“Participating in Gibbs has easily been a highlight of our time at ANU. The final moot for all of us – it was a joy to spend many late nights at the Law school diving into thorny constitutional questions, to be challenged by leading experts in constitutional law and to meet law students from across Australia," the team said.
The ANU Law School has proudly reached the Grand Final of the 2025 Sir Harry Gibbs Constitutional Law Moot, one of Australia’s most prestigious national mooting competitions. The ANU team, comprised of Aislinn D’Arcy, Daniel Marns, Felix Archibald and Maddy Sloan, competed against the University of Queensland in the final round, held at the High Court of Australia before the Honourable Justice Jayne Jagot (High Court of Australia) and Andrew Buckland KC (Chief General Counsel, Australian Government Solicitor).
Each year, the Sir Harry Gibbs Constitutional Law Moot challenges students to prepare submissions on a hypothetical case grounded in contemporary constitutional issues. This year’s problem, drafted by the current Solicitor-General Dr Stephen Donaghue KC, presented a complex and intellectually demanding scenario focused on whether the High Court had jurisdiction to review a decision of the Senate regarding the qualification of a member. It raised issues relating to the limits of executive action, government power, and parliamentary procedure.
On their experience, the team said:
“Participating in Gibbs has easily been a highlight of our time at ANU. The final moot for all of us – it was a joy to spend many late nights at the Law school diving into thorny constitutional questions, to be challenged by leading experts in constitutional law and to meet law students from across Australia.
We are extremely grateful to Andrew Ray for his immeasurable expertise and support, to everyone who volunteered their time to judge practice moots and to Will Massey and the LSS for their seamless organisation.”
The ANU team was commended for their exceptional oral advocacy, high-quality written submissions, and depth of legal research, with the team receiving the prize for the best defendant submissions and breaking first following the preliminary rounds. Their preparation involved engaging with constitutional caselaw and statutes dating back to the 1600s and 1700s – demonstrating both scholarly rigour and a deep understanding of Australia’s legal foundations.
In addition to their academic excellence, the ANU team were also recognised for their collegiality and professionalism, receiving praise for their welcoming engagement with fellow competitors.
ANU Law alumnus Andrew Ray (LLB (Hons),BSc ’20 - Visiting Fellow, ANU Law School), who coached the team, said:
“Competitions, such as the Gibbs Constitutional Law Moot, provide students with a unique opportunity to delve into complex issues in a real-world setting and see how what they learn at law school can be used in practice. The team excelled this year, with all students speaking as both plaintiff and defendant and engaging in some very complex constitutional issues – it is not every day that students get to debate issues raised by the Solicitor-General in front of a High Court judge and the Commonwealth’s pre-eminent constitutional law expert.
I was particularly impressed with how the team worked together in preparing for the competition, by providing each other feedback on arguments that could be improved and new research they had come across. This depth of preparation was demonstrated throughout the competition, with the team handling difficult questions from their benches which, in addition to the grand final, included Guy Aitken KC (LLB (Hons) ‘84, former Chief General Counsel), Ben Ye (University Medal in Law, 2018, and current Counsel-Assisting the Victorian Solicitor-General) and Prue Bindon (University Medal in Law, 2002, Barrister at Key Chambers and lecturer at ANU).”
This year also marked a significant milestone, as ANU hosted the Gibbs Moot for the first time. Organised by the ANU Law Students' Society (LSS) and led by Will Massey, in partnership with the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS), the event showcased the ANU Law’s leadership in legal education and its role as the national law school. The Law School extends its sincere thanks to the LSS for their outstanding efforts in delivering a professionally run and intellectually rigorous competition.