Young legal minds set for Geneva
- Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University
Aspiring international trade law students will represent the country when they meet their counterparts on 23 June at the WTO Headquarters in Geneva.
The team of five students, is heading to the , a prestigious, global simulated hearing of the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement system. This follows their stellar performance at the African Regional Round which took place in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in April. At the regionals, the team was awarded the Best Written Submissions for Complainant.
Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ies Arianna Lenghel, Matthias Lazarides, Olwethu Dikiso, Palesa Mampa and Kendal Wright are part of the top 24 teams from around the world that qualified to participate in the Final Oral Round, the Grand Final taking place from 23 - 27 June 2026. The competition is organised by the European Law Students' Association with technical support from the WTO since 2002.
An esteemed panel of trade law experts will preside over the Grand Final.
The team is coached Mxolisi Ngulube, a lecturer at the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ School of Law, whose primary research field is international trade law. Ngulube is also an alumnus of the John Jackson Moot, having been part of the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ team that finished second in African Regional Round of the 2015/16 edition of the competition.
As the Head of Moot at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½, Ngulube has coached several Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ teams to success. In the recent months, Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ law students have participated in the South African National Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, the oldest moot court competition in the world. Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ie Roxanne Mangauzani received the award for Best Speaker.
Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ies also participated for the first time in the 33rd edition of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (“Vis Moot”). The Vis Moot is a prestigious international competition designed to foster the study and practice of international commercial sales law and arbitration. In the previous (32nd) edition, over 120 teams from 80 countries participated.
In a challenge hosted by the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ School of Law and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ies marked a successful period of participation in local and international moot court competitions, by winning the sixth annual Public Interest Law Moot Court Competition.
Broader Legal Education
Ngulube says participating in these competitions is intellectually demanding and helps broadens students’ legal exposure.
“Students often encounter legal topics outside their regular coursework. Moot problems frequently involve novel or ambiguous questions, requiring students to think independently rather than rely on existing answers.”
Furthermore, the issues presented often span multiple areas of law, requiring students to apply different legal systems and principles to the same set of facts simultaneously. This contrasts with traditional teaching methods, where subjects are taught separately, and offers a more realistic view of legal practice, explains Ngulube.
These areas of law, including international law, space law, commercial arbitration and trade law, are increasingly important to South Africa’s development. Through exposure to these fields, students are better equipped to contribute meaningfully to the country’s legal, economic and policy needs.
He also praised the students’ commitment, noting that participation in moot court competitions adds a substantial workload on top of their academic responsibilities.
“All moots require both written submissions and oral advocacy. This can push students beyond their comfort zones, especially those who are less confident in public speaking, as oral rounds are intentionally rigorous and adversarial,” Ngulube.