The Pius Langa Memorial Fellowship funds one early-career African lawyer each year to take the one-year, full-time LLM at UCL Faculty of Laws in London. It honours Pius Langa, former Chief Justice of South Africa, and its first fellow studied in 2022–23.
The Constitutional Court Trust (CCT), a South African non-profit, runs the call and selection together with UCL Faculty of Laws. The fellowship is managed through the Trust’s UK-registered charity.
Applicants must be current or former clerks at the Constitutional Court of South Africa, or lawyers working on constitutional and human rights law in South African civil society. The fellowship backs people who intend to keep working in human rights or constitutional law.
Benefits & funding
- Full tuition waiver for the UCL LLM, granted by UCL Faculty of Laws.
- An award of £21,800 intended for travel and living costs during the year of study.
- One fellowship is offered for the 2027–28 academic year.
Eligibility
- Nationality of an African country (required).
- One of two work routes: a current or former law clerk at the Constitutional Court of South Africa; or an early-career lawyer in a legal programme focused mainly on constitutional and human rights law at a South African NGO or Chapter 9 institution.
- An excellent academic record is a prerequisite.
- A demonstrated commitment to human rights and an intention to keep working in human rights and/or constitutional law.
- An offer of a place on UCL’s full-time LLM; admission to UCL is a separate application.
- Preferences, not requirements: aged 35 or under at the start of studies, no LLM already held, and no earlier chance to study abroad.
- No minimum years of experience are stated.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Eligible nationalities
Algeria · Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d'Ivoire
+ 44 more
DR Congo · Djibouti · Egypt · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · Somaliland · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · Tanzania · Togo · Tunisia · Uganda · Western Sahara · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Education required
Bachelor · Master
Appears to have an age limit “aged 35”
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Application process
- 1Apply to UCL Faculty of Laws for the full-time LLM through UCL admissions; this is separate from the fellowship application.
- 2Prepare a 1–2 page motivation letter, a CV of up to 3 pages, transcripts for every higher-education qualification, one writing sample of about 2,000–3,000 words, and two professional letters of support, at least one tied to your South African civil-society or Constitutional Court work.
- 3Combine everything into one PDF of up to 5 MB named FamilynameFirstname_PLMF_app_202728 and email it to PLMF@concourttrust.org.za by Sunday 4 October 2026.
- 4Shortlisted applicants are interviewed at the Constitutional Court in late October 2026.
- 5The award is confirmed once UCL offers a place on the LLM; the Trust and UCL may decide not to appoint a fellow in any year.
Program timeline
Call for applications published
Aug 11, 2026
Application deadline (Sunday)
Oct 4, 2026
Interviews at the Constitutional Court
Late October 2026
Previous round
the 2026–27 fellow was announced on 3 December 2025
One-year LLM at UCL in London
2027–28 academic year