College Moot

Each year, four first-year Law students take part in the College moot. Our alumnus and Honorary Fellow, President of the Wadham College Law Society and a distinguished former judge, Sir Tim Holroyde (Law, 1973), kindly agreed to judge this year’s moot.

This year, the moot was a criminal law problem on the partial defence of diminished responsibility. On the appellants team were Rhydian Waters (Senior Counsel) and Samyuktha Kovilakath (Junior Counsel), and on the respondents team were Findlay Ayers (Senior Counsel) and Yogansh Phadke (Junior Counsel). The respondents were the winning team. Rhydian was selected as the best speaker, and Findlay was chosen for the best written submissions.

The moot was organised by our Law Society Fellow, Anirudh Belle, and President and Mooting Officer of the Wadham College Law Society Student Committee, Owen Watson and Sherrie Lau.

Dr Belle said:

"Many congratulations to all the students who participated in this year’s Wadham College Law Society Moot. The standard of advocacy was exceptionally high, and all participants approached the competition with impressive diligence, skill, and professionalism. Special congratulations, of course, to the winners on a thoroughly deserved success.

The event was made possible by the excellent work of the WCLS Student Committee, whose organisation, attention to detail, and professionalism ensured that the Moot ran seamlessly from start to finish.

Above all, we are deeply grateful to Sir Tim Holroyde for generously giving his time to judge the competition. His careful engagement with the students’ arguments, thoughtful feedback, and encouragement made the event a tremendously valuable learning experience for everyone involved. It was a privilege for the College and the Society to welcome him back to Wadham for this year’s Moot."