Spring 2025 Essay Contest

Submissions should be essays about a topic broadly connected to human rights. Successful submissions will introduce a novel approach or perspective to their topics and will have a strong nexus to human rights law.

Submissions Window: January 15, 2025 – February 1, 2025. Submissions received outside this window will not be considered.

Winners will be announced in the Spring of 2025 and published in the Online Journal.

Submission Guidelines:

Qualifications: The essay contest is open to all current students at Harvard Law School.

Length Limitations: Submissions should be no longer than 3,500 words, including footnotes.

Citation Format: All assertions should be cited. Please cite sources using footnotes rather than endnotes, ensuring compliance with The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation.

Submission Instructions: Participants should send their submission, as an attachment in Microsoft Word format, from an official Harvard email address to the HHRJ Submissions Committee (submissions.hhrj@mail.law.harvard.edu), along with a copy of a recent CV. The subject line of the email should include “Essay Contest Submission” and the author’s last name.