University of Limerick v University of Cambridge
Moot Court Competition 2017
On the 6th of March several UL students travelled to Cambridge for the bi-annual moot court competition originally established by both myself and Katie Nagle as joint Mooting Officers of the UL Law Society in the 2014/5 academic year.
After a visit from Cambridge to Limerick this year it was UL’s turn to travel again. This year I have gone back to the role of UL Law Society Mooting Officer and I organised this year’s competition on behalf of the School of Law. This was overseen by Dr. Lydia Bracken, the Director of Clinical Legal Education in the Law School. This year, after an application process, the two fourth years who travelled to take part in the moot were Nicole Cotter and I. We were accompanied by five other members of the Law Society for both support and as a learning experience to pass on to members of the society who will be involved next year when Cambridge return.
After arriving in Cambridge the evening was spent exploring the city and some last minute preparation of both bundles and oral arguments. The following morning we travelled to the Law Faculty and set up in the new Court Room in the Law Building.
The question this year was a contract law question for the Court of Appeal. The two main questions were if the advertisement in question was an offer or an invitation to treat. The question of implied and express terms was also hugely important for UL representing the appellants.
The moot went on for close to two hours with each speaker advocating on their side for at least twenty minutes. A full live commentary of the moot itself can be found on both the Twitter and Facebook pages of the UL Law Society.
https://www.facebook.com/ul.lawsoc?fref=nf
Unfortunately for us the judge decided to reject the appeal on the issue of implied and express terms even after having accepted a majority of their legal arguments over the respondents. The moot was narrowly won by the mooters from Cambridge. However the judge stressed at how close the decision was.
Whilst disappointing in that there was no win for UL, the feedback provided was invaluable and overall it was a great learning experience! After the moot we went punting along the River Cam before heading back home.
My sincerest gratitude to the Law School for all their support in the lead up to this event, I would not have been able to do it without all of their advice and support.
I look forward to seeing this competition continue and thrive for many years into the future!
Amy Beck, UL Law Society Mooting Officer
