The Blackstone Prize was established in honour of the English jurist and legal scholar William Blackstone. This competition recognizes and rewards law students for outstanding scholarly papers on  topics exploring the rule of law, fundamental freedoms, and constitutionalism. Both the winner and runner-up will have the opportunity to see their work published in the Supreme Court Law Review and the Dicey Law Review.

Paper Requirements

For our annual Blackstone Prize, the Runnymede Society seeks papers relating to themes concerning the rule of law, fundamental freedoms, and constitutionalism.  Papers should be between 5,000 and 10,000 words.  Blackstone Prize recipients may be required to condense the length of their papers prior to publication.

Eligibility

The contest is open to students enrolled at a Canadian law schools in an undergraduate law program (i.e. J.D.or B.C.L.), to articling students or students-at-law with a Canadian law firm, or to judicial clerks at a Canadian court.

Prizes

Two cash awards are available: the recipient of each year’s Blackstone Prize receives a $5,000 award, and the runner-up receives a $3,000 award.  Each award comes with a chance to be published in the Supreme Court Law Review and the Dicey Law Review.

Submission:

Eligible students may submit their papers to Tim Haggstrom (thaggstrom@runnymedesociety.ca). 

Deadline:

We anticipate inviting applications for the 2026 Blackstone Prize in the spring of 2026.