Hemal Heeralal, a final year law student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg, gave off his best at a recent Child Law Moot competition and ended up winning best overall speaker. In addition, he and fellow law student Raeesah Bester secured third-place in the competition held at the University of Pretoria.
The competition brought together students from 14 universities from across South Africa, who competed in a series of rounds.
A Moot Court is a form of legal education that involves researching, writing, and presenting oral arguments on a given legal issue or problem.
The term “Moot” means “open to discussion”, and reflects the fact that Moot court cases are usually based on unsettled or controversial areas of law.
In a Moot there are sides both for and against each side of the case, which makes it arguable from both sides depending on how you structure it.
The students' argument focused on the sentencing of juvenile offenders and the applicability of parole. This was done before judges, attorneys, and advocates, who specialise in child law.
“Our motion to be addressed pertained to the sentencing of children in conflict with the law (juvenile offenders) to child and youth care centres and whether or not the option of granting parole should be applicable for them," said Heeralal.
"The argument largely dealt with the Child Justice Act and the enforcement of children’s rights. The competition required us to argue both for and against the motion in the preliminary rounds as well as the semi-finals"
Heeralal said he gave off his best during the presentation of oral arguments.
"And I am grateful that the judges in all the rounds acknowledged my talents and skills, and I won best overall speaker."
The 23-year-old said entrance into the competition was done by the UKZN School of Law.
He said they were selected among the best law students in their degree to represent the university. There were preliminary selections to which they were chosen for the competition.
Heeralal, who is currently in the final year of his LLB degree, said they competed against the University of Cape Town in the semi-finals, where they placed third overall.
He added both he and Bester were able to capitalise on their strengths and uplifted each other to understand, discuss and address tough concepts in the presentation of arguments.
"The lecturers who coached us were integral in making this result happen as well."
In addition to his studies, Heeralal is a Sensei (karate instructor), co-founder and head instructor of the Wild Tigers International Karate Academy alongside his brother.
He said he was a multiple Shotokan World Karate Champion and a former KZN and SA champion.
Heeralal added that would explore all aspects of the law, since the legal field was diverse.
"I’ll take each step of the journey as it comes."
Bester, who was named among the GradStar Top 500 in both 2023 and 2024, said the competition was initially daunting.
“However, those feelings quickly faded as I immersed myself in the process. The insights I gained from observing other teams’ approaches and strategies were invaluable, and the camaraderie that developed among everyone involved made the experience special,” she said.
Regarding working alongside Heeralal, she said: “Our differing personalities complemented each other perfectly, creating a balanced dynamic that allowed us to play to our strengths."
Her goal, like Heeralal, is to secure her articles.
She said she was drawn to maritime and property law.