NELSON R MANDELA SCHOOL OF LAW STUDENT COURT SOCIETY
The Students Court involves both mock-trials and moot court competitions.
Why Should I Join Moot Court?
Legal employers, particularly large law firms, love students who have participated in Moot Court. Why?
Because students on Moot Court have spent many hours perfecting the legal analytical, research, and writing skills that practicing attorneys must have. With Moot Court on your resume, an employer knows that you have been learning to form and communicate legal arguments for a year or more; if you've already spent a lot of time in law school on these tasks, that's less time the firm will have to invest in your learning and more time you can spend practicing law.
Even if you're not thinking of a job at a large firm, Moot Court can be quite useful as you'll become increasingly more comfortable formulating arguments and expressing them in front of judges�essential skills for any attorney. If you feel that your public speaking skills need some work, Moot Court is a great place to hone them.
On a more personal level, participating in Moot Court can also provide a unique bonding experience for you and your team and give you a mini-support system during law school.
DESCRIPTION
The Students Court involves both mock-trials and moot court competitions. It is popularly known as “moot court” society. Mock-trials are more practical in the sense that they bring the court set up closer to the law students whom most of them are going to be officers of the court. These trial sessions allow law students to be more confident; to acquire the art of reasoning, presenting an opinion, legal drafting and most importantly to acquire the culture of eloquence (ability and confidence to speak in public and able to express your ideas and opinions well in a way that influences people) a trait that most individuals are not born with. Students also get the opportunity to interact with experienced legal practitioners since they are invited to preside over the mock trial cases or hypothetical cases for moot. Also lecturers do preside during their free time. Participating students will also be able to represent the University at various invitational tournaments/competitions which take place both at national and global level. Furthermore it encourages and motivates law students to consider career in litigation. Currently we meet twice a week for trials.
THE VISION
Our vision is a just world in which there is respect for human dignity and cultural diversity. Contributing to legal education and promoting Human Rights awareness are among the central aims of our society. We aim to achieve this through various academically focused projects and events. In the process providing opportunities for law students to apply theory in practice and to learn about other legal systems,
OBJECTIVES/MISSION
1. To promote increased confidence, poise, oral skills, critical thinking skills and
teamwork skills, plus increase proficiency in basic skills such as reading, writing,
speaking, analysing and reasoning, and interpersonal skills such as listening and
cooperating.
2. To give students a better understanding of the legal system - from the rules of
evidence to proper court decorum. This increases their awareness of the importance of
law in a democratic society and strengthens understanding of their fundamental rights under the S.A Law and Its Constitution. .
3. Provide a hands-on experience outside (or inside) the LECTURER ROOM from which
students can learn about law, society, and themselves. To offer students an opportunity
to think about how society resolves its disputes and to measure the fairness of those
decisions,
4. To reinforce and put into practice what is leant in class. This will also result in increased confidence among students and inevitably results in increased participation in class.
5. To prepare law students who will participate on behalf of the university at various competitions both at national and international level.
“The goal is not to win for the sake of winning, but to learn and understand the meaning of good citizenship in our democracy. In this sense, all students who participate will be winners!”
