Past winners
2022 Law Reform Essay Competition winners
Winner
'Crossing the Constitutional Rubicon: why mediation should be compulsory in all civil disputes'
by Emma Meadows
Runner-up
'A proposal for a new approach to standing in judicial review claims'
by Mark Thornton
Best Graduate Diploma in Law entry
'Permission (Already) Granted: Eliminating ‘Prior Approval’ for Upward Extension Permitted Development Rights'
by Jeffrey Chu
Runner-up Graduate Diploma in Law entry 1
'Reforming the Official Secrets Act 1989: Combining stronger protections for national security with greater parliamentary scrutiny'
by Raphael Marshall
Runner-up Graduate Diploma in Law entry 2
'The Covid-19 ‘Shadow Pandemic’ in the UK: A Case for Including Negligence into the Definition of Compliance in National and European Human Rights Law'
by Donella Sofia Torcassi
Highly Commended
'Licence to Kill: the need for safeguarding in authorising the criminal conduct of Covert Human Intelligence Sources'
by Nandini Mitra
Read previous years' winners
Winner
Joseph Lord: 'The War is Lost: A Proposal for Drug Consumption Rooms in the UK [PDF]'
Read Joseph's blog
Runner up
Armin Amirsolimani: ‘I owe my soul to the graduate recruitment team – Rethinking penalty clauses in employment contracts ' [PDF]
Best CPE/GDL entry
Annika Weis: ‘Licence to Sanction – Stopping Environmental Crimes through UK Magnitsky Legislation' [PDF]
Highly commended
Samuel Page: ‘The Corporate Climate Conscience Act (202X) – filling the regulatory lacuna undermining Britain’s path to net zero' [PDF]
Winner: Oliver Brewis - 'Unravelling the sleeve of care: Fair Remuneration for Employer-contracted Sleep' [PDF]
Runner-up: Rossen Roussanov - 'Citizens of nowhere: the case for a statutory appeal right as part of the UK Statelessness Determination Procedure'
Best CPE/GDL entry: David Illingworth - 'Medieval institutions and god-like technology': rescuing the Carltona doctrine from uncertainty and irrelevance in the digital age
Runner-up CPE/GDL: Miranda Sadler - Neighbours will need a Plan B: introducing third party appeals to planning decisions in a soon-to-be streamlined planning system
Highly commended: Joseph Kelen - End the criminalisation of Homelessness: Why the Vagrancy Act 1824 must be repealed
Highly commended: Danielle Carrington - Fail to Choose, Choose to Fail: Reform of the Choice of Law Principles to Determine the Law Applicable to the Arbitration Agreement
Winner: Penny Tridimas - "The Long and the Short of It: Introducing a Summary Procedure for the Dismissal of Unmeritorious Claims in the Arbitration Act 1996"
Read Penny's blog
Runner-up: Zohra Nabi - "The SLAPPback starts now: Why legislation must be introduced to prevent the abuse of the law of defamation"
Best CPE/GDL: Benjamin Williams - "With (McKenzie) Friends Like These: Prohibiting Fee Recovery by McKenzie Friends"
Runner-up CPE/GDL: Katherine Boucher - "Redressing the Balance: The Case for the Reform of Trustee Liability in Transactions with Third Parties"
Highly commended: Rich Hodges - "In the best interest of the child? Prosecutions brought against Children under the Sexual Offences Act 2003"