UiO was represented for the second time at the prestigious moot court competition organized by the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria in partnership with the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, American University, Washington College of Law and the Office of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights. The UiO team was among the universities from the ‘Western Europe and Others’ regional UN group selected to participate in the oral rounds of the Competition. Because of the pandemic, the oral rounds were organized online for the second year in a row.
The Nelson Mandela Moot Court Competition brings together students from universities worldwide to argue in writing and orally a hypothetical human rights case. A total of 38 teams that received the highest grades in the written memorandum were invited to participate in the oral rounds of the Competition, which were judged by panels of international human rights experts and practitioners.
In their written briefs and oral arguments, the UiO team comprising Ronny Tang and Nishant Sirohi argued on contemporary human rights issues, including the right to freedom of speech and expression, right to peaceful assembly, right to political participation, lockdown measures, and compulsory vaccination – in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team practised with coach, Professor Gentian Zyberi, in weekly meetings during the months of May and June. During the rehearsals, the team was trained to develop drafting skills and proficiency in the art of legal argumentation. Former participants, Eduardo Sánchez Madrigal and Carlos J. Calleja Ahmad, shared their experiences and asked incisive questions which helped the team in further improving their arguments on the complex human rights case.
Speaking on his experience at the Nelson Mandela Moot Court competition, Ronny Tang said, “The complexity of unravelling a scenario as such has allowed me to build a strong foundation for advocacy, especially in regards to international human rights law”.
His team member, Nishant Sirohi added that, “the opportunity to participate in the Nelson Mandela Moot Court Competition enhanced my experience in advocacy, legal research and drafting and helped me gain the confidence to prepare for real-life court proceedings”.