Lord Kerr Essay Competition 2026 - Human Rights Lawyers Association

 

We are delighted to announce the 2026 Lord Kerr Essay Competition.

The competition honours Lord Kerr's immense contributions to human rights legal thinking. This year’s question tackles one of the most critical debates of our time: 

 “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes”: to what extent does the state have a duty to protect citizens from misinformation?

The essay competition is open to undergraduates, LLM, BPTC, SQE and GDL students, as well as recent graduates without a training contract or pupillage offer.

Prizes include:

 £300 main prize

 £100 for two runners-up

with more to be announced!

Max 2000 words (excluding references)

  Judged by experts across media, communications, and human rights

Deadline: 19 June 2026

The essay can be submitted at the JLC Essay Competition submission link.