The UPSA Law School has been announced as the host for the grand finale of the 2024 AfCFTA Moot Court competition to be held in Accra in November next year.
The announcement was made at the launch of the AfCFTA moot court competition at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on December 8, 2023.
The Moot Court Competition is a platform for advocacy and education on the trade rules under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The contest will bring together law students from across Africa to compete in simulated oral arguments before a panel of expert judges.
It also provides an opportunity for law students to test the trade rules that State parties will eventually contest under the dispute settlement mechanism of the AfCFTA.
Speaking at the launch of the competition, the Dean of the UPSA Law School, Prof. Ernest Kofi Abotsi, stated that the competition was a concerted effort to bring the youth of Africa under the AfCFTA.
He stressed that the AfCFTA’s success depends on the next generation’s preparedness to embrace the new regime.
Mr. Prudence Sebahizi, the head of the Directorate of Institutional Matters and Programs Coordination (DIMPC) at the AfCFTA Secretariat, urged law students across the continent to participate in the competition.
He said the competition will sharpen the knowledge of students and groom them into becoming international trade law experts who will lead the implementation of the AfCFTA in the future.
The regional rounds of the competition will be held across five regions in Africa, namely East Africa, West Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, and Central Africa.
The Moot Court competition is an initiative of the AfCFTA Secretariat with the UPSA Law School, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Independent Continental Youth Advisory Council on AfCFTA (ICOYACA) as partners.
