About NLUO
National Law University Odisha, Cuttack was established by Act 4 of 2008 by the Odisha State Legislature.
Keeping in mind an enunciated vision of advancement of learning, teaching, research, diffusion of knowledge in the field of law and catering to the needs of society by developing the professional skills of those intending to take up the professions of Advocacy, Judicial Services, Legal services, and so on.
About the Essay Writing Competition
The Constitutional Law Society is delighted to announce the 4th NLUO-CLS Essay Writing Competition (2026) on the themes “The Proportionality Test: Rights, Restriction, and Dissent in Constitutional India” and “Borrowed Constitutions: Transplant, Translation, and Transformation in Comparative Constitutionalism.”
The competition aims to promote thoughtful engagement with contemporary issues concerning reasonable restrictions, liberty, foreign precedents and the scope of constitutional rights.
Eligibility
The competition invites participation from law students and legal professionals, encouraging them to present innovative perspectives on pressing constitutional questions.
- Students pursuing Five-Year/Three-Year LLB
- Students pursuing One-Year/Two-Year LLM
- Students pursuing any other undergraduate or postgraduate law degree from any recognized university
Themes
It covers diverse sub-themes such as the threshold for bail under the UAPA, regulating hate speech, judicial borrowing, comparative federalism, constitutional amendment design, and the use of foreign precedents in Indian constitutional jurisprudence, among others.
Check the brochure given below for further details.
Competition Guidelines
- Submissions shall be made in doc/.docx format (Word 2007 or later versions).
- All submissions are to be made via google form provided. (Note: write your name and co-author’s name as the filename. Example: John Davidson.docx or John Davidson, Jay David.docx)
- The google form that will be used for submission will ask for the following information: Name, Email, Contact Number(s). Please ensure that the contact details are used for submission registration form. same as the
- No indication to the Author(s) identity should exist within the submitted manuscript. Such a breach will lead to outright rejection of the submission.
- Manuscript word limit: 1500-2500 (excluding abstract).
- Abstract of 50-100 words (not inclusive within the total word count) must be at the top of the manuscript.
- Citations should be done via hyperlinking. For sources where hyperlinks are not available, any uniform method of end-noting may be used..
- Submission date: on or before 18th September, 2026.
- Your essay should be error-free: grammar, spelling, punctuation etc. your paper must be original and plagiarism free. Use of Al is strictly prohibited.
Formatting Guidelines
- Font style: Times New Roman
- Size: 12
- Line spacing: 1.5
- All text should be justified.
Registration Details
- NLUO Student: ₹250 (Single authorship) | ₹400 (Co-authorship)
- Non-NLUO Student: ₹300 (Single authorship) | ₹500 (Co-authorship)
Prizes
- Winner: INR 7,500 Cash Prize + Publication in CLS Blog (After Incorporating Reviewer Comments) + Certificate (Ranked)
- Runners Up: INR 5,000 Cash Prize + Publication in CLS Blog (After Incorporating Reviewer Comments) + Certificate (Ranked)
- Second Runners Up: INR 2,500 Cash Prize + Publication in CLS Blog (After Incorporating Reviewer Comments) + Certificate (Ranked)
- Certificate of Participation for all the participants
Important Dates
- Last date to register: 28th August 2026
- Last date to submit: 18th September 2026
Contact Details
For any queries, please contact at editorial.cls@nluo.ac.in.
Click here to Register.
