arbitrators, and practitioners working in advanced technologies can meet, plead, and network.
TIAC was established in 2018 by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan and has been operating since 2019, and it describes technology as a central part of its work. Its 2021 rules included provisions on the use of technology in arbitral proceedings, and a Kluwer Arbitration Blog post noted that all of its early caseload was handled virtually. The centre has a cooperation agreement with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre for joint administration of cases under cross-institutional rules. For a Pakistani law school, winning a moot that focuses on technology disputes shows that students are training in an area where demand is growing, as software, digital platforms, and data-driven businesses generate more commercial contracts and more disagreements that are settled through arbitration instead of courts.
After the win, the team was invited to the Embassy of Pakistan in Uzbekistan, where it met Ambassador Muhammad Mudassir Tipu. LUMS said the ambassador commended the students for raising Pakistan’s academic standing internationally and for their commitment to international dispute resolution. The announcement does not describe the dispute the students argued, which party they represented in the final, or which faculty members coached them. It also does not say whether the team will take part in other international competitions this year, so further details on the preparation and the problem they argued would have to come from SAHSOL.
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