COMPETITION FOR LAW STUDENTS

Write a dissenting judgment

Prize: €1,000. Two runner up prizes of €250 each.

The winning entry will be published in Law Ireland.

Choose a judgment that you disagree with, and write a dissenting judgment.  The principal judgment must have been delivered by the superior courts of Ireland or Northern Ireland between 1960 and 2010.  It must have been the final judgment in the case in question (i.e. not appealed to a higher court).

The law referred to in the dissenting judgment must be that which was in force at the time the principal judgment was delivered.  Entries will be judged on writing style,structure of argument and clarity of thought.  There is a maximum word count of 1,500 words.

The competition is open to undergraduate students in Ireland and Northern Ireland, where law forms at least 50% of the course work leading to a primary degree. (The name of a member of staff must be provided who can verify that the student is undertaking the course in question.)

A shortlist will be selected from the entries by the editor and contributors of Law Ireland.  The final winning entry and runners-up will be selected from the shortlist by a judging panel consisting of: Sir Donnell Deeny, Lord Justice of Appeal in Northern Ireland; Mr Justice Richard Humphreys, of the High Court of Ireland; Ms Marguerite Bolger, Senior Counsel,specialist in Employment Law; Ms Valerie Lawlor, Partner in McCann Fitzgerald,specialist in Corporate Law.

The competition is not open to the family members of any director, employee, contributor to or editor of Law Ireland, StareDecisis Hibernia or Wordwell Books Ltd, or of any member of the judging panel.

The closing date for receipt of entries is 30 November 2017.  Winners will be announced on or before 15 January 2018.  The winning entry will be published in the following issue of Law Ireland.

Entries should be typed, and sent by post to:The Editor, Law Ireland, Wordwell Books Ltd, Unit 9, 78 Furze Road, Sandyford,Dublin 18.

Entries will not be accepted by e-mail or other electronic communication under any circumstances.

Each entry should include the following information:

• The name of the writer.
• Contact details (inc address, e-mail address and telephone).
• Name of course of study.
• Name of academic referee.
• Word count.

A recognised citation of the principal judgment being dissented from.
The decision of the judges will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into.