UCU Emerges Winner of the First Court 'Moot' Competition.
Uganda Christian\r\nUniversity Mukono (UCU) emerged as the winner of the inaugural inter-university\r\nconstitutional law court moot. A\r\ncourt moot is a law school activity during which students participate in the\r\npreparation and arguing of cases in front of Judges.
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The case and the parties\r\n(appellant and respondent) are chosen beforehand, and students are given a set\r\nperiod of time to prepare for the eventual argument. Moot court involves\r\nappellate cases as opposed to those at the trial level, which are often called\r\n"mock trials”. The Judges are usually\r\nlaw professors, attorneys from the community, and even members of the Judiciary.
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In Uganda, moot courts\r\nare usually done at Law Development Centre but the weekend’s inter-university\r\nconstitutional law moot was the first to be conducted by undergraduate students\r\nat university level.
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During the event\r\nstudents were tasked to argue out an imagined scenario where an unborn baby\r\nappealed against a Constitutional Court ruling that had dismissed its case in\r\nwhich it had sued the government for failing to supply folic acid to its\r\nmother, thus denying it a right to good health. UCU second year law students; Mr.\r\nEmmanuel Tumuhaise and Ms. Angella Twebaza took on the role of lawyers\r\npresenting the appellants (unborn child) while KIU law students; Mr. Korill\r\nKipron and Mr. Frank Kwesiga took on the part of lawyers representing the\r\nrespondent (Attorney General).
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\r\nKampala International University was the runner up. Other universities that\r\nparticipated in the competitions included: Makerere University, Busoga University,\r\nSt Augustine International University and Nkumba University. The competitions\r\nwere held at St Augustine International University in Bunga, Kampala.
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Retired High Court Judge Hon. Justice Patrick\r\nTabaro was the ‘chief justice’ and part of his role was also to announce the\r\nwinner of the competition.
Posted 17th, February 2014
