Post-Event Report for the 1st CLS-NLUO Essay Writing Competition

The Constitutional Law Society, National Law University Odisha successfully conducted the First CLS Essay Writing Competition spanning the months of November and December, 2023, with results being declared in the first week of January, 2024. The submissions were accepted in the online mode.

There were a large number of submissions from students of various law schools throughout the country. The CLS Editorial Board carefully curated a range of themes relevant to contemporary constitutional discourse throughout the country. The following were the themes for the competition:

1.     One  Nation, One Election

2.     The Uniform Civil Code

3.     Data Protection Laws

4.     Democracy vs. Popular Support- Constitutional Safeguards to Majoritarianism

The authors had the liberty to choose any sub-topic under this vast umbrella, with due cognizance given to varying, and contradictory view-points. Consequently we received articles arguing for diverse view-points and opinions. 

Many of the submissions received by the Board were erudite, and written with scholarly precision.

To ensure fairness in declaring the winners, the Board constituted a rigorous two stage evaluation process. It was a double-bind peer review process. Technical indicators such as plagiarism, formatting, citations, and use of artificial intelligence was evaluated along with qualitative indicators such as style, novel points of law, case-laws cited, as well as creative solutions to problems posed. Such thorough evaluation ensured fairness and impartiality in evaluation.

 The first stage was internally done by the seasoned editors of the CLS Editorial Board. The articles which were shortlisted from the first round went on to be evaluated by a panel of experienced external reviewers.  

Following this rigorous process, the Board declared the results as per schedule on the 10^th of January, 2024. The three winning articles were published on the CLS Blog, and can be accessed there.

In conclusion, this event was a massively successful one and contributed to spreading quality written discourse on burning issues of constitutional relevance around the country. As a society, promoting constitutional learning and scholarship, such events have a vital role in the execution of our mission. Given the immense success of this introductory edition of the Competition, the Board intends to continue organizing this competition with increasing grandeur and scope over the forthcoming years.