A small error seems to have downed the website for a short while. For those who visited this site during the downtime, apologies. We’d be restoring as much of the website as soon as possible.

A first priority however, would be to provide the SLR Competition Rules and Regulations and SLR Competition Entry Form (for those who cannot access their emails or any other stranger reason) for the SLR Writing Competition and Symposium. Click on the links for them.

Don’t let our problems stop you from writing! Here’s an administrative check-list for those finishing their work:

  • The Deadline for submissions is 19 January 2007 at 5 pm
  • 3 printed copies of the essay should be submitted to Mailbox 1251 (4th floor, Block B) before the deadline. A completed entry form (SLR Competition Entry Form) should be attached as a cover page to each copy of the physical essay submission. The copies should be placed inside an envelope labelled with the name and matriculation number of the entrant.
  • 1 Microsoft Word Document containing the soft copy of the essay should be sent via email to writingcomp@singaporelawreview.org
  • If you need more motivation, you might want to take note of the prizes: The winner of the Singapore Law Review Writing Competition and Symposium 2007 will receive $1000 in prize money. The 1st runner-up will receive $500, with the 2nd runners-up each receiving $250. The remaining short-listed finalists will also receive a consolation prize of $100 each. The short-listed finalists will have an opportunity both of enjoying a paid internship at the sponsoring firm, TS Oon & Bazul. Short-listed entries will also become the property of the SLR and have the opportunity of being published in the Singapore Law Review Journal.

Refer to the SLR Competition Rules and Regulations for more information, conversely you may read the rest of the entry as reference (the information provided below is not a substitute for the official document, which is linked above). The SLR Writing Competition and Symposium 2007 is proudly sponsored by TS Oon & Bazul.

ART I: INTRODUCTION

 

1. Objective. This Competition is organized by the Singapore Law Review (SLR), and sponsored by TS Oon & Bazul with the goal of promoting legal thinking, writing and discussion amongst law students.

 

2. Eligibility. The Competition is open to all students in the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Law.

 

3. Topic. The Competition will revolve around the topic, “Legal Developments in a Changing World” on which essay submissions are to be made.

 

 

PART II: GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

1. Overview of Competition. There are two aspects to the competition – the Writing Competition and the Symposium.

 

2. Competition Structure. The following are important dates with regard to the Competition –

 

(1) the deadline for submission of entries is on 19 January 2007, 5pm;

 

(2) the results for short-listed entries will be released on 2 February 2007 via email; and

 

(3) presentation of short-listed entries and judging will be in the week of 12-16 February 2007. The exact date and venue will be announced at a later date.

 

3. Knowledge of the Rules. All Participants are deemed to have full knowledge of the contents of these rules. The SLR reserves the right to amend these rules at any time, giving due notice to the participants.

 

4. Amendments to the Rules. Any changes to the rules and other matters will be posted on the SLR website (www.singaporelawreview.org/) or communicated via email. Participants are therefore advised to refer to these sources regularly.

 

5. Withdrawal. There shall be no withdrawal of participation at any stage of the competition without a valid reason and prior approval by SLR.

 

6. Penalties. The rules contained herein, as well as all future amendments, are to be strictly followed. Any breach may result in points being deducted and/or the participant being disqualified from the competition.

 

7. Others. SLR’s decisions in the administration of the competition are final and shall not be questioned on any grounds.

 

PART III: THE WRITING COMPETITION

 

1. Topic. The topic for the Writing Competition is “Legal Developments in a Changing World”

 

2. Individual or Team Entries. Entries to the competition may be made individually or in teams, with a maximum of 3 students per team.

 

3. Entry Form. Each entrant is required to complete an entry form found at www.singaporelawreview.org. This entry form must then be attached as a cover page to each copy of the participant’s essay submission. If the entry is submitted by a team, each team member must complete his/her individual entry form and attach them together as cover pages to each copy of the team’s essay submission. Failure to submit the entry form or submission of incomplete entry forms will result in the disqualification of the entry.

 

4. Identification. Only the entrant’s matriculation number, and not the entrant’s name, should appear in the main body of the essay. Full details identifying the entrant should instead be set out in the aforementioned entry form that is to be attached as a cover page to each essay.

 

5. Submission of Essays. Each entrant is required to submit 1 electronic soft copy and 3 printed copies of his essay to the SLR by 19 January 2007, 5pm. Printed copies should be submitted to mailbox 1251 (located on the 4th floor of Block B) in an envelope with name and matriculation number stated, while soft copies should be sent via email to writingcomp@singaporelawreview.org.

 

6. Qualification of Entries. Entries can be on any area of law. The SLR will interpret the scope of the Competition broadly to ensure that it affords the greatest degree of flexibility in writing on the topic, but in any event the decision of whether a particular essay qualifies for the Competition is entirely within the discretion of the SLR.

