The Centre of Human Rights invites candidates to participate in the 12th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition, due to be held from 13 to 17 July 2020, in Palais des Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland. The Competition is presented by the Centre for Human Rights based at the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, in partnership with the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Washington College of Law, American University and the United Nations Human Rights Council Branch (HRCB) at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The best 10 teams from each UN region will participate in the pre-final, quarter-final, semi-final and final rounds of the Competition in Geneva. Teams then have to argue the two sides of the hypothetical case, representing, alternatively, both the Applicant and the Respondent before a ‘bench’ of human rights experts.

Eligibilities

The Competition is open to both undergraduate and master’s degree students. However, the participating team must be of two students from each university. In the preliminary rounds, students submit heads of argument for a hypothetical case, which are assessed by a panel of experts. Furthermore, candidates must have fluent in either English, French or Spanish.

Each year students who wish to participate in the Competition submit written legal arguments for the two opposing sides in a fictional dispute involving some of the burning contemporary human rights issues. The ten teams from each of the five UN regions with the highest scores for the written arguments are then invited to participate in the final, oral rounds in Geneva, where they argue the case before eminent international jurists, including judges from international tribunals.

Funding 

Limited financial assistance is available for this program but however will be enough to cover the accommodation and food expenses of the participants.

Click this link to see more information about the 12th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition 2020.