Tenth International Roman Law Moot Court Competition

The Tenth International Roman Law Moot Court Competition was held from 4 to 7 April 2017 in Trier, the oldest city in Germany and once one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire. 

The preliminary and semi-final rounds were held in the Robert Schuman Haus, a fantastic venue overlooking the city, a location in which no doubt the Great Emperor himself would have chosen to reside. Through the efforts of our host, Professor Thomas Rüfner of the University of Trier, the Moot was most privileged to hold the Small and Grand Finals in the chamber of the Electoral Palace, situated at the heart of the historic city next to the grand Basilika. 

This year’s libellus involved two claims, one concerning the requisite formality for creation of wills at times of plague, and the other surrounding the effect, if any, of a person raising his hand to wave at his friend in an auction. Although the libellus is set in the AD 500s, similar questions have continued to trouble modern day jurists, as is evidenced by the often-discussed ‘Trier wine case’ in modern textbooks.

The Oxford team eased through the preliminary rounds, but was unfortunately beaten by the narrowest of margins in the semi-final by the University of Tübingen, which went on to defeat the University of Cambridge at the Grand Final. In the Small Final, Oxford gave an impressive performance and took 3rd place ahead of the University of Liege, preventing a total Brexit on the final day of the competition.  

The Faculty congratulates the team – Edward Armitage (Magdalen), Shane Finn (Christ Church), Anna Lukina (Hertford) and Thomas Pausey (St. Catherine’s) – for this outstanding performance.

The IRLM now looks forward to the Eleventh Moot to be held near Liege in April 2018.