Oxford Wins 2019 Varsity Roman Law Moot

The 2019 iteration of the inaugural Varsity Roman Law Moot took place on Friday 14 June, where the Oxford team comprising Cassandra Somers-Joce (Magdalen), Laura Harray (Brasenose), Ross Moore (Merton), and Alexander Yean (Exeter) took the morning train to London, and then on to Cambridge. We were joined by our coach Professor Joe Sampson.

The moot comprised two thorny problems on the theft of a seemingly cursed ancient statue, and a drunken injury caused by a hazardous loose tile. The mooters made submissions on whether it was possible to impliedly consent to an act of furtum (theft), and whether Roman law recognised any principle of occupiers’ liability, and were judged by each university’s Regius Professor of Civil Law: Professor Wolfgang Ernst (Oxford) and Professor David Ibbetson (Cambridge), both luminaires in their fields.

After 2 hours of mooting in the Old Library of Trinity College (Cambridge), the Oxford team was declared victorious by a narrow margin, though the prize for best speaker was awarded to Dominic Bielby of Cambridge. 

Oxford Team pictured in Trinity College, Cambridge, from left to right: Alexander Yean, Cassandra Somers-Joce, Laura Harray, Ross Moore