Law students from Africa qualify for final round of WTO Moot Court Competition
Seventeen African law students, including nine women and eight men, have qualified for the final oral round of the 15th European Law Students’ Association (ELSA), Moot Court Competition, according to a press release from the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) copied to ghanabusinessnews.com.
The competition according to the release is on the World Trade Organization (WTO) law and will be held at the WTO headquarters in Geneva from June 6 to 11, 2016.
The ELSA Moot Court Competition is an academic simulation of judicial procedures by law students, helping to foster their awareness and experience in international trade negotiations. It is also a forum for students to acquire practical experience on how to prepare and present legal arguments and how to debate current legal and social issues, it said.
The African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC), of the ECA sponsored the competing teams from Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda in the fourth African Regional Round of the ELSA Moot Court Competition from April 9 to 13, 2017, which was hosted by Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, it added.
It further noted that the ATPC has been supporting the competition since 2016 as part of its commitment and efforts in capacity-building. Ultimately, the initiative seeks to contribute to legal education, foster mutual understanding and promote social responsibility of law students and young lawyers in Africa.
“Through ECA’s support, African universities have an opportunity to grow in the knowledge of international trade law and WTO dispute settlement procedures; this should enhance capacity in Africa in the long term”. Mr. Melaku Desta, Principal Adviser in the Capacity Development Division of ECA was cited as saying in the report.
According to the ECA, this year’s winning teams are from Kenya (School of Law of Kenya; Strathmore University and Kabarak University) and South Africa: – University of the Witwatersrand.
They will compete against the finalists from the other regional rounds, i.e. the All-America, Asia-Pacific, and European regional rounds in Geneva, it said.
By Pamela Ofori-Boateng