黑料不打烊

2025 edition:听Thinking Outside the Box

Call for papers now open!听

Open to law鈥痑nd political science鈥痵tudents/PhD candidates, recent graduates, and junior practitioners or scholars from around the world.听The overarching goal of the Essay Competition is to advance research and foster informed debate on federalism.听 Essays are evaluated by a jury comprised of world renown experts on federalism.听The theme of this year鈥檚 edition is Federalism: Thinking Outside the Box听

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

Prizes ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 CND and the chance to present one鈥檚 research at the Baxter Family Symposium on Federalism held in Montr茅al in Spring 2025.听

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

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

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Submission Guidelines 鈥� 2025 Edition听

Author eligibility听

• 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鈥痜ive (5) years of working experience or less, from anywhere around the world.听

• To be eligible, authors must either听

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

• Hold a law or political science degree and have obtained their most recent degree (in law or political science, or otherwise)鈥痑fter鈥疐ebruary 7th, 2020; or听

• Have been admitted to the Bar (or the local equivalent)鈥痑fter鈥疐ebruary 7th,鈥�2020.听

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

颁谤颈迟别谤颈补鈥痜辞谤鈥痵耻产尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍听

• Original text in English or in French;听

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

• Text not yet submitted鈥痜or鈥痯ublication as of February 7th, 2025;听

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

• Numbered in the upper right corner;听

• Submitted in Microsoft Word鈥痜ormat;听

• The main text should be anonymised;听

• Must include complete references in footnotes;听

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

• It should be accompanied by a distinct document that includes听

• 迟颈迟濒别听

• author鈥檚 name听

• author鈥檚 contact information (e-mail, phone number, address)听

• statement affirming the eligibility鈥痜or鈥痶he Competition (University affiliation or date of graduation)听

• unpublished status of the paper.听

顿别补诲濒颈苍别鈥痜辞谤鈥疭耻产尘颈蝉蝉颈辞苍听

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鈥�baxter-competition.law [at] mcgill.ca.听

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

2023 edition:听Federalism: What Makes it Work (or not!)听

The Faculty of Law and the Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism are proud to announce the return of the prestigious Baxter Family Competition on Federalism for a fourth edition in 2023.鈥疶his edition鈥檚 overall theme is Federalism: What makes it work (or not!).鈥�

Winners of the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism 2023: Federalism: What Makes it Work (or not!)听

黑料不打烊 University鈥檚 Faculty of Law and the Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism are delighted to announce the winners of the 2022-2023 Baxter Family Competition on Federalism. Organized by Professor Johanne Poirier, this essay competition was open to students and recent graduates in law and political science.听听听听

We received numerous submissions of an exceptional quality from scholars and junior practitioners from 13 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Haiti, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Amongst those, the international jury attributed the following prizes:听

• First Prize: Shahal Khoso (Pakistani PhD candidate in Political Science, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain) 鈥� 5,000$ . 鈥淧ostcolonial Federalism: Tracing Colonial State-Formation in the Global South鈥澨鼺or its original and ground-breaking argument challenging Western-centric approaches to federalism, through a skillful comparative and historical angle.
• Second Prize: Arnaud Hoste and Ashley Saad (LLM candidates, 黑料不打烊 University, Montreal, Canada) 鈥� 3,000$. 鈥淐anadian Federalism and Environmental Protection: What Makes it Work (or Not!)鈥澨� For its important insights into a complex and relevant area of Canadian federalism, supported by a rich diversity of sources.听
• Third Prize: Nadine Dahou and Anne-Fr茅d茅rique Naud (MA candidates in Applied Political Studies, Universit茅 de Sherbrooke, Canada). 鈥淭he Evolution of Intergovernmental Relations in Immigration: Cooperative Federalism in Canada and Australia鈥�. For its skillful comparative approach to a crucial issue of facing federal states, supported by a profound analysis of secondary sources.听听
• Special Mention from the Jury: Andreas Samartzis (Greek PhD candidate in Law, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom). 鈥淛udicial Supremacy in the European Federal Union鈥�. For its novel perspective and instructive overview of theoretical approaches to the legitimacy of judicial power in this complex polity.听
• Special Mention from the Jury: Olivier Jacques (Assistant Professor in Public Health, Universit茅 de Montr茅al, Canada). 鈥淩茅gler le d茅s茅quilibre fiscal ? Les contraintes politiques et institutionnelles 脿 deux solutions id茅ales鈥�. For its strong theoretical and practical contribution to the global debate on a crucial issue of redistribution and balance in the Canadian federal system.听听

