The Centre for Public Health Law, National Law University Odisha, is organizing its 1st Edition of Essay Writing Competition on Public Health Law, 2022.
I. About the Centre for Public Health Law, NLU Odisha
The Centre for Public Health Law was established in January 2021 by the Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, National Law University Odisha, Cuttack to promote research in the field of Public Health laws under the stewardship of Prof. (Dr). Yogesh Pratap Singh and Ms. Nanditta Batra.
The main objectives of the Centre has been to conduct research on relevant public health issues from a socio-legal perspective and sensitizing people about the same, while also assisting the government and other stakeholders in implementation of Public Health Programs for which it is working collaboratively with two expert Public health organizations i.e., International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease [‘The Union’] and the Public Health Foundation of India [‘PHFI’]. The Centre has also conducted various lecture series, webinars, symposiums, a Double Credit Course on International Right to Health and takes pride in the fact that it conducted a very successful Public Health Law Moot to armour budding lawyers with research skills and arguments on the tensions between civil liberties and the State’s coercive powers in the wake of the vaccination policy.
II. About the Essay Competition
The Centre for Public Health Law, National Law University Odisha is pleased to announce its 1st Edition of Essay Writing Competition on Public Health Law, 2022, to celebrate the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, an initiative of the Government of India. We are organizing this competition in observance of the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” to showcase “Resolve@75“ with the objective of creating a healthy India. The Government of India launched this initiative to commemorate and celebrate 75 years of progressive India, as well as the magnificent history of its people, culture, and achievements.
This essay competition seeks to further the discourse on contemporary topics related to the field of Public Health Law, its increased importance in the midst of a Global Pandemic and at the same time, its correlation with Fundamental Rights & other areas of law. Participants of this Essay competition will get the opportunity to win cash prizes, publications, and merit certificates from the Centre.
III. Eligibility Criteria
Students/Research Scholars enrolled in any UG/PG/Ph.D. course from any recognized Indian University are eligible to participate in the competition.
IV. Topics/Theme
- Fundamental Rights and Public Health Law
Under this, some of the suggestive sub-themes that the students can explore include:
- Diseases, Discrimination and Public employment in India
- Privacy and Health Data sharing: Emerging concerns
- Legality of Population Control measures
- Compulsory Vaccination in India
- Duty of the State vis-à-vis Mental Health
- Right to Health as a Fundamental Right
- Interface between Public Health and Religious Freedom / Freedom of Trade, Commerce & Profession
- Right to smoke-free public places: A Critical evaluation of Tobacco Control in India
Note: The sub-themes are only a suggestion, and the students are free to choose any other sub-theme that falls within the scope of the main theme.
V. Submission Guidelines
- All essays have to be in English and submissions shall be made only in MS Word format (.doc/docx). PDF form shall not be accepted.
- Formatting Guidelines:
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- Font and Size of Main Text and Footnotes- Times New Roman, Size 12 for main text, and Times New Roman, Size 10 for footnotes.
- Size and Alignment- A4 Size with 1 Inch Margin on all sides; all text except headings justified.
- Footnoting- The footnoting style that should be followed will be OSCOLA (4th Edition).
- Spacing- Submission should be 1.5 spaced (except footnotes which must be single spaced).
- Word Limit- Word limit of the submission is 3000-4000 words (excluding Abstract and footnotes. Kindly avoid using speaking footnotes). Abstract should not be more than 300 words.
- Plagiarism- The plagiarism limit should be less than 20% and any submission that is found to be plagiarized beyond the limit shall be disqualified from the competition.
- Anonymity- Participant shall not include his/her name in the submission’s text in any form. Participants should ensure that they delete his/her/their name(s) from the head “Author” of their Word document while sending their final transcript.
- Co-Authorship: Allowed up to 2 co-authors.
- All submissions will undergo strict online plagiarism check and will be evaluated by independent experts. They will be subjected to double blind peer review by the Screening Committee constituted for this purpose. The selected essays will be published on the NLU Odisha website. Essays will be assessed on the basis of originality, identification of issues, legal analysis, clarity in language, expression of arguments and formatting as per the guidelines.
- Do not include any pictures or other illustrations in the essay.
- Copyright of the submission shall remain with CPHL. Once the article has been submitted to the centre, the author(s) forfeits their right of ownership. Article already published or are in consideration with other organizers would be rejected at once.
- In case of any conflicts, CPHL shall be the final authority on the guidelines.
- No registration fee is required to participate in the competition.
- Any sort of malpractices, similarity of texts without proper due acknowledgments and any signs of name/university’s name that might display author’s identification by any means shall be dealt with strict disciplinary actions.
- All the articles must strictly adhere to the guidelines. Any article not following the same shall be outrightly rejected.
- Submission of the Essays will take place via the link of google form provided below. It is the responsibility of each author(s) to ensure that the “.docx” copy of the submission can be opened legibly with Microsoft Office 2010 or Microsoft Office 2007. The form will collect details of the authors’ name(s), phone number(s), email addresses and name of their College/ University, and course undertaken along with their Year of study.
VI. Prizes
- Cash Prizes: The prizes are as follows:
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- 1st Prize: 5000/- INR
- 2nd Prize: 3000/- INR
- 3rd Prize: 2000/- INR
- Top 3 Essays will be published on the Official website of NLU Odisha.
- Certificate of Merit: Top ten essays will also be awarded a Certificate of merit.
- Certificate of Participation to all the participants.
VII. Important Dates
- Date of Release of Notification: 23rd February 2022
- Last Date for Submission: 27th March 2022 [before 11:59 PM]
VIII. Registration and Submission Procedure
The Authors shall submit the essay through the following Google Form link by 27th March 2022 (11:59 P.M. IST). Link to make the submission: HERE
IX. Contact Details
For any further information/clarification, please feel free to reach out to: The Centre for Public Health Law at cphl@nluo.ac.in