African Human Rights Moot Court Competition


The African Human Rights Moot Court Competition is an international moot court competition with a special focus on human rights in Africa. The competition is organised by the Centre for Human Rights, based at the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law in South Africa. Each year, the competition is hosted by a Law Faculty from a different African country. Since its inception in 1992, the competition has had 845 participant teams originating from 125 universities from 45 African countries.
The competition is tri-lingual and preliminary rounds are argued in English, French and Portuguese. Students argue a hypothetical human rights case and base their arguments on the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The final round is argued by two teams made up of the best three Anglophone teams, two Francophone teams and one Lusophone team. The final round is judged by prominent African and international jurists.

Recognition

The African Human Rights Moot Court has been described as the largest gathering of law students and lecturers on the African continent. The Centre for Human Rights was awarded the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education in 2006 and the African Human Rights Moot Court received a special mention as it is one of the flagship programmes of the Centre.

Historical overview

YearLocationWinnerRunner-up
1992Harare, ZimbabweUniversity of Pretoria University of Natal
1993Lusaka, ZambiaUniversity of Witwatersrand University of Natal
1994Kwaluseni, SwazilandUniversity of Natal University of Cape Town
1995Pretoria, South AfricaRand Afrikaans University
Makerere University
University of Pretoria
University of Ghana
1996Oujda, MoroccoUniversity of Pretoria
University of Nairobi
Université Hassan II, Casablanca
University of Port Elizabeth
University of Ghana
Université de Côte d’Ivoire
1997Kampala, UgandaUniversity of the Witwatersrand
Makerere University
University of Pretoria
Université du Bénin
1998Maputo, MozambiqueUniversidade Eduardo Mondlane
University of Botswana
University of Cape Town
Université du Bénin
1999Abidjan, Côte D'IvoireUniversité de Cocody
University of Nairobi
University of the Witwatersrand
Université de la Réunion
2000Accra, GhanaUniversité Catholique d’Afrique Centrale
University of Ghana
University of the Witwatersrand
Université du Caire
2001Pretoria, South AfricaUniversité Tunis III
Makerere University
University of Pretoria
Université Bouake
2002Cairo, Egypt fromUniversity of Nairobi
Universite de la Reunion
University of Pretoria
Universite Mohamed
2003Yaounde, CameroonUniversity of Cocody
University of Natal
University of Nairobi
University of Dschang
2004Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaUniversité Abomey Calavi
University of Pretoria
Université Marien Ngouabi
University of Nairobi
2005Johannesburg, South AfricaUniversity of Cocody
University of Cape Town
American University of Cairo
Université Mohammed Ier
2006Addis Ababa, EthiopiaGaston Berger University
University of the Witwatersrand
University of Malawi
Université du Caire
2007Dakar, SenegalUniversity of the Free State
Université Libre de Kinshasa
University of Ilorin
Université Catholique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest
2008Pretoria, South AfricaUniversity of Pretoria
University of Ghana
Eduardo Mondlane University
Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis
Université Mohammed Premier
University of Lagos
2009Lagos, NigeriaUniversity of Ghana
Université de Dschang
Universidade Eduardo Mondlane
University of Cape Town
Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis
Universidade Zambeze
2010Cotonou, BeninUniversité de Cocody
University of Namibia
Rhodes University
Universite d'Abomey-Calavi
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
University of Lagos
2011Pretoria, South AfricaUniversity of Pretoria
Université de Cocody
Universidade Eduardo Mondlane
University of Cape Town
Universite Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis
Agostinho Neto University