Sixteenth IRLM (2023)

The Sixteenth International Roman Law Moot was hosted by the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, from 19 to 23 April 2023 in Naples, the Parco del Pausilypon and Pozzuoli.

As signalled by the logo for the event, the libellus alluded to local culinary delicacies: the merchant captain Josephus sought from caupona-owner and celebrated chef Bryatorius damages in respect of food poisoning apparently suffered by the sailing crew, who ate a distinctive 'Eugenia' circular flatbread, topped with smoked cheese and basil. On this occasion, the dish was supplemented with anchovies from the Mare Rubrum that Josephus was transporting from Tyrus to Rome. The anchovies, given as the price of the meal at the inn, may or may not have suffered when the salt in which they were preserved was dissolved in a near-shipwreck off the coast of Campania; and one of the flatbreads covered in boiling cheese was spilled over Josephus's favourite slave in the course of a vibrant evening in Neapolis.

The preliminary and semi-final rounds of the competition were held in the Centro congressi di Ateneo on the esplanade of Naples, overlooking the Castel dell’Ovo. The Moot enjoyed the rare privilege of staging the Small and Grand Finals in the Odeon of the Villa of Vedius Pollio, a courtier of Augustus who constructed the Pausilypon, a sea-front leisure complex enjoying spectacular views of Naples, the Sorrento peninsula, Vesuvius and Capri.

The Sixteenth Moot was made possible by support from: the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II; the Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza; the Consorzio Interuniversitario G Boulvert; the Centro Interdipartimentale V. Arangio-Ruiz; LMS studio legale; the Municipality of Pozzuoli; the Parco Archeologico dei Campi Flegrei; the Parco Archeologico del Pausylipon; Banco Popolare di Torre del Greco; Brancaccio Costruzioni spa; Iurisprudentia, the Scuola di Magistratura; the Comitato Archeologico Rione Terra; and the Parco Archeologico di Baia.