The Faculty of Law (UP Law) at the University of Pretoria (UP) proudly announces and congratulates its UP Moot Society’s team who prepared for a period of almost seven months for their maiden participation in the 2020/2021 Monroe E Price Media Law Moot Court Competition (Price Team) during April 2021.  UP Law’ Price Team won against the University of Malaysia in the final regional rounds, emerging as regional winners, and was placed first for memorials. To top it all, UP Law’s Julia Tosi ranked as second best oralist. Due to the nature of the Price, even though UP Law beat Malaya in the regionals, they also proceeded to the international rounds, where they and UP Law went up against different teams with different judges, and thus UP Law did not compete against them again. The UP Law team competed in the International rounds of this Grand Slam moot and made UP Law very proud, attaining an average of 83%.

Proud coach Kyle Cloete reports as follows on the Competition:

“The 2021 Monroe E. Price Media Moot Court Competition was UP Law’s first acquaintance with the Price. It was a great competition and an honour to participate in one of the world’s grand slam moot court competitions. On our way to the international rounds, we finished as the African regional winners beating the University of Malaya in the final, as well as winning the Best Memorial and Second Best Speaker overall.

At internationals, the Price Team competed against the 30 best teams globally, achieving convincing scores across the board. The team extends its gratitude to UP Law and the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa for its generous support. Our special thanks to the late Professor Christof Heyns; the competition itself would not have been possible without him.

Dindendri Pillay remarks that ‘Being a co-coach for the Price Media team was an extremely valuable journey. Few things are more fulfilling than witnessing the development of a team, enthusiastic to work hard and sacrifice the time it takes to make a great moot. Having to grapple with such nuanced and topical issues about Freedom of Expression and Assembly during a health crisis was especially interesting. I am truly grateful for all of the shared moments with the team.

Sometime between the singing through the nerve-wracking minutes before a round and shouting with joy at the realisation of winning regionals, a solid bond was formed between these outstanding people. I am incredibly proud and privileged to have been a part of such a great team.”

According to Lauren Webber, ‘The Price was a whirlwind of an experience. Not only did I learn vast amounts of International Law, but I also learnt more about myself. It was a challenging, but phenomenal journey and proved to be very rewarding. I have grown as an individual and mooter, and cumulated noteworthy skills and knowledge to assist me moving forward. I can only imagine how extraordinary it would have been to travel to and interact with different countries and I wish all future UP participants to experience that.  Nevertheless, I am beyond grateful for my team and the entire escapade that was Price Media.’

Julia Tosi recalls, ‘Price media has simultaneously been the most rewarding and enjoyable experience as well as the most challenging one!  This team has pushed me beyond my limits - in the best way possible. I truly believe that we have all grown, not only as mooters, but also as people. The personal growth and reflection required during a moot is like nothing I have ever experienced.

This moot has truly been unique in that way. Being online and facing a plethora of new challenges, I believe Price has developed each of us as people! I am beyond grateful to have had this experience with this team!’

Researcher Heinrich Nienaber notes that ‘In late October of 2020, our Price Media team took off with our journey into the world of International Law. In the midst of a tumultuous academic semester, we were scrambling through the internet, reading treaties, United Nations General Comments and Special Rapporteur reports, as well as searching for the golden nuggets in International Cases. In the centre of this vast legal landscape of International Law, sources were the facts of the case, and of course, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Enshrined in this Covenant, are the rights to Freedom of Expression and Freedom to Peaceful Assemble, respectively. These are rights that so many around the world cannot enjoy, and rights that so many Governments stubbornly infringe upon.

Looking back at the nearly seven months we spent forming arguments, doing research, fixing up footnotes, rehearsing oral rounds and formulating answers to potential questions from the Judges, I now realize that the 2020/2021 Price Media Moot was about so much more than just Xana and the Union and their Izedian conundrum. At the heart of it all, were the fundamental rights of human beings around the globe, rights that all people should enjoy, and rights that all governments should guarantee. In our team, Price Media has instilled a passion for International Law, a steadfast belief in civil and political rights and a burning hope that every country will recognise these rights as fundamental to a just and fair society.’

Coach Cloete concludes “The Price Media moot court competition was a rich and rewarding experience for the whole team. The knowledge and experience gained made every sleepless night and challenging argument worth it. It is our sincere hope that this is only the beginning of UP Law’s journey in this illustrious competition.”

In the words of Tosi, ‘UP moot is the most amazing UP society to be involved in and represent as evidenced by the Price Team, consisting of mooters and UP Moot Executive Committee members alike. Kyle Cloete, being the Head of Junior League, Dinendri Pillay, Head of Social Media and our two oralists, Julia Tosi and Lauren Webber, respectively Chair and Vice-Chair of the UP Moot Society’s Executive Committee.  Regrettably, team mate Heinrich Nienaber, our researcher, was COVID positive during the rounds and does not feature in photos.  However, he remained committed to the team throughout the week, joining us daily via Zoom!  And of course, our congratulations to the winners of the Price, the National Law School of India University, Bangalore.’

A very proud Dean Professor Elsabe Schoeman congratulated the Price team, expressing her pride and satisfaction with their maiden performance. ‘The peer training of mooters in UP Law remains highly effective and a feather in the cap of all previous and current mooters.  Transferring skills from generation to generation is key.  Not only does it prepare and motivate our students for the actual work world, but it also inspires and motivates our students that they do not have to bow the knee to any of their local or international counterparts.  The proof is in the UP Law mooting legacy – reaping the harvest from the past and planting the mooting seeds for tomorrow’.

The Competition is coordinated and hosted by the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford.  According to the Price website, ‘The competition aims to foster and cultivate interest in freedom of expression issues and the role of the media and information technologies in societies around the world. It was established by the Programme in Comparative Media Law & Policy at the University of Oxford in 2008.’

Click here for a full breakdown of the results of this competition.