 

7. Submission Guidelines. Entries should be word-processed and double-spaced in Microsoft Word format.

i. Minimum Length. Entries should be at least 2000 words in length excluding footnotes.

ii. Headings. The number of levels of headings should not normally exceed four.

  • First level headings should be centred. Type in capitals/small capitals. Precede by capitalised roman numerals, e.g., I, II, etc.

 

FIRST LEVEL HEADING IN CAPITALS/SMALL CAPITALS

 

  • Second level headings should be centred. Type with initial capitals for main words only and italicise. Preceded by capitalised alphabets, e.g. A, B, etc.

 

A. Second Level Heading in Italics

 

  • Third level headings should be flush left. Type with initial capitals for the first word and proper names only and italicise. Precede by arabic numbering, e.g., 1, 2, etc.

 

  1. Third level heading in Italics

 

  • Fourth level headings should be flush left. Type with initial capitals for the first word and proper names only and italicise. Precede by alphabets in parentheses, e.g., (a), (b), etc. End with a colon and run into text.

 

  1. Fourth level headings in Italics: [Run into text…]

 

iii. References and Citations. Citations should conform as closely as possible to the McGill Law Journal, Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 5th Ed. (Toronto: Carswell 2002). It is the entrant’s responsibility to ensure that all references and citations are correct.

 

iv. Quotations. Quotations should be clearly indicated and it is vital that they are accurate.

 

  • Where letters or words are replaced or inserted within a quotation, the replacement or inserted letters or words should be indicated in brackets “[ ]“.

 

  • Where words, phrases or sentences are omitted within a quotation, the omission should be indicated by ellipses “…”. No indication of punctuation before or after the ellipse is necessary.

 

  • Where the quotation will run to more than forty words it should be typed as a separate paragraph, left-indented and right-indented.

 

  • Double quotation marks should be inserted at the beginning and end of every quotation, but not when the entire quotation is indented or at the beginning of every new paragraph within a quotation.

 

  • Single quotation marks should be used at the beginning and end of quotations within quotations.


v. Use of Capital Letters. Where reference is made to a specific office, organisation or body then the capital letters should be used. Where the reference is general or non-specific then the lower case letter should be used.


vi. Abbreviations and Contractions. The period should be used in conjunction with all abbreviations and contractions except in abbreviating the names of organisations. For example, “Company” is abbreviated to “Co.”, “exempli gratia” is abbreviated to “e.g.”, and “Limited” is contracted to “Ltd.”, whereas the “United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation” is abbreviated to “UNESCO”.

 

vii. Foreign words. Foreign words not currently absorbed into the English language should be italicised, e.g., “inter alia“, “bona fide” etc.

 

8. No Multiple Entries. Only one essay submission for the Competition is allowed per participant.

 

9. No Plagiarism. Entrants must submit their own original essays only. Failure to submit an original essay will result in disqualification from the Competition.

 

10. No Published and Awarded Essays. Essays that have been published or are to be published in other publications and essays that have won prizes in other competitions do not qualify for entry into the Competition.

 

11. Short-listed Entries. Results of short-listed entries will be announced via email on 2 February 2007. Participants short-listed will qualify for the Symposium held on the week of 12-16 February 2007 (exact date and venue to be announced at a later date). Short-listed entries will also be afforded an opportunity to be published in the next issue of the Singapore Law Review. More details with regard to the Symposium are in Part IV of the Competition Rules and Regulations.

 

 

PART IV: THE SYMPOSIUM

 

1. Qualification for Symposium. Short-listed entries from the Writing Competition will qualify for presentation and judging at the Symposium.

 

2. Format of Symposium. All short-listed entrants will have to prepare a 10-minute long presentation for judging. The judges and the audience may ask questions with regard to the presentation.

 

3. Abstract. All short-listed entrants will have to prepare a single page abstract of the short-listed essay to the SLR 2 days before the date of the Symposium.

 

4. Method of Presentation. Participants may use any form of presentation they prefer. For use of audio-visual equipment and any special requests relating to the method of presentation, participants are to inform the SLR three working days in advance.

 

 

PART V: PRIZES

 

1. Writing Competition and Symposium. The winner of the Singapore Law Review Writing Competition and Symposium 2007 will receive $1000 in prize money. The 1st runner-up will receive $500, with the 2nd runners-up each receiving $250. The remaining short-listed finalists will also receive a consolation prize of $100 each. The short-listed finalists will have an opportunity both of enjoying a paid internship at the sponsoring firm, TS Oon & Bazul. Short-listed entries will also become the property of the SLR and have the opportunity of being published in the Singapore Law Review Journal.