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2025 edition: Thinking Outside the Box

Call for papers now open! 

Open to law and political science students/PhD candidates, recent graduates, and junior practitioners or scholars from around the world.Ìý

The overarching goal of the Essay Competition is to advance research and foster informed debate on federalism.Ìý Essays are evaluated by a jury comprised of world renown experts on federalism.Ìý

The theme of this year’s edition is Federalism: Thinking Outside the Box 

Papers must be written in English or French and be a maximum of 8000 words in English and 8800 words in French.Ìý

Prizes ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 CND and the chance to present one’s research at the Baxter Family Symposium on Federalism held in Montréal in Spring 2025.Ìý

The deadline to submit an essay is February 7th, 2025, at 11:59 pm, Eastern Standard Time (Montreal Time) 

Submissions are to be emailed to Professor Johanne Poirier, Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism, at baxter-competition.law [at] mcgill.ca

Submission Guidelines – 2025 Edition 

Author eligibility 

• All undergraduate or graduate students in law or political science students, as well as junior scholars, lawyers or practitioners who graduated in these disciplines with five (5) years of working experience or less, from anywhere around the world.Ìý

• To be eligible, authors must either 

• Be currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program in law or political science; 

• Hold a law or political science degree and have obtained their most recent degree (in law or political science, or otherwise) after February 7th, 2020; or 

• Have been admitted to the Bar (or the local equivalent) after February 7th, 2020.Ìý

• Papers may be co-authored, to the extent that each author is eligible. If the submitted paper is selected, the Prize would be divided between authors.Ìý

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• Original text in English or in French; 

• Maximum of 8,000 words for texts in English and of 8,800 words for texts in French (including, in both languages, references). The word count should appear on the first page; 

• Text not yet submitted for publication as of February 7th, 2025; 

• Main text written in 12-point font, double-spaced, with 2.5 cm (1 inch) margins on all sides; 

• Numbered in the upper right corner; 

• Submitted in Microsoft Word format; 

• The main text should be anonymised; 

• Must include complete references in footnotes; 

• Must include an abstract summarizing the main question and main conclusions (maximum 200 words).Ìý

• It should be accompanied by a distinct document that includes 

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• author’s name 

• author’s contact information (e-mail, phone number, address) 

• statement affirming the eligibility for the Competition (University affiliation or date of graduation) 

• unpublished status of the paper.Ìý

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February 7th, 2025, at 11:59 pm, Eastern Standard Time (Montreal time). Submissions are to be emailed to Professor Johanne Poirier, Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism, at baxter-competition.law [at] mcgill.ca.Ìý

For any further inquiries, please email baxter-competition.law [at] mcgill.ca.Ìý