We are deeply grateful to the distinguished members of our international jury, who thoroughly considered the submissions for the 2023 Competition:听听

• The Honourable鈥�Marie Deschamps, former Justice at the Supreme Court of Canada鈥�听
• The Honourable鈥�Cl茅ment Gascon, former Justice at the Supreme Court of Canada鈥�听
• 笔谤辞蹿.鈥�Maria Jesus Garcia Morales, Professor of Constitutional Law at the Autonomous University of Barcelona听
• 笔谤辞蹿.鈥�Rekha Saxena, Professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Delhi听
• 笔谤辞蹿.鈥�Sabine Kropp, Professor of German Politics at the Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science at the Free University of Berlin鈥�听
• 笔谤辞蹿.鈥�Yonatan T. Fessha, Professor of Law and Research Chair in constitutional design in divided societies at the University of the Western Cape听
• 笔谤辞蹿.鈥�Guy Laforest, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Laval University; Member of the Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la diversit茅 et la d茅mocratie (CRIDAQ); and independent scholar.鈥�听
• Josiah Wamwere-Njoroge, winner of the 2021 edition of the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism, post-graduate student at the Kenya School of Law.鈥�听

Pictures from the 2023 Baxter Symposium

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About the Baxter Competition鈥�听

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Created in 2016, the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism has been made possible through the generous support of Rachel Baxter, BSc鈥�84, BCL鈥�88 and Colin Baxter, BCL鈥�90, LLB鈥�90, who both practice law in Ottawa.鈥�听

The overarching goal of the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism is to advance research and foster informed debate on federalism, in Canada and abroad. The competition is open to鈥痓oth to law鈥痑nd political science鈥痵tudents and young practitioners from around the world.鈥�鈥�听

The first three editions鈥痳eceived over 100 entries, from 22 countries (in addition to Canada, we鈥痟ad participants from Germany, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Spain, the United States, Ethiopia, France, Hungary, India, Ireland, Indonesia, Kenya, Morocco, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Zimbabwe!)

2021 edition: Federalism, Identity and Public Policy in Challenging Times

About the Baxter Competition听

Created in 2016, the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism has been made possible through the generous support of Rachel Baxter, BSc鈥�84, BCL鈥�88 and Colin Baxter, BCL鈥�90, LLB鈥�90, who both practice law in Ottawa.听

The overarching goal of the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism is to advance research and foster informed debate on federalism, in Canada and abroad. The competition is open to鈥痓oth to law鈥痑nd political science鈥痵tudents and young practitioners from around the world.听听

The first three editions鈥痳eceived over 100 entries, from 22 countries (in addition to Canada, we鈥痟ad participants from Germany, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Spain, the United States, Ethiopia, France, Hungary, India, Ireland, Indonesia, Kenya, Morocco, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Zimbabwe!)听

The Faculty of Law of 黑料不打烊 University and the Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism are delighted to announce the winners of the 2020-2021 Baxter Family Competition on Federalism, organized by Professor Johanne Poirier.

For the first time, the Competition was open to authors from the disciplines of law or political science. This edition鈥檚 overall theme was Federalism, Identity and Public Policy in Challenging Times.

