The students prepared submissions on the admissibility of illegally obtained intercept evidence and whether a confession based on this should be excluded. There was the added difficulty that it was only revealed to the team shortly before, which side they would be arguing, requiring them to think quickly on their feet.
Although they did not make it through to the quarter- finals, it was a narrow miss, with the Bristol team coming 10th out of the 23 institutions. Both students felt they learnt a lot and feel better able to deal with judicial intervention in the future. Overall it was a great experience and one they would highly recommend to others.
Dr Eirik Bjorge commented:
“I was pleased to be involved as judge in the Inner Temple Inter-Varsity Moot this year. I was impressed with the cool calm with which the Bristol team went from one round to the next — Ella and Mayank are clearly learned counsel in the making!”