On the 1st of October 2022, the University of Pretoria (UP) Moot Society within the Faculty of Law, hosted its annual Moot Gala. The event was held to commemorate the Society’s achievements. The Gala was generously sponsored by Werksmans Attorneys.

The evening began with a celebration of UP Moot’s global success across several international moot competitions such as the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, Monroe E. Price Media Law Moot Court Competition and the Christof Heyns African Human Rights Moot, among many others. Where last year the University of Pretoria placed 2nd in South Africa, 2nd in Africa and 121st globally according to the NICA ranking system, this year’s achievements resulted in UP being anticipated to rank 1st in South Africa, 1st in Africa and 11th globally. This is a testament to the Society’s aim of becoming globally competitive and anchored by excellence.

Werksmans Attorneys also provided cash prizes to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place teams of the Society’s internal moot competitions. The winners of the First-Year League moot were Luthando Ntuli and Jacob Christoffels. These mooters displayed an outstanding standard of mooting at a first-year level. Winners of the Junior League moot Zakir Wazar and Oreniele Diphofa eloquently argued on behalf of the applicant in a case concerning a labour law dispute and restraint of trade.

Senior League winners Nyasha Jawa and Ditiro Thobejane impressed judges with their knowledge of international criminal law, relating to crimes against humanity. Members of the subcommittee were also praised for their efforts. Further, members of the internal competitions committee were awarded gift bags from Werkmans Attorneys as a thank-you for their contribution to the runnings of the Society throughout the year. Last, once the members of the outgoing executive committee were acknowledged for their hard work and dedication, the 2022/2023 executive committee was then inaugurated into office.