World Human Rights Moot Court Competition

The Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition is a moot court competition on international human rights law. In 2009, the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law's Centre for Human Rights, with the assistance of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, organised the inaugural edition. Previously, the oral rounds of the competition were held annually in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa.[1][2] In more recent years, the competition has been held in Geneva, where the United Nations is headquartered.[3]

More than pure aspirations, human rights are real rights that can be tested in courts of law. The World Human Rights Moot Court Competition is an exciting way for students from around the world to deepen their knowledge of rights and learn from each other.

— Navi Pillay,
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights[4]

Fletcher International Insolvency Law Moot

Established	2009
Venue	Geneva
Subject matter	International human rights
Class	Minor
Record participation	43 teams (2019)
Qualification	Regional rounds
Most championships	Norman Manley Law School (3)
Website	https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NelsonMandelaWorldHRMootCourt.aspx

Moot format

A select number of teams are chosen from each UN World Region

The earlier editions of the moot were held at the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law

The moot involves a written round after which teams are selected for the oral round. Teams argue a hypothetical case on issues of international human rights law in English, Spanish, or French as if it will be adjudicated by a hypothetical International Human Rights Court, on the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other applicable (such as regional) human rights instruments.[5]

The regional rounds are judged by distinguished legal academics and legal professionals from around the world. In the final for the international rounds, the panel is made up of eminent jurists and judges from international tribunals and bodies such as the different regional human rights courts and UN human rights treaty bodies. The inaugural presiding judge was Navi Pillay,[6][7] while Judge Mark Villiger of the European Court of Human Rights presided in the 2010 final.[8]

Previous overall winners (English rounds)

Year	Winner	Runner-up	Best Memorial	Best Oralist
2009[9]	None declared	None declared	None declared	None declared
2010[10]	Norman Manley Law School	University of Sydney	Ateneo de Manila University	Norman Manley Law School
2011[11]	Norman Manley Law School	Yale University	Ateneo de Manila University	Yale University
2012[12]	Norman Manley Law School[13]	University of Auckland	None declared	None declared
2013[14]	None declared	None declared	None declared	None declared
2014[15]	University of New South Wales[16]	University of Lucerne	University of New South Wales	University of New South Wales
2015[17]	University of São Paulo	Yale University	Symbiosis Law School	University of Buenos Aires
2016[18]	Patrick Henry College[19]	Moi University	None declared	None declared
2017[20]	St Thomas University	University of Buenos Aires	Midlands State University	Strathmore University
2018[21]	University of Buenos Aires	St Thomas University	Midlands State University	University of Oxford
2019[22]	University of Oxford	Macquarie University	None declared	University of Oxford

See also

• Moot court
• Centre for Human Rights
• African Human Rights Moot Court Competition
• South African National Schools Moot Court Competition
• Mock trial

References

1. http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12881&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html The first World Human Rights Moot Court Competition organized in South Africa. Retrieved November 12, 2009
2. http://www.polity.org.za/article/united-nations-world-human-rights-moot-court-competition-9-december-2009-2009-09-11 United Nations: World Human Rights Moot Court Competition (9 December 2009). Retrieved November 12, 2019
3. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NelsonMandelaWorldHRMootCourt.aspx
4. http://web.up.ac.za/sitefiles/image/47/moot_poster_1.jpg World Human Rights Moot Court Competition. Retrieved November 12, 2009
5. http://web.up.ac.za/sitefiles/file/47/About_eng_nnn.doc WORLD HUMAN RIGHTS MOOT COURT COMPETITION. Retrieved November 12, 2009
6. http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20091015165626200 World's first Human Rights Moot Court. Retrieved November 13, 2009
7. http://www.caleidoscop.org/Members/Marius/news-caleidoscop-2009/world-human-rights-moot-court-competition-pretoria-south-africa-9-december-2009 World Human Rights Moot Court Competition, Pretoria, South Africa, 9 December 2009. Retrieved November 13, 2009
8. http://web.up.ac.za/sitefiles/file/47/World%20Human%20Rights%20Moot%20Court%202010%20Judges(4).pdf World Human Rights Moot Court Competition 2010 Judges Retrieved 17 January 2011
9. http://web.up.ac.za/default.asp?ipkCategoryID=12520
10. http://web.up.ac.za/sitefiles/file/47/Media%20winner.pdf Results of 2009 World Human Rights Moot Court Competition, Pretoria, South Africa. Retrieved February 18, 2010
11. "Jamaica Observer Limited". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
12. https://www.chr.up.ac.za/archive/2012
13. http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20131211/lead/lead8.html
14. https://www.chr.up.ac.za/archive/2013
15. https://www.chr.up.ac.za/archive/2014
16. https://www.survivelaw.com/post/2053-unsw-wins-international-human-rights-moot
17. https://www.chr.up.ac.za/archive/2015
18. https://www.chr.up.ac.za/archive/2016
19. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2016-09-06/html/CREC-2016-09-06-pt1-PgE1189-3.htm
20. https://www.chr.up.ac.za/archive/2017
21. https://www.chr.up.ac.za/archive/2018
22. https://www.chr.up.ac.za/archive/2019

External links

• OHCHR – Official site of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
• CHR – Official site of the Centre for Human Rights