Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition (2023)

LogoThe Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition is organised around 18 July every year, Nelson Mandela’s birthday. Its aim is, in particular, to involve universities and young people from regions of the world that are less involved with the United Nations human rights system, to encourage greater engagement. The Competition is designed to enhance North-South collaboration around the question of human rights. It endeavours to develop a forum for debate and discussion on key human rights topics, and to promote interaction between different legal systems across the world. The Competition is presented in English, French and Spanish.

Current edition: Between Cabudura and Mr. Letters Focus versus Varanus Islands before the Komodoen Human Rights Court. Materials for the current edition are available on the Competition website. This year’s competition will be the 15th edition, to be held in a hybrid format, with the in-person final rounds scheduled to take place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland from 17 – 21 July 2023 and the preliminary virtual rounds (online) scheduled to take place from 20 – 27 May 2023.

In order to contribute to the preparation by participants in the Competition, the Codification Division has compiled resources available on the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law (AVL) for the 2023 edition of the Competition. Students will be able to draw on the resources available on the AVL website, including the Lecture Series and the Mini-Series, together with the related materials used in the preparation of lectures, the Historic Archives, as well as the International Law Handbook.


Lecture Series

The Lecture Series contains a permanent collection of lectures of enduring value on virtually every subject of international law delivered by leading international law scholars and practitioners from different regions, legal systems, cultures and sectors of the legal profession. Each lecture is accompanied by a list of related materials linking to documents available online. Lectures are available in video and audio formats.

A. Arms Control and Disarmament
B. Courts and Tribunals
C. Environmental Law
D. Health and Science
E. Human Rights

Children

Civil and Political Rights

History

Human Rights Bodies - Introduction

Indigenous Peoples

Internally Displaced Persons

Living Standard and Health

Racial Discrimination

Regional Perspectives

Reparations

Treaties

F. International Law
G. International Migration Law
H. Law of Armed Conflict

Mini-Series

The Mini-Series is a series of lectures delivered by leading international law scholars which aims to provide a general overview of the core topics of international law, primarily intended for users with basic or little knowledge of international law. Each mini-series provides a comprehensive introduction of the concerned topic and presents key issues for further study, which are often covered by specialized lectures in the Lecture Series.

A. International Environmental Law

International Environmental Law
Ms. Edith Brown Weiss

  • Part I - International Environmental Law in Context

  • Part II - Sources of International Environmental Law

  • Part III - Principles of International Environmental Law (Section 1/2)

  • Part III - Principles of International Environmental Law (Section 2/2)

  • Part IV - Legal Approaches to Controlling Pollution and Conserving Natural Resources and Fresh Water

  • Part V - Liability, Accountability and Compliance with International Environmental Law

B. International Human Rights Law

Droit international des droits de l’homme
Mme Hélène Tigroudja

  • Partie I - Introduction en droit international des droits de l’homme

  • Partie II - Les sources hybrides du droit international des droits de l'homme

  • Partie III - Les mécanismes de protection et de mise en œuvre
    des droits de l'homme

  • Partie IV - L’herméneutique du droit international des droits de l'homme

  • Partie V - La mise en œuvre des droits de l’homme en droit interne
C. International Humanitarian Law

International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law
Mr. Marco Sassòli

  • Part I - Introduction to International Humanitarian Law

  • Part II - The Field of Application of International Humanitarian Law: International and Non-International Armed Conflicts

  • Part III - International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law

Le droit international humanitaire
M. Yves Sandoz

  • Partie I - Le droit international humanitaire : des origines à la Seconde Guerre mondiale

  • Partie II - Les Conventions de Genève de 1949 et leurs protocoles additionnels

  • Partie III - Le droit international humanitaire : développements récents et perspectives d’avenir

Historic Archives

The Historic Archives is a unique resource which contains significant international law instruments. Each entry contains an introduction to a particular instrument prepared by a scholar or practitioner with expertise on the subject, information on its procedural history and related documents, as well as the text and status of the instrument. It is accompanied by available audiovisual materials relating to the negotiation and adoption of the instrument at meetings or diplomatic conferences.

A. Disarmament
B. Human Rights
C. Refugees and Stateless Persons

International Law Handbook

The International Law Handbook is a collection of instruments used by the Codification Division as study materials for its training courses under the Programme of Assistance. It is intended to be used as a general work of reference. It comprises four books, available free of charge on the AVL website: