Essay Competition Winners

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 1st University of Sussex LPS Prize for African Union Law Essay Competition.

Competition Details

University of Sussex LPS Prize for African Union Law Essay Competition

Under the auspices of the African Union Law Research Network, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council

Essay Competition for African Tertiary Institution & African Students in the Diaspora

The competition

The African Union Law Research Network (funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council) is pleased to launch the 1st University of Sussex LPS Prize for African Union Law Essay Competition. The competition is open to students in African tertiary institutions (of any nationality) and students of African origin in tertiary institutions in the diaspora. For the purpose of this essay, the concept of ‘African Union law’ is defined as the bodies of treaties, resolutions and decisions that have direct and indirect application to the member States of the African Union.

The competition’s objectives are to create awareness about the emergence of African Union law and to encourage the uptake of AU law as a subject of study and research. In addition, it is aimed at recognizing the achievements of high achieving students and give such students a platform to share their ideas.

Topic for 2018 competition

The topic of the 2018 competition is: ‘Making the case for African Union Law.’

Prizes

A. Cash Prizes: (provided by the School of Law, Politics and Sociology, University of Sussex).

1st prize: £300
2nd prize: £200
3rd prize: £100

B. Winning entries and notable submissions will be published on the project’s website - www.africanunionlaw.org.

C. Subject to availability, the winner of the competition will be invited to present his/her paper at a workshop/conference of the network. Travelling expenses and board shall be covered by the network.

Announcement of winners

The winners will be announced on December 3, 2018 on the website of the network at http://africanunionlaw.org/ , twitter (@AfricanUnionLaw) and also in the newsletter of the project.

The rules of the competition:

1. The competition is open to students in African tertiary institutions (of any nationality) and students of African origin in tertiary institutions in the diaspora. (Including undergraduates, postgraduates and doctoral students).
2. Entries must be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by October 1, 2018.
3. Essays should be no more than 3000 words (excluding footnotes and references)
4. Entries may only be submitted in English language.
5. The referencing style should be in accordance with the The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities available at https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/publications/oscola
6. The entry must be original and the sole creation of the entrant. Plagiarism of any kind will result in automatic disqualification.
7. Entries should include a declaration on the first page as follows: ‘I hereby declare that this essay is an original piece of work in its entirety’.
8. Entries are limited to one for each entrant at each competition.
9. The decision of the judges in respect of the prizes is final and the award of the prizes is at the discretion of the judges.
10. Prizes may be paid to winners in local currencies or equivalent.
11. Late entries will not be accepted.
12. Assessments of the essays shall be based on a range of criteria including arguments, writing skills, use of material etc.
13. Please note that we are unable to provide feedback to unsuccessful entries.
14. All decisions in relation to the interpretation of these Rules shall be taken by the Principal Investigator for the project and his decision shall be final.