School of Law, Politics and Sociology

LPS African Union Law Essay Competition

The African Union Law Research Network (funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council) is pleased to launch the first 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;
  • To encourage the uptake of African Union law as a subject of study and research; 
  • Recognising the achievements of high achieving students and giving such students a platform to share their ideas.

Enter the LPS Prize for African Union Law Essay Competition 2018

The topic for the 2018 competition is: 'Making the case for African Union law'.

Essays should be no more than 3,000 words (excluding footnotes and references) and should be submitted by email to essaycompetition@africanunionlaw.org by Monday 1 October 2018.

A complete set of competition rules can be found on the foot of this page.

Prizes

a) Cash prizes:

  • 1st prize - £300
  • 2nd prize - £200
  • 3rd prize - £100

b) Winning entries and notable submissions will be published on the project's website: http://www.africanunionlaw.org.

c) Subject to availability, the winner of the competition will be inviited 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 of the competition will be announced on Monday 3 December 2018 on the website of the network at http://www.africanunionlaw.org, Twitter (@AfricanUnionLaw), and also in the newsletter of the project.

Competition rules
  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 essaycompetition@africanunionlaw.org by Monday 1 October 2018.
  3. Essays should be no more than 3,000 words (excluding footnotes and references).
  4. Entries may only be submitted in English language.
  5. The referencing style should be in accordance with The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities.
  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.