A Greek team of students from Athens University took second place at this year’s International Roman Law Moot Court Competition held in Kavala. The University of Trier finished first, defeating Athens in the Grand Finale. The Greek team managed to secure the second-place ranking against eight great opponents, including Oxford University, who finished fourth.
The students who participated were Vasiliki Antoniadou, Magdalini Asteri, Thanasis Tasopoulos and Maria-Ioanna Florou, using the English language. They were praised for their performance in legal issues, argumentation and rhetoric.
Set in AD 540-542 during the reign of Emperor Justinian I, the 2012 competition required teams to argue and defend against a condictio ob turpem vel iniustam causam and a rei vindicatio in a dispute arising out of a bailout loan to, and associated securities from, a trading partnership that ran into financial difficulty due to mismanagement by some of its partners and the impact of external market pressures.
The International Roman Law Moot is organized and co-sponsored by the Institute Mohamed Ali for the Research of Eastern Tradition, with support from the Alex Dino Foundation, the European Investment Bank and law firms Clifford Chance LLP, Potamitis–Vekris, Zepos–Yiannopoulos, Karatzas & Partners and Koimtzidis–Paparallis–Kogkalidis.
This unique and challenging event, held each spring in Philippi at the splendid Imaret Hotel in Kavala is an eagerly-anticipated fixture in the mooting calendar for the participating institutions, and attracts not only some of the brightest students but also some of the most senior Roman law academics in western Europe, who, as judges, interrogate mooters.
Alongside earnest competition, students, academics, organizers and sponsors have traditionally embraced the Moot as an opportunity to interact socially as well as intellectually with colleagues from different legal traditions. This year was no exception, with many firm friendships formed over the four day trials.
The inaugural competition, dedicated to the memory of Professor P Zepos, was held in 2008, and was sponsored inter alia by Athens law firm Zepos & Yannopoulos. The purpose of the event is to bring together students and academics from different European jurisdictions and to promote the study of Roman law and the common legal heritage of Europe.
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