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Institute Mohamed Ali for the Research of the Eastern Tradition
INTERNATIONAL ROMAN LAW
MOOT COURT COMPETITION
Imaret of Kavala – Colonia Augusta Iulia
Philippensis
In memoriam Professors G. Maridakis & P.
Zepos
INTERNATIONAL ROMAN LAW
MOOT COURT COMPETITION
INTRODUCTION
The annual International Roman Law Moot Court Competition & Colloquium which takes place in Kavala and Philippi
(Greece) is organised under the auspices of the Institute Mohammed Ali. This initiative started in 2008 with the
participation of students and academics from four distinguished Faculties of Law, namely the University of Oxford and
the University of Cambridge from the United Kingdom, the University of Trier from Germany and the University of
Liège from Belgium. A year later, the organization has been enlarged to include the Faculty of Law of the University of
Vienna (Austria), the University of Tuebingen (Germany) and the University of Naples “Federico II” (Italy). Greece is
represented by the National & Capodistrian University of Athens.
HISTORY
The idea to establish Roman law moot courts was conceived at Oxford by Dr Helen Scott and Paschalis Paschalidis as
part of the effort to promote the study of Roman law among undergraduate law students. To this end Oxford held the
first Roman law moot court competition among its Colleges in November 2006 sponsored and hosted by Harris
Manchester College and had the honour to have one of the House of Lords judges, the late Rt Hon the Lord Rodger of
Earlsferry, to judge the final round. The wish to enlarge the competition lead in holding the first Oxford v Cambridge
Roman
Law
Moot
Court
Competition
in
June
2007
in
Harris
Manchester
College..
The final step to complete this project was to hold the 1st International Roman Law Moot Court Competition &
Colloquium in Kavala and Philippi in April 2008. The winner of the first competition was the University of Oxford. In
subsequent years the Universities of Trier and Athens have won the competition.
CONTENT
The event in question consists of a moot court competition and a
colloquium. The competition will focus on a complex problem of Roman
private law. The 2012 case concerns a dispute arising out of a loan granted
to the members of a partnership that ran into financial difficulty.
The case is always set at Emperor Justinian’s time (527-565 AD) which
allows the students to refer to the law as it stands in the Digest, the
Institutes and more rarely in the Codex and the Novellae. This competition
will involve 4 preliminary rounds in which all eight universities will have the
chance to plead against each other both as plaintiffs and defendants. The
four Universities that will concentrate the highest scores will reach the final
rounds which will take place in the Roman forum in the archaeological site
of Philippi.
WHY PHILIPPI?
There very few sites, where a number of significant historical events are supported by archaeological
findings.
.
Philippi, bearing the name of the king of Macedonia and father of Alexander the Great, merits
worldwide
attention
for
two
major
events
that
had
wider
repercussions.
First, the battle that took place in 42 B.C. constitutes a turning point in the political developments of the
Roman state and its progression towards the Empire. As a result of it, the city was repopulated with
veterans and named Colonia Augusta Julia Philippensis. Roman culture thrived and the city was
embellished with outstanding edifices, mainly in era of the Antonines (2nd half of the 2nd c. AD).
.
The second event of major importance is the arrival of St Paul (49/50 AD) and the introduction of
Christianity to Europe. Following a vision he landed in Neapolis (Kavala) with Silas and Timothy and
walks to Philippi. He preached and baptised the first person in Europe, Lydia. This marked the
beginning of the Christianisation of Europe, which left its mark on later legislation.
The mark of these events and the current state of the site constitute the perfect setting for the reenactment of a Roman law trial. The Forum with its public buildings, namely the archives (tabularium),
the library, the temples, the curia and a Roman basilica (probably the court house) and with the views of
the impressive churches (Basilica B’ being one of the most exquisite examples of church architecture in
the time of Justinian (527-565 AD), are the ideal site for the practice of Corpus Iuris Civilis. Justinian
and Tribonian would not have hoped better.
Past winners
•
•
•
•
2011: University of
2010: University of
2009: University of
2008: University of
Cambridge
Athens
Trier
Oxford
THE STUDENTS OPINION
“The IRLM is making very valuable steps to promoting the exchange of ideas between the next generation of
lawyers across the continent. It is no surprise that its profile is growing fast.” (Philip Ahlquist, University of
Oxford)
“The International Roman Law Moot represents a fitting forum for the cross-border exchange and discussion of
legal viewpoints, values, analyses, and frameworks.” (Philip Murray, University of Cambridge)
"Arguing a complex case in a foreign language and practicing pleading was a great challenge and alternation to
everyday life in a German university.” (Philipp Ersfeld, University of Trier)
“Participating in the IRLM appeared to be a fantastic and unique experience for me. It was not only a welcome
chance to train my rhetorical skills.” (Benedicta Knoblauch, University of Tübingen)
“In the IRLM, I learnt that to be able to react immediately to questions asked by judges, not get confused and
remain calm at all times, while making a cogent argument, is a skill that can be developed only through
practice.” (Martin Weiler, University of Trier)
“I owe to the IRLM the fact that now I am more aware of the necessity of international professional experiences in
order to share and compare ideals and knowledge.” (Paolo Mammola, University of Naples ‘Federico II’)
“As a student of the University of Liège at the time, the IRLM was my first moot. It was extremely rewarding and
prepared me to my future profession as a lawyer.”(Edoardo Romano, Allen & Overy LLP)
“The presence of an international law firm that would introduce students to the prospect of working as a lawyer in
a globalised world would have made all the difference.” (Jeremias Prassl, Harvard University)
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Thursday, 29-03-2012
•Arrival at Kavala
Friday, 30-03-2012
• Preliminary rounds at the Imaret Hotel
•20:00: Dinner
Saturday, 31-03-2012
• Visit to the archaeological site of Philippi
• Grand & Small Final at the ruins of the Roman forum in Philippi.
• The Clifford Chance LLP European Private Law Gala Dinner
Sunday, 01-04-2012
•9:00 Sightseeing
Monday, 02-04-2012
•Departure
UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE INSTITUTE MOHAMED ALI
FOR THE RESEARCH OF THE EASTERN TRADITION
Sponsored by;
ZEPOS & YANNOPOULOS
KARATZAS & PARTNERS
CLIFFORD CHANCE LLP
POTAMITIS VEKRIS
Past Sponsors:
The Municipality of Philippi
Koimtzidis Paparalis Kogkalidis C.O.
The Enlarged Prefecture of Drama, Kavala & Xanthi
The Grigoriades Foundation