18th African Human Rights Moot Court Competition

The competition simulated the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which was recently established by the African Union for the African continent. The theme this year was arguing the rights for minority groups as enshrined in the African Charter.

The Competition was officially opened in the main Auditorium of the University of Lagos, by Nigeria’s Attorney-General, Justice Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa on behalf of Nigeria’s Vice-President, Goodluck Jonathan. UNILAG's Department of Dramatic Arts entertained the audience with an exhilarating performance of music, dance and drama, centered on a human rights theme.

The four preliminary rounds were conducted in French, English and Portuguese over two days in the lecture rooms of the Faculty of Humanities, with each team arguing in a separate court in their own language before panels of judges comprised of faculty representatives. Each team was required to argue twice for the Applicant and twice for the Respondent.

Thursday was allocated to relaxation. Students and faculty representatives were treated to a visit to the Oba's Palace in Lagos where they met with His Royal Majesty Alaiyeluwa Oba Riliwanu Babatunde Osuolale Aremu Akiolu, the Oba of Lagos, who welcomed them and took them on a tour of the palace. Then the entire group headed for Akoda beach where they had lunch and relaxed playing a variety of games on the sand before being attracted to the dance floor by the throbbing African music.

Friday and Saturday kept everyone very busy. The audience was entertained by performances by short-listed candidates who had submitted scripts in English, French and Portuguese.

The Conference on International Law and Human Rights Litigation in Africa also took place, with papers being presented by a large number of delegates from across the continent. In addition, a training course was presented for International Law in Domestic Courts (ILDC) reporters and those interested in becoming ILDC reporters.

The highlight of the week, however, definitely took place on Saturday, 15 August, in the main Auditorium of the University of Lagos, when the top two English teams, the top two French teams, and the top two Portuguese-speaking teams merged to form two new combined teams of six students each in the final round. Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, presided over a panel of eminent jurists which included Justice Awa Nana Daboya, President of the Court of Justice of ECOWAS, represented by Mr Yusuf Danmadami, Advocate Reine Alapini Gansou, Member of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Prof Mamadou Badji, Director of the Centre des Relations Internationales et de la Francophonie, Mrs Ayo Obe, Member of the Board of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, and Dr David Padilla, Former Assistant Executive Secretary, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

In a closely contested final round, the team appearing for the Applicant, viz., the University of Ghana, the University de Dschang from Cameroon, and Eduardo Mondlane University from Mozambique, were declared the winners. The Respondents and runners-up were represented by the University of Cape Town, Gaston Berger de St Louis of Senegal, and the University of Zambeze from Mozambique.

The week’s proceedings were concluded on Saturday evening with a banquet at the Sheraton Hotel and Sunday, 16 August, saw everyone heading for home, with friendships having been forged and contact details exchanged. The general consensus was definitely that the 18th African Human Rights Moot Court Competition had been a major success.

By Ofentse Mothlasedi


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