René Cassin ‘Human Writes’ essay competition now open!

“Towering Monument or Crumbling Relic? – At 70, is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights still fit for purpose?”

Every year René Cassin runs a ‘Human Writes’ essay competition to get people thinking about important human rights issues.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was agreed 70 years ago this year. As the organisation named after Monsieur René Cassin – the ‘father of the Declaration’ – this competition is part of our programme to mark the UDHR’s anniversary.

We are delighted that Joshua Rozenberg, Britain’s best known commentator on the law, will judge this year’s entries. He will be looking for well written, well argued and well researched articles.

1^st Prize

• £100
• Publication on this website (along with other shortlisted entries)
• Copy of East West Street – Philippe Sands‘ acclaimed account of the Jewish legal minds who sowed the seeds for human rights law at the Nuremberg trials.

Eligibility

The René Cassin ‘Human Writes’ essay competition is open to all.

Deadline

Tuesday 8 May 2018, 12 noon. Winners announced late May 2018.

Enquiries

Please email us at info@renecassin.org if you have any queries about this competition.

Guidelines for the submission of entries

All entries must address the topic of this year’s competition and be 1000-1500 words (excluding footnotes).

Please prepare your entry in accordance with the following guidelines:

• Your essay should address the question “Towering Monument or Crumbling Relic – at 70, is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights still fit for purpose?”
• Entries must be typed and in English
• Please provide a cover page giving
  • Your full name
  • Your age
  • Postal address, email and daytime telephone contact number
  • The word count for your entry
• Do not put your name in the text of the entry
• Please provide a bibliography
• Please use:
  • A4/standard letter paper
  • Double line spacing
  • Arial 12 point for the text and Arial 10 point for footnotes
• Footnotes should be placed at the foot of the page, not at the end of the text. We are not suggesting any particular footnoting style, as long as it remains consistent throughout the essay.
• Please make sure that your final copy can easily be opened as a Word document and does not have any restrictions placed on it in terms of access

The essays will be judged by Britain’s best known commentator on the law, Joshua Rozenberg QC (Hon). He will be looking for well written, well argued and well researched articles. Deadline: 16 April 2018 at 12 noon. We will be announcing the winner in May.

Please email info@renecassin.org with your submissions and any other questions you may have.

Good luck!