Sophia Sideras-Haddad, current law clerk to Justice Mhlantla at the Constitutional Court of South Africa, has been selected as the Notre Dame fellow for the 2026-27 academic year.

Sophia holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts in Law and International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand (“Wits”). During her undergraduate studies, she developed an interest in international law through participating in moot competitions, including the International Criminal Court Moot and the John H. Jackson Moot. During her LLB, Sophia interned at Richard Spoor Incorporated (“RSI”), a public-interest law firm known for class-action settlements and land rights advocacy for marginalised communities. She went on to complete her articles at RSI, working predominantly on land rights litigation for rural communities, addressing governance failures in land restitution trusts, customary land allocation disputes, and constitutional challenges to resource extraction and infrastructure projects affecting rural communities.

On being awarded this fellowship opportunity, Sophia commented:

I am grateful for this fellowship to study at Notre Dame. The opportunity will deepen my understanding of human rights in comparative and international contexts. I look forward to being in an academic environment; to read deeply, to engage with classmates and professors who bring different perspectives, and to develop more rigorous frameworks for thinking about the law’s relationship to justice.