AMERICAN UNIVERSITY WASHINGTON COLLEGE OF LAW

HUMAN RIGHTS ESSAY AWARD 2023: AMERICAN UNIVERSITY WASHINGTON COLLEGE OF LAW

 

The human rights essay award is an essay competition organised by the American University Washington College of Law. The Academy sponsors an annual international human rights law essay competition to encourage involvement in scholarly work. The competition is open to all students enrolled in a law school, whether they are studying abroad or at home. The Academy invites submissions on any aspect of international human rights law. The competition is open to students at any level of legal education, as well as postgraduate students and academics. The winning essay will be published in a special edition of the International Journal of Human Rights Law & Policy.

The American University International Law Review (AUILR) is an important academic journal that publishes the work of professors, judges, practising lawyers and other legal minds. They receive approximately 1,500 submissions worldwide and publish only the best of these articles. The journal is especially well-known for its work on human rights law and policy. AUILR is an internationally recognised source of legal scholarship, and its readership includes international law professionals, law professors, and students worldwide.

You must fulfil these criteria to participate in the Human Rights Essay Award 2023:

• This award is available to any attorney, regardless of race or creed.
• Only individuals with a law degree and relevant legal experience or those who will have completed such studies by the deadline for submission can enter this competition.
• The candidate must have an interest or experience in international human rights law.
• You can choose any subject related to the 2023 Topic: “Equality and Human Rights: Confronting Racial Discrimination”.
• Remember that the essay should be written in an academic style, with citations.
• You must submit your entry on or before January 31, 2023, 11:59 PM EST (Washington DC time).

While fulfilling these criteria qualifies you to be in the essay competition, it doesn’t guarantee a win if you do not follow the award rule.

Essay Contest for Human Rights: Official Rules

The American University Washington College of Law’s Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law is pleased to announce that essays submitted for the 2023 Human Rights Essay Award (HREA) will be judged according to the following criteria:

1. The Award is given to lawyers who are involved in international human rights law or have a background in this area.
2. Past winners are not eligible for the award again.
3. Applicants may choose any subject related to the substantive law relevant to their field as long as it is in line with the year’s topic. To qualify, the essay must focus on or relate specifically to the topic, not general issues unrelated to human rights. Human rights law may be understood to include international humanitarian law and international criminal law.
4. Applicants must submit an unpublished essay in English or Spanish (no translations allowed!) that they have written. The applicant alone is responsible for submitting the entire document; incomplete submissions, those not written solely by one person, and translations will be disqualified!
5. Applicants will only be allowed to submit one of their essays in either English or Spanish. If a student submits more than one essay, it is up to them to decide which write-up they want to apply officially. If an applicant does not indicate a preference among essay choices, the first one submitted will be considered.
6. The essay must be no longer than 35 pages, including footnotes.

6.1.      Candidates must utilise Times New Roman 12-point double-spaced for the essay’s body.

6.2.      Footnotes for the essay must be written in Times New Roman, 10-point single-spaced. Please see “The Uniform System of Citation: The Bluebook” if you have questions about using footnotes.

6.3.      The character spacing must be standard, with margins of 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all sides.

6.4.      All essays must be typed on standard paper (8.5 x 11 inches/21.59 x 27.94 centimetres). Do not use other sizes!

6.5.      If you do not follow the guidelines, your essay will be reformatted, and 5 points will be taken off. It will automatically disqualify you from consideration if it is longer than 35 pages.

7. The essay will contain substantial footnotes and legal citations, so it must be a specific piece of research. Any essays that omit citations or facts in the footnotes will not qualify for consideration by our law school application committee.
8. Authors should not include their names or other identifying information (such as hometowns) in the essays.
9. To be considered, essays must only be submitted in Microsoft Word format.
10. A curriculum vitae is required for the application. The CV should be no more than three pages and explain your experience or interest in human rights issues. Please include it as a separate attachment to the essay submission
11. Please do not send any supplementary materials with your application, including a full list of references or links to websites that contain information about you. These will be discarded immediately and won’t factor into our assessment process.
12. You must submit your essay through the online submission form. No emailed entries will be accepted.
13. The Academy will confirm via e-mail the receipt of all essays submitted. If you do not receive a confirmation within 48 hours (Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) following the submission of your essay(s), don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at humanrightsessay@wcl.american.edu.
14. Please turn in your essays before the dates listed under “Important Dates” on our website. Essays received after this date will not be accepted
15. The Honor Jury that will select the Award winners comprises recognised experts in international human rights law. Their names are announced each year on our website.
16. A pre-selection committee will review the accepted, good essays and select three finalists in each language. An honorary jury will then consider the finalists.
17. The winners will be notified via email, and their decisions will be announced on the date specified in ¨Important dates¨ section of our website. The decision of the Honor Jury is final, and no appeal can be made against it.
18. The Academy will award three awards for each language, as follows:

Essays in English:

18.1.    Award for Best Essay in English

18.2.    Honorable Mention for Second Best Essay in English

18.3.    Honorable Mention for Third Best Essay in English

Essays in Spanish:

18.4.    Award for Best Essay in Spanish

18.5.    Honorable Mention for Second Best Essay in Spanish

18.6.    Honorable Mention for Third Best Essay in Spanish

19. The winners will receive a certificate confirming their status as award recipients. If AUILR’s publishing standards are met, the essays will be published in the journal.
20. Essays selected for the Award will be reviewed in depth to ensure they have not been plagiarised.
21. Authors must keep copies of all their source materials and may be required to provide photocopies at the request of the Academy.
22. The Academy retains the right to not give an award in cases where no candidate meets the minimum requirements for consideration.
23. The essays presented are the intellectual property of the American University Washington College of Law. The Academy will reserve the right to publish any papers it deems worthy in its proceedings or other publications and to disseminate them as appropriate. If it is not published within a reasonable time, the essay will be returned to the author upon request.
24. If a situation that is not covered by this policy arises, the Academy will handle it and inform applicants of what steps have been taken.
25. Award applicants agree to abide by the rules described in this document.

Remember, you must submit your finished essay and CV to the academy through the submission form on their website on or before January 31, 2023, 11:59 PM EST (Washington DC time). The link to the form is https://www.wcl.american.edu/humright/hracademy/hressayaward/form.cfm

The academy’s website will announce the essay competition winners on March 31st, 2023. You can also visit the “Previous Winners” page anytime to check the list of previous winners https://www.wcl.american.edu/impact/initiatives-programs/hracademy/award/previous-winners/

For more information on the human rights essay award 2023, you may contact the academy through humanrightsessay@wcl.american.edu.