We are delighted to announce the First M.K. Nambyar Memorial Essay Competition, under the aegis of the M.K. Nambyar SAARC Law Centre for Advanced Legal Studies. The M.K. Nambyar SAARC Law Centre was established in 2003 at NALSAR, under the patronage of Mr. K.K. Venugopal, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India. The Centre was recently revived, with the appointment of Retired Justice S. Ravindra Bhat as the Chair of Comparative Constitutional Law Studies. The Centre seeks to focus on academic research, writing and deliberation on issues of Indian constitutional law, comparative constitutional law and other legal issues common to South Asian nations.
The M.K. Nambyar Memorial Essay Competition is the Centre’s first event this academic year.
The Centre invites 3000 word essays from LL.B/B.A. LL.B students, on one of the following topics:
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Redrawing Constituencies: Delimitation and Constitutionalism;
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Defining ‘Forests’: Balancing Environmental Conservation with Sustainable Development
Three winners will be chosen, for cash prizes of Rs. 50,000, Rs. 35,000 and Rs. 20,000 respectively. The winners will also be placed in internships at the chambers of Senior Advocates at the Supreme Court of India.
Further details are provided in the guidelines below:
- Students ought to choose one of the two topics to write on.
- Diverse approaches to thinking about the issues in the essay topics are encouraged. Students may choose to focus on any particular aspect of the above broad topics. Students may engage with comparative enquiries as part of their analysis, with the primary focus being on South Asian legal systems and experiences.
- The competition is open to students in Year III and upwards in all 5-year LLB programmes, and Year II and upwards in all 3-year LLB programmes.
- The maximum word limit for the essays shall be 3000 words excluding footnotes. Talking footnotes (footnotes with substantive statements) are strongly discouraged.
- All sources relied upon should be adequately cited through footnotes.
- Plagiarism and use of generative AI tools will lead to disqualification.
- All essays should be submitted in PDF and Word format through the Submission Google Form at https://forms.gle/Ukr8DEfCAQrWjDSa7 (link is external), by 11:59 PM on 15 October 2024.
- Submissions received beyond the deadline will not be considered. No requests for extension, or late submissions will be considered.
- Results will be declared by 15 December 2024.
- The chosen winners will be informed of the chambers they will be placed in for their internships, and will have the flexibility to choose an internship timeline for four weeks, either during a semester break of their choosing. The internship timeline will be subject to any contingencies that may arise at the chamber the student is placed in.
- The winning essays will be published on the website of the MK Nambyar SAARC Law Centre.
Other specific queries about the essay writing competition may be addressed to mknambyarcentre@nalsar.ac.in(link sends e-mail).
We look forward to receiving your submissions.