We received numerous and diverse submissions of an exceptional quality from scholars and junior practitioners from 12 countries. Amongst those, the international jury has selected the following papers:

1. First prize: Josiah Wamwere-Njoroge (LLB candidate, Riara University, Nairobi, Kenya) 鈥� 5,000$
   The Utility of a Decentralized Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (abstract)
   For its well-developed, thoughtful and theoretically grounded argument, and its comparative focus, allowing an analysis relevant to the fundamentals of federalism.
2. Second prize: Kelty McKerracher (JD/JID candidate, University of Victoria, Canada) 鈥� 3,000$
   Relational Legal Pluralism and Indigenous Legal Orders in Canada
   For its topical, novel and mature argument, tackling both the theoretical roots and practical possibilities of legal pluralism as a path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
3. Third prize: Beno卯t Delerue (PhD candidate in political science, Universit茅 Jean Moulin Lyon 3, Lyon, France) 鈥� 1,000$
   Le r茅gime f茅d茅ratif face au triptyque structure-conjoncture-fracture: 茅volution structurelle des f茅d茅rations canadienne et 茅tats-unienne sous l鈥檈ffet des crises conjoncturelles et des fractures politiques
   For its originality, the depth of its research in primary historical sources, and its comparative approach, providing a rich reflection on the evolution of federations.

• Honourable mention: Philipp Renninger (PhD candidate in law, University of Lucerne and University of Freiburg, Switzerland and Germany)
  鈥楩ederalism, Chinese Style鈥�? or: How to Contain COVID-19 Through a Central-Local Chess Game
  For its novel study of China through the lens of federalism and the metaphor of the chess game, thus engaging with the complexity of the federal phenomenon.

Winners presented their papers at the听Baxter Family Symposium on Federalism, held online on May 15, 2021.

View the 2021听Baxter Family Symposium on Federalism听here:

Our distinguished jury

We are grateful to the distinguished members of our international jury, who thoroughly considered the submissions for the 2021 Competition:

• The Right Hon. Beverley McLachlin, former Chief Justice at the Supreme Court of Canada.
• The Honourable Cl茅ment Gascon, former Justice at the Supreme Court of Canada.
• Prof. Francesco Palermo, President of the International Association of Centres for the Study of Federalism; Head of the Institute for Comparative Federalism at EURAC Research; and Professor of Comparative Public Law at University of Verona鈥檚 Faculty of Law (Italy).
• Prof. Nicola McEwen, Professor of Territorial Politics at University of Edinburgh鈥檚 School of Social and Political Science; and Co-Director of the Centre on Constitutional Change (United Kingdom).
• Prof. Yasmeen Abu-Laban, Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta; Canada Research Chair in the Politics of Citizenship and Human Rights; and Vice-President of International Political Science Association (Canada).
• Prof. Nico Steytler, Professor at the University of the Western Cape鈥檚 Faculty of Law; and South African Research Chairs Initiative Chair in Multilevel Government, Law and Policy (South Africa).
• Prof. Jaclyn L. Neo, Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore鈥檚 Faculty of Law; Director of Centre for Asian Legal Studies; and Co-Chair of International Society for Public Law (ICON-S)鈥檚 Singapore Chapter (Singapore).
• Jan Raeimon Nato, BCL/LLB (2019), Student-at-Law at Baker McKenzie, and Winner of the 2019 Baxter Competition (Canada).

2019 edition

The 黑料不打烊 Faculty of Law and the Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism are delighted to announce the winners of the 2019 Baxter Family Competition.

We received numerous high-quality submissions from scholars and junior practitioners, with authors originating from a total of 13 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Ethiopia, Germany,鈥疕ungary, India, Italy,鈥疭cotland, Spain, the United States, and Zimbabwe. From these, the international jury selected the following:

1. First Prize: Jan Raeimon Nato (BCL/LLB candidate, 黑料不打烊 University, Montreal) 鈥� $5,000
   鈥� Duties of Federal Loyalty: Lessons to Learn, Conversations to be Had鈥�
2. Second Prize: Berihun Gebeye (SJD Candidate, Central European University, Budapest) 鈥� $3,000
   鈥� Federal Theory and Federalism in Africa鈥�
3. Third Prize (ex-aequo) 鈥� $1000, to be shared:
   • Rafael Viotti Schlobach (BCL, University of S茫o Paulo, S茫o Paulo)
     鈥� Homogeneity Clauses in Federal Countries: A Comparative Analysis鈥�
   • Catherine Mathieu (DCL candidate, 黑料不打烊 University, Montreal)
     鈥� L鈥檌nitiative constitutionnelle comme 茅l茅ment d茅clencheur de la r茅forme du f茅d茅ralisme canadien"
4. Special jury mention: Breanne Lavallee-Heckert (BCL/LLB candidate, 黑料不打烊 University, Montreal)
   鈥� 鈥楾he Space in Between鈥�: M茅tis Self-Governance within the Canadian Federation鈥�

