12th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition
Palais des Nations
Geneva, Switzerland
7 - 11 December 2020
You are cordially invited to participate in the 12th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition, due to be held from 7 to 11 December 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).
Invitation
Invitation letter 2020 (English)Invitation letter 2020 (French)Invitation letter 2020 (Spanish)Invitation letter 2020 (Arabic)Invitation letter 2020 (Russian)Invitation letter 2020 (Chinese)The Competition will be held in English, French and Spanish.
About the Competition
The Competition is open to both undergraduate and master's degree students. A team of two students from each university is invited to participate. In the preliminary rounds, students submit heads of argument for a hypothetical case, which are assessed by a panel of experts.
The best 10 teams from each UN region are then invited to 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.
The eight best teams proceed to the quarterfinal rounds, which is presided over by judges from international courts and tribunals. The Competition is presented in English, French and in Spanish.
As part of the week-long Moot Competition, an Annual Nelson Mandela Human Rights Lecture is held. In 2019 the inaugural Annual Nelson Mandela Human Rights Lecture was held on 18 July. Retired Justice Albie Sachs – an apartheid struggle icon and former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa - delivered the lecture, along with H.E. Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In light of the postponement of the World Moot to December 2020 the second Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture will not be presented in 2020.
Animation of the case to be argued at the 12th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition (2020)
Additional Information
For more information, please contact the Nelson Mandela World Moot Court Competition Coordinator, Eduardo Kapapelo, preferably by email at eduardo.kapapelo@up.ac.za always with copy to Project Assistant Ana Teresa Khatounian at ana.khatounian@up.ac.za
Organised by
- Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria
- Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, American University, Washington College of Law and,
- United Nations Human Rights Council Branch (HRCB) at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
With the financial support of
- European Union through the Global Campus of Human Rights
- Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations Office and to the other international organisations in Geneva
- South African Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva and
- The Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSA) of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
