Law Students Shine at 52nd Ellie Newman Moot Court Competition

BY: .

The 52^nd Ellie Newman Moot Court Competition, held on 3 October 2024, showcased the exceptional academic abilities of final-year LLB students.

Named after its founder, the late Professor Ellie Newman QC, the Ellie Newman Moot Court Competition aims to prepare students for courtroom procedures and litigation. Hosted under the auspices of the LLM and MPhil in Child Care and Protection programme, this year’s theme was: “Parental Alienation and the Best Interests of the Child” drafted by a team of children’s rights specialists, led by Professor Brigitte Clark, an honorary research Fellow in the School of Law.

Parental alienation is a complex issue, where one parent in a custody battle is accused of turning the child against the other parent. This year’s case involved a father who claimed that the mother was alienating their children from him. The father requested a psychological assessment of the children to support his claim, which raised difficult questions about the best interests of the children.

The competition featured students, Ms Alex Louter and Ms Nobuhle Mzobe, representing the appellant; while Ms Alka Januk and Mr Nikhil Somaru represented the respondent. Both teams displayed impressive skills, advocating their positions showing thorough preparation and sound legal arguments.

The Dean of the School of Law, Professor Freddy Mnyongani, highlighted the competition’s long-standing tradition of excellence. ‘For 52 years, we have stayed true to Professor Ellie Newman’s vision of preparing students for the legal field. Tonight, we witness a reflection of intellectual curiosity and a passion for justice,’ he said. ‘To our finalists, congratulations on reaching this milestone. Your dedication has earned you a place among the best,’ he added.

Presiding over this year’s competition were Child Care and Protection experts Mr Anand Maharaj, Acting Regional Court President, KwaZulu-Natal Regional Division; Ms Hlengiwe Mkhasibe, Acting Senior Magistrate, Point Branch Court - Region 6 Durban; and Advocate Mary O’Gorman, Principal Family Advocate, Office of the Family Advocate, KwaZulu-Natal Regional Division.

Maharaj praised participants for their impressive display. ‘Both teams were well-prepared and courageous, and although there can only be one winner, all did an excellent job,’ he said. His sentiments were echoed by Mkhasibe, who shared how impressed she was with the students’ oratory skills.

Mzobe, from Inanda, north of Durban, was announced as the winner of the competition. Expressing her excitement, Mzobe said: ‘I am incredibly appreciative of the opportunity. For me, this competition was more about the experience and exposure than the winning itself. However, I am thrilled to have won, and the support of my teammate Alex was crucial. We worked well together. ‘Being the first Law graduate and Ellie Newman winner in my family is an honour. My name will be on the University’s Wall of Fame, and my family is incredibly proud,’ she said.

The Moot Court competition, however, was not just about advocacy skills, but also about tackling real-life legal challenges. The case discussed during the event revolved around a divorce where the father “V” appealed against the decision to award primary care of his children to their mother “L”. The father accused the mother of parental alienation, claiming she had poisoned the children’s minds against him. 

He requested an expert psychologist to assess the children, believing they suffered from Parental Alienation Syndrome. The court, however, found no evidence of alienation and ruled that the children should primarily live with their mother, with regular contact granted to the father.

In appealing against the court’s decision, V argued that the original court failed to consider his claim and the need for psychological assessments. The globally contentious issue of parental alienation syndrome captured in the moot problem allowed students to debate these complex issues, demonstrating a deep understanding of the law and its real-world impact.

The competition this year was hosted by the LLM and MPhil in Child Care and Protection, an interdisciplinary postgraduate programme established in 2000 by retired Professors Noel Zaal and Carmel Matthias.

Programme Coordinator, Professor Willene Holness remarked that in this postgraduate programme, ‘inter-professionalism is fostered of less familiar disciplines and learning both conceptual and practical knowledge in working in fields related to child care and protection. The interpersonal skills learnt by students from the LLM programme is vital as lawyers are not typically taught on how best to counsel their clients, nor do they easily gain the cultural competency needed to do so appropriately. Furthermore, the contextual understanding of other disciplines such as education, social work and criminology is important for lawyers including family and criminal lawyers. The legal conceptual skills learnt in the MPhil programme assist social workers and other professionals to appropriately apply laws and policies and advocate for their clients’ rights within the legal system, and also outside of it in other community spaces.’

Holness further remarked that: ‘Whilst our programme is housed in the School of Law, our continued success is due to the expert collaboration with colleagues from the Discipline of Social Work in the School of Applied Human Sciences. To them, we give our immense gratitude for ensuring that lawyers (and non-lawyers) are taught developmentally appropriate ways of think of and dealing with children in a legal context.’

The Ellie Newman Moot Court Competition continues to be a platform where future legal professionals can refine their skills, debate challenging topics and strive for academic excellence.

Words: NdabaOnline

Photographs: Albert Hirasen