University of Pretoria final-year law student Nicholas Herd has been unanimously chosen as the national winner of the 2020 Yunus Mahomed Public Interest Award – Law/ Business/ Ethics National Prize.

Herd won with his article ‘Should the flag fit, or must we acquit?’ published in (2019) 13 Pretoria Student Law Review (PSLR) 130, a peer reviewed journal. “Drawing the line between hate speech and freedom of expression is topical and will remain so for many years as our constitutional democracy matures,” said Judge Dhaya Pillay, Founder of the Yunus Mahomed Public Interest Award, in her congratulatory letter to Herd.

During a virtual function planned for November 2020, Herd will receive an award consisting of a cash prize and certificate. Herd was also invited by Judge Pillay to lead a debate based on his article during this function. The function is organised by the sponsors, Kagiso Capital (Pty) Ltd and Kagiso Trust, of which Yunus Mahomed was a founding trustee.  

Herd’s other accomplishments include having been a member of several winning national and international mooting teams representing UP Law. He is the 2019/20 Chief Justice of the UP Constitutional Tribunal and member of the Editorial Board of the PSLR. 

Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Elsabe Schoeman, congratulated Herd on his achievement, adding that he “portrays distinct and evident promise of outstanding achievement in his career and life”.

“We are so happy for you and you have done our Law Faculty proud,” said Prof Schoeman.

Established in 2013, the Yunus Mahomed Public Interest Award for published articles on Public Interest Law and Business Ethics strives to encourage students to study and practice law in a manner that promotes the advancement of the public interest, transparency and accountability to cultivate and entrench democracy and best practices.