CEE/NIS Law Student Writing Prize

 

The Central and East European Law Initiative (CEELI) Alumni/ae Association
Law Student Writing Competition
Guidelines

A. Theme:

"The Role of the Free Press in the Emerging Democracies of Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union"

This theme is designed to be broad enough to allow participants considerable breadth in choosing their specific topic. Participants are encouraged to draw upon experiences in their own country as well as in the principles addressed in the competition's selected resources. Issues currently found in the news media are good sources for potential topics.

A strong emphasis should be placed upon the author's own ideas about the selected topic. Mere reporting of the works of others is discouraged. Judging will be based primarily upon the quality of the analysis reflected in the entry. Authors should justify their conclusions with sound reasoning and pertinent authorities.

B. Prizes:

Winners will be announced on the CEELI website at www.abanet.org/ceeli on September 1, 2000. If the winner has submitted by post, that person will be notified personally by post as well.

First Prize: $1,000 plus a trip to the United States, including air fare, accommodations, and expense allowance based upon the U.S. government per diem rate, to participate in a conference relating to freedom of the press issues.

Second Prize: $500

Third Prize: $250

Honorable Mention: A copy of Black Law's Dictionary.

Prizes may be subject to local taxes.

C: Original Work:

All entries must be the original, unpublished work of a single person. The author may borrow ideas from the selected resources listed, provided appropriate attribution is given. An article must not parallel its sources too closely in form or content, and direct quotations must always be shown as such.

D: Eligibility:

This competition is open to all law students attending universi ties in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia-Montenegro, Serbia-Kosovo, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

E: Scoring:

Writing should be clear, concise, and easily understood. Long sentences and lengthy paragraphs should be avoided. The entry's organization should be readily apparent, and the use of headings is encouraged.

Scoring shall be based upon the following point system:

30% Originality of thought
20% Use of resources
20% Relevance to contemporary issues
20% Clarity of thought
10% Organization

F: Form:

Entries must be in English, on letter-size paper, double-spaced. Entries should be between five and ten pages, including footnotes, based upon 12-point font. Extensive use of footnotes is discouraged.

Entries should include a cover page that contains the following information:

Author's name
Address
School
Telephone & Fax (if available)
E-mail address (if available)

The cover page will not be included in the number of pages counted in the entry.

G: Deadline for Submission:

All entries must be postmarked, received via email or fax, on or before June 1, 2000.

H: Where to Submit Entries:

Entries may be submitted electronically to: [email protected]

Entries may be submitted by fax to: (503) 768-6671

Written entries should be submitted in triplicate to:

Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College
Legal Writing Competition
10015 S.W. Terwillinger Blvd.
Portland, OR 97219-7799

I: Questions:

Questions may be submitted until April l, 2000, via the e-mail address listed above, and thereafter no questions will be answered. All questions, along with their answers, will be posted at www.abanet.org/ceeli/writingcompquestions.html.

In addition, anyone submitting a question who does not have access to the website will receive a personal answer via the post. These questions and answers will still be posted on the above-referenced web site.

J: Publication of Papers:

The winning papers may be published by CEELI and Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College. Papers become the property of CEELI and will not be returned.

K: Selected Resources:

The availability of resources varies widely. To assure that all authors have equal access to resources, entries should use only the selected resources listed below:

Last updated:    May 2000

CCSI Home Announcements Eurasia Opinion/Analysis Bookstore Site Map Search
CCSI logo Center for Civil Society International
Ideas and information for civic action worldwide 		CCSI logo