South Africa’s top students will be gearing up for the first annual National Schools Moot Court Competition this month, which is aimed at increasing awareness of the Constitution amongst the country’s youth and preparing them for careers in the legal field.
Teams from four schools in each of the nine provinces – a total of 72 learners – have been selected to take part in this ground-breaking event about the Constitution and the values that it embodies through active participation.
The Universities of Pretoria, Venda and the Western Cape joined hands with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Department of Basic Education and the Foundation for Human Rights to make the Moot competition possible.
One of the objectives they are hoping to achieve through this competition is to provide a unique opportunity for learners to consider a possible career in law.
All secondary schools in South Africa have been invited to enter a team of two learners which are expected to write two short essays setting out the opposing sides of the cases for a panel of experts to evaluate.
After evaluation the best four submissions in each one of the nine provinces will be identified.
Legal professionals and law faculties countrywide have donated some of their time to help learners and educators in preparation for competition, happening on the 20th and 21st March.
The learners will play the role of the lawyers in a fictional court case dealing with constitutional issues on the 20th March. The four teams from each province will be paired against one another to determine the provincial winners at the University of Pretoria on that day.
The two winning provincial teams, who attained the highest scores, will compete against each other to determine an overall winning team in the final round, which will take place on the 21st March, National Human Rights Day, at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg.
“Whilst in recent years, we have faced the tremendous challenge of developing and adapting our law to bring it in line with our Constitution which reflects democratic values and a Bill of Rights that prioritises the protection of human rights, the rights enshrined in the Constitution would be hollow and empty if these rights are not realised through programmes and services. To do so people of all ages need to know their rights and obligations, ” said The Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr Andries Nel.
In agreement with the above, the Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Mr Enver Surty added that, “This initiative will be closely linked to the Bill of Rights and Obligations issued by the Department of Education”.
Article by SA – The Good News
