Now Open: Landmark Chambers’ Inaugural 'Richard Drabble KC Essay Prize for Human Rights Law' Competition' – Deadline 18 Sept 2025
Landmark Chambers has published details of their inaugural Richard Drabble KC Essay Prize for Human Rights Law, which is free to enter and is now open for submissions, closing on 18 September 2025.
Landmark’s recently retired Richard Drabble KC was Called to the Bar in 1975 and over a career spanning nearly five decades and countless appearances in the highest courts became a giant of the public law Bar.
Richard’s practice spanned all aspects of public law, with a particular emphasis on social security, immigration, environmental, planning, local government and human rights law.
He has appeared at all levels of the domestic court system, including the Supreme Court and the House of Lords, as well as the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Richard is a Bencher of Inner Temple, a former Chair of the Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA) and a current member of the Bar Council's Law Reform Committee (previously Vice-Chair).
In honour of his legacy, Landmark Chambers is pleased to announce the inaugural Richard Drabble KC Essay Prize for Human Rights Law, an opportunity for students and aspiring barristers with an interest in pursuing a career at the Bar, specialising in public law and human rights law, to engage with current questions and challenges in the field.
Participants are invited to submit a 2,000–2,500 word essay addressing the following question:
What is the most significant UK human rights case to have been wrongly decided, and why?
A first prize of £1,000 will be awarded for an essay on this year’s topic. The winner will also receive:
· A copy of the forthcoming first edition of ‘The Law and Practice of Human Rights’;
· An invitation to the Landmark Chambers' Human Rights Law Conference on 2 October 2025 at Lincoln’s Inn;
· The opportunity to complete a mini-pupillage with the public law team at Landmark Chambers; and
· The opportunity to work with the editors of Judicial Review towards submission of the winning entry for publication in the journal.
Up to two runners up will receive a cash prize of £250 in addition to an invitation to the Landmark Chambers' Human Rights Law Conference on 2 October 2025, at Lincoln’s Inn.
Competition Deadline
Entries should be between 2,000 and 2,500 words (inclusive of footnotes) and should be submitted in Word or p format to humanrightsessay@
The winner and runners up will be contacted in advance of the Landmark Chambers’ Human Rights Law Conference where the final winner, as judged by Richard Drabble KC, will be announced.
Eligibility
The competition is open to aspiring barristers who have completed or are entering their final year of study towards a qualifying law degree (or equivalent qualification such as the GDL), who intend to practise at the Bar of England and Wales but who have not accepted a pupillage offer at the time of the submission deadline.
Queries regarding eligibility can be directed to humanrightsessay@
Data Protection
Landmark Chambers’ data protection notice for the Richard Drabble KC Essay Prize for Human Rights Law may be accessed here.
Submission Information
Submissions should also be anonymised, with all relevant contact information included in the body of the email:
· Full name (first and last);
· Contact email address (if different to the one submitting from);
· Contact telephone number
· Details of eligibility (such as current or most recent course and institution);
· A statement confirming that the entrant has read and complied with the Plagiarism Policy and that the submission is the entrant’s sole and original work.
Entrants should adhere to the following style guidelines:
· References should be in numbered footnotes (not endnotes) and should adhere to OSCOLA. Any cases referred to should include both neutral citations and the most authoritative reported citation
· Essays should use British -ise spelling style
· Essays should use double quotation marks, except where "a quotation is 'within' a quotation". Long quotations should be indented without quotation marks.
By submitting an entry, participants agree to be bound by the Competition Plagiarism Policy.
If you have any questions regarding the essay competition, please contact humanrightsessay@
For further information, please visit the Landmark Chambers’ Richard Drabble KC Essay Prize for Human Rights Law page here.
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