The Faculty of Law (UP Law) at the University of the Pretoria (UP) congratulates Simon Mateus, 2020 LLB graduate and former Editor-in-Chief of the Pretoria Student Law Review (PSLR), on obtaining his LLM (Research) with distinction.

Mateus completed his LLM (cum laude) under the supervision of Professor Dire Tladi, the NRF SARChI Chair in International Constitutional Law at the Department of Public Law.  He completed the LLM within a year, while working as a Research Fellow at the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa (ICLA).

 

His dissertation examines the complex relationship between obligations erga omnes and jus cogens. One of his examiners concluded that his research aims were 'by no means modest as [the] topic is complex and nuanced even for the most senior of international law scholars. However the candidate demonstrates his ability to meaningfully engage with these complex topics.'

In a post on his facebook page, Mateus wrote ' Having written my disseration within seven (intense) months, this distinction is more than a reassurance that pressure creates diamonds, fire refines gold.'

UP Law celebrates Mateus' success and wishes him well as he immediately commences with his LLD studies under the continued supervision of Professor Tladi.  In Mateus' own words, 'The end of this chapter merely marks the beginning of another great chapter!'.