The Oxford Hong Kong Mooting Competition 2013
The annual Oxford Hong Kong Mooting Competition took place on 7 September 2013. In its third year, the Competition attracted not only current Oxford students and alumni, but also observers from other law schools and institutions. All present enjoyed an exciting performance by high calibre Oxford mooters.
This year’s moot centred on the issues of implied duty of good faith and vicarious liability. The moot problem concerned a Shaolin Kung Fu master who rented a performance theatre from a landlord, who later rented the same theatre to another Chinese martial arts group on significantly more favourable terms. Mooters had to grapple with whether an implied duty of good faith was owed to the Shaolin master and whether the Shaolin master could be held vicariously liable for the negligence of his apprentice.
In the spirit of tradition, the moot was held in two rounds on a single day during which mooters were required to prepare for both the Appellant and Respondent. The winners of the preliminary round were randomly assigned sides in the Grand Final.
The preliminary rounds were judged by experienced barristers Mr Abraham Chan (St Catherine's College) and Mr William Wong (Wadham College). The teams that made it to the Grand Final were Sebastian Ko (St Hilda's College) and Tiffany Chan (St Hugh's College) for the Appellant, and Mathias Cheung (Magdalen College) and Theo Taylor (Pembroke College) for the Respondent. The Grand Final was presided over by Professor Reyes of the University of Hong Kong, who was previously a judge of the Hong Kong High Court. After a battle of wit and composure, Mathias and Theo for the Respondent were named winners of the Competition. Participants and guests then enjoyed a sumptuous 10 course Chinese dinner.
Our sincere thanks go to Clifford Chance for their continuing sponsorship of the Competition, and the Oxford Law Faculty for their unfailing support on numerous fronts. We would especially like to thank Dr James Goudkamp for his generous support and his attendance at the Competition. We would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the mentors of the Competition, who are barristers in leading sets of chambers in Hong Kong – Christopher Chain, Keith Lam, Jeffrey Tam, and Ken Lee, who have added life to the Competition, as well as enriched participants’ experiences.
The organisers (l-r): Peter Chiu (Lady Margaret Hall), Eva Leung (Harris Manchester College), Dr William Wong SC (Wadham College), Justin Lam (Magdalen College), Professor Reyes Anselmo Trinidad, Dr James Goudkamp, Kerby Lau (University College), Ruby Chik (Harris Manchester College), Arthur Chan (St Hugh's College)
The participants (l-r): Stephen Hui (Representative of Clifford Chance Hong Kong), Dr William Wong SC (Wadham College), Ka Wai Mathias Cheung (Magdalen College), Theo Taylor (Pembroke College), Professor Reyes Anselmo Trinidad, Dr James Goudkamp, Tiffany Chan (St Hugh's College), Sebastian Ko (St Hilda's College), Vicky Leanna Wong (Magdalen College), Adrian Lee (St Catherine's College), Paul Lau (Queen's College), Harprabdeep Singh (St. Hilda's College)
Professor Reyes Anselmo Trinidad