ESSAY COMPETITION
The ASLP Essay Competition is designed to encourage original research and writing in legal theory and philosophy of law by early career scholars around the world. The author of the winning essay will receive a cash prize of AU$1,000, plus a contribution of up to AU$500 towards the cost of attendance at the Society’s annual conference to present the essay as a paper.
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Who can take part?
The competition is open to students who are currently enrolled in a postgraduate degree program (Master or Doctoral) in any discipline (or who wrote their submission in 2024 while enrolled in such a program that they have now completed). Graduates in one discipline studying for a first degree in a different discipline (such as a Juris Doctor) are not eligible. Previous winners of the competition are also ineligible.
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Submission process and deadline
Submissions may be on any topic in legal theory or the philosophy of law. Essays must be in English and not exceed 15,000 words (including notes, references, headings, etc).
It is a condition of being awarded the ASLP Essay Prize that the winning essay be submitted for publication in the next issue of the Journal of Legal Philosophy. Note that the essay will still need to go through the review process and that publication is not guaranteed.
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Entries for the 2024 competition closed on 31 December 2024. Information about the 2025 competition will be available later this year.
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2024 Essay prize winner
The winning entry for 2024 was "Naked Liberties? Why We Should Be Able to Talk About Permissible Actions Others Need Not Tolerate" by Ufuk Özbe.
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