To advance focused research in the specific domains of law, National Law University Odisha, Cuttack has come out with dedicated research centres including on public health.

The Centre for Public Health Law has been established with an aim to inquire into the paradigm of legal entitlements of people under the right to health and strategize the use of law to promote health equity.

The Centre provides guidance to government and non-government organizations on matters of health policy and ensures its compatibility with the fundamental rights regime under the Indian Constitution.

The Centre regularly hosts guest lectures inviting scholars and academicians working in the area of Public Health Law. The Centre also organizes a National Moot Court Competition on Public Health Law annually.

About the Essay Writing Competition

The Centre for Public Health Law, National Law University Odisha is pleased to announce its 1st Essay Writing Competition on Public Health Law, 2022, to celebrate the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, an initiative of the Government of India. We are organizing this competition in observance of the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” to showcase “Resolve@75” with the objective of creating a healthy India.

This essay competition seeks to further the discourse on contemporary topics related to the field of Public Health Law, its increased importance in the midst of a Global Pandemic and at the same time, its correlation with Fundamental Rights & other areas of law. Participants of this Essay competition will get the opportunity to win cash prizes, publications, and merit certificates from the Centre.

Theme and Sub-themes

Theme: Fundamental Rights and Public Health Law

Under this some of the suggestive sub-themes that the students can explore include:

• Diseases, Discrimination and Public employment in India
• Privacy and Health Data sharing: Emerging concerns
• Legality of Population Control measures
• Compulsory Vaccination in India
• Duty of the State vis-à-vis Mental Health
• Right to Health as a Fundamental Right
• Interface between Public Health and Religious Freedom / Freedom of Trade, Commerce & Profession
• Right to smoke-free public places: A Critical evaluation of Tobacco Control in India

Note: The sub-themes are only a suggestion, and the students are free to choose any other sub-theme that falls within the scope of the main theme.

Awards and Prizes

• 1st Prize: Rs. 5,000
• 2nd Prize: Rs. 3,000
• 3rd Prize: Rs. 2,000
• Top 3 Essays will be published on the official website of NLU Odisha
• Top 10 essays will be awarded a certificate of merit
• Certificate of Participation to all the participants

Submission Guidelines

• Language: All essays have to be in English and submissions shall be made in both MS Word format (.doc/docx) and PDF Format.
• Formatting Guidelines:
• Font and Size of Main Text and Footnotes- Times New Roman, Size 12 for main text, and Times New Roman, Size 10 for footnotes.
• Size and Alignment- A4 Size with 1 Inch Margin on all sides; all text except headings justified.  
• Footnoting- The footnoting style that should be followed will be OSCOLA (4th Edition).
• Spacing- Submission should be 1.5 spaced (except footnotes which must be single spaced).
• Word Limit: Word limit of the submission is 3000-4000 words (excluding Abstract and footnotes. Kindly avoid using speaking footnotes).
• Abstract Word Limit: Abstract should not be more than 300 words.
• Plagiarism: The plagiarism limit should be less than 20% and any submission that is found to be plagiarized beyond the limit shall be disqualified from the competition.
• Anonymity: Participant shall not include his/her name in the submission’s text in any form. Participants should ensure that they delete his/her/their name(s) from the head “Author” of their Word document while sending their final transcript.
• Co-Authorship: Allowed up to 2 co-authors.
• Certificate of Originality must be submitted by the authors along with their signatures.
• All submissions will undergo strict online plagiarism checks and will be evaluated by independent experts. They will be subjected to double-blind peer review by the Screening Committee constituted for this purpose.
• The selected essays will be published on the NLU Odisha website. Essays will be assessed on the basis of originality, identification of issues, legal analysis, clarity in language, expression of arguments and formatting as per the guidelines.
• Do not include any pictures or other illustrations in the essay.
• Copyright of the submission shall remain with CPHL. Once the article has been submitted to the committee, the author(s) forfeits their right of ownership. Articles already published or are in consideration with other organizers would be rejected at once.
• In case of any conflicts, CPHL shall be the final authority on the guidelines.
• No registration fee is required to participate in the competition.
• Any sort of malpractices, similarity of texts without proper due acknowledgments and any signs of name/university’s name that might display author’s identification by any means shall be dealt with strict disciplinary actions.
• All the articles must strictly adhere to the guidelines. Any article not following the same shall be outrightly rejected.
• Submission of the Essays will take place ONLY via the Google form the link of which has been given at the end of this post.
• It is the responsibility of each author(s) to ensure that the “.docx” copy of the submission can be opened legibly with Microsoft Office 2010 or Microsoft Office 2007. This form will collect some details, which should be filed correctly by the Author(s).

Eligibility and Submission Procedure

There will be no registration fees and Students/Research Scholars enrolled in any UG/PG/Ph.D. course from any recognized Indian University is eligible to participate in the competition.

The Author(s) shall submit the essay through the following Google Form link by March 27, 2022 (11:59 P.M. IST).

Link to make the submission:

Important Dates

• Date of Release of Notification: 23rd February, 2022
• Date of Submission: 27th March, 2022

Contact Information

For any clarifications and more information, please feel free to contact the Centre for Public Health Law, NLUO at cphl@nluo.ac.in.

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