Winners presented their papers at a Symposium held on 11 May 2019 starting at 11:30 at 黑料不打烊 University鈥檚 Thomson House (3650, McTavish St.). See photos of the proceedings. This Symposium coincided with the of the the American Society of Comparative Law, which was being held 10-11 May, 2019 at 黑料不打烊.

The jury

We are grateful to the distinguished members of our international and bilingual jury, who thoroughly considered the submissions for the 2019 Competition:

• The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, Former Chief Justice at the Supreme Court of Canada
• Prof. Eva Maria Belser, Co-Director of the Institute of Federalism and holder of the Chair for Constitutional and Administrative Law, University of Fribourg (Switzerland)
• Prof. Hugo Cyr, Doyen de la Facult茅 de droit de l鈥橴QAM et codirecteur du Centre d鈥檃nalyse politique sur la constitution et le f茅d茅ralisme 鈥� CAP-CF (Canada)
• Dr Rohan Edrisinha, Constitutional Advisor to the United Nations Development Programme, New York, and Faculty Member at University of Colombo Faculty of Law (Sri Lanka)
• Dr Menaka Guruswamy, BR Ambedkar Research Scholar, Lecturer at Columbia Law School and Barrister at the Supreme Court of India (United States and India)
• Prof. Asha Kaushal, Assistant Professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia and winner of the 2017 Baxter Competition (Canada)
• Prof. Francesco Palermo, President of the International Association of Centers for the Study of Federalism, Head of the Institute for Comparative Federalism at EURAC Research, Professor of Comparative Public Law at University of Verona鈥檚 Faculty of Law (Italy)
• Prof. Cheryl Saunders, Laureate Professor Emeritus, Co-Director of Studies in Government Law, International Law and Public Law, Melbourne Law School (Australia)

See the 2019 call for papers.

Should you have any questions regarding the Competition, do not hesitate to contact our research assistant at marie-helene.lyonnais [at] mail.mcgill.ca.

2017 edition

Bravo to the听winners of the inaugural Baxter Family Competition:

1. First Prize: Asha Kaushal (Assistant Professor, University of British-Columbia)
   Constitutional Jurisdictions - $5,000
2. Second Prize: Erika Arban (Lecturer, University of Antwerp)
   Exploring the Principle of (Federal) Solidarity听- $3,000
3. Third Prize: Eleonore Gauthier (Articling Student, Toronto)
   Spending Power, Social Policy, and the Principle of Subsidiarity听- $1,000

The winners presented their papers at a Symposium that took take place at 黑料不打烊 University鈥檚 Faculty Club (3450, McTavish St.) at 16h00, on March 22, 2017.

The jury

We are grateful to the distinguished jury members for their careful and thorough consideration of the essays:

• Prof. Eva Maria Belser, Co-Director, Institute of Federalism, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
• The Honourable Ian Binnie, Lawyer and former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
• The Honourable Marie Deschamps, Lawyer and former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
• Prof. Jean Leclair, Faculty of Law, Universit茅 de Montr茅al
• Prof. Peter Oliver, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa
• Prof. Patricia Popelier, Associate-Dean, University of Antwerp, Belgium听
• Prof. Cheryl Saunders, Director of Studies, Government Law, Melbourne Law School, Australia
• Prof. Marc Verdussen, Facult茅 de droit, Universit茅 catholique de Louvain

2016 Competition Entries

We received close to forty high-quality submissions from legal scholars and junior law practitioners of which 35 were deemed admissible. Authors originate from a total of nine countries: Canada (British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Qu茅bec), Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We thank all participants for their contributions. (2016 Call for papers.)