Winners of the Annual Essay Contest

2023: Anne-Sophie Hulin, Assistant Professor, Université de Sherbrooke
Article: “De la fiducie de données en droit civil québécois : étude exploratoire pour un outil en construction” (2021) 67:2 McGill LJ 119 

2022: Daniele Bertolini, Assistant Professor, Ted Rogers School of Management, Law and Business, Ryerson University
Article: “Unpacking Entire Agreement Clauses: On the (Elusive) Search for Contractually Induced Formalism in Contractual Adjudication” (2021) 66:3 McGill LJ 465

2021: Geneviève Motard, Full Professor at Université Laval
Article: “Regards croisés entre le droit innu et le droit québécois : territorialités en conflit” (2020) 65:3 McGill LJ 421.

SUBMISSIONS NOW WELCOME!

The McGill Law Journal is pleased to announce its fifth annual Essay Contest. The most meritorious article published in the McGill Law Journal that is written by an individual in their first academic appointment in law or a related field will win the $5,000 (CAD) prize.

The contest aims to celebrate and promote excellent scholarship by emerging academics in Canada and internationally. To highlight the bilingual nature of the McGill Law Journal, the essay contest will be run in English and French on alternating years. The fourth edition of the prize will be awarded to the most meritorious eligible article published in English in volume 68 or volume 69 of the McGill Law Journal. The fifth edition of the prize will be awarded to the most meritorious eligible article published in French in volume 69 or volume 70 of the McGill Law Journal. Thereafter, the prize will be awarded in alternating languages.

ELIGIBILITY

Individuals that began their first academic appointment within the past seven years before the time of their submission to the Journal will be eligible. It is not necessary that individuals still hold their first appointment at the time of their submission.

Academic appointments that are eligible include tenure-track academic positions or post-doctoral positions at faculties of law in Canada or internationally. Academic appointments in related fields (i.e., appointments outside of faculties of law) are also eligible.

Only single-authored papers will be eligible.

Eligibility of particular authors will be assessed by the Editorial Board in a survey circulated after publication decisions have been finalized. Assessing eligibility after submissions have been accepted for publication ensures that submissions decisions are made without undue attention to the institutional affiliations of authors.

SUBMISSION CRITERIA

All submissions must meet the criteria to be published in the McGill Law Journal.

DEADLINE

To be considered for the fifth edition of the contest, all submissions must be received in time to be published in volume 70 of the McGill Law Journal. Submissions that are received later will be eligible for the next edition of the contest. Submissions are welcomed using our website submission portal.

The winning submission will be announced when volume 70 of the McGill Law Journal has gone to print.

CONTEST BY-LAWS

Submitting an Article

Submissions that do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be considered for the prize. Eligibility criteria include the usual submission criteria (i.e., the criteria pertaining to exclusivity of submission, etc.). Further, all submissions must also meet the criteria for individual eligibility (i.e., individuals that began their first academic appointment within the past seven years before the time of their submission to the McGill Law Journal); Submissions that are received after the deadline will not be considered for the first edition of the prize; nevertheless, if they are otherwise eligible they may be considered for later editions of the prize.

Selection Process

The Selection Committee will be composed of academics, professionals, and Journal board members who have an excellent grasp of the Journal’s mandate and the contest criteria. All decisions made by the Selection Committee are final. No recourse is available for unsuccessful submissions.

Selection Criteria

The award will be given to the published text that makes the most significant contribution to the study and understanding of law in Canada or internationally. In assessing the significance of a text’s contribution, the adjudication committee may consider: The importance of the insights in the text for advancing the legal community’s understanding of issues of contemporary social, political, or legal significance; The quality and persuasiveness of the author’s argumentation, analysis, or exposition; The novelty of the academic contribution that the author’s text presents; The quality of the author’s prose.

Awarding the Prize

The Journal will retain exclusive publication and royalty rights to the winning article. The Journal reserves the right not to award the prize or to expand eligibility criteria without notice.