The ALPSA Essay Competition is a chance for Australian law students to showcase their ability to discuss the complexities of legal philosophy, in the context of an historical or controversial topic of choice. The competition is very prestigious, with High Court judges and leading jurists judging the competition in recent years.

ALPSA is excited to announce the topic for this year’s essay competition:

‘Is it possible for a single jurisdiction to effectively enforce two different systems of law?’

We recommend the following sources as a starting point for your research. We encourage you to engage in thorough research and critically analyse the arguments you find.

· Guillaume Tusseau, Debating Legal Pluralism and Constitutionalism (2020)

· Brian Tamanaha, Legal Pluralism Explained: History, Theory, Consequences (2021)

· Australian Law Reform Commission, Recognition of Aboriginal Customary Laws (ALRC Report 31, 1986)

The judges for this year's essay competition are: the Honourable Justice Helen Bowskill; his Honour Judge Nathan Jarro; and Associate Professor Ann Black.

The Essay Competition is open to all LLB or JD students enrolled at an Australian or New Zealand university who are still students on the date submissions close (5pm AEST, 25 November, 2022). The word limit is 2500. Co-authorship is permitted. 

2022 Competition Sponsors: TBD


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Enquiries and entries to be sent to alpsa@law.uq.edu.au

For further updates and announcements on prizes, follow us on Facebook

The official competition rules and prize list are here

We look forward to receiving your thoughts on this topic!

Essay Competition

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Past Competitions