Since 2012, the Rule of Law Education project (ROLE) at HKU has been developing academic materials and other resources to promote a better understanding of the rule of law in the Hong Kong community, including among secondary school students.
To encourage secondary students to think creatively and more deeply about the rule of law, ROLE is inviting S4 to S6 students to participate in its 2020 Rule of Law Essay Competition.
Essay Topic
Article 25 of the Basic Law provides “All Hong Kong residents shall be equal before the law.” What does this article mean as a matter of law and in practice? Please give examples to support your analysis.
Eligibility
Students currently enrolled in Form S4 to S6 in any secondary school in Hong Kong may submit essays. One entry per student maximum in each language group.
Language and Format
Essays may be submitted either in Chinese (word limit: 900 words) or in English (word limit: 800 words) in Microsoft Word file.
Assessment criteria
All essays will be scored by a panel of judges, who will assess the work based on content, structure, writing style, and creativity.
Awards
There will be 6 winners total, one for each language group in the categories below:
Champion: HK$3,000 and certificate
First runner-up: HK$2,000 and certificate
Second runner-up: HK$1,000 and certificate
Some number of additional essays may receive merit certificates depending on the quality of the essay and at the discretion of the judges.
Submission rules
How to submit:
There are 2 ways to submit an essay:
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by email to with “HKU Rule of Law Essay Competition 2020” as subject title; or
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by post to “Room 9.21, Cheng Yu Tung Tower, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong” with “HKU Rule of Law Essay Competition 2020” marked on the envelope.
What to submit:
Complete entries must include: 1) the essay 2) a completed application form, and 3) a copy of the participant’s student identity card (for the relevant secondary school attended).
Deadline:
No later than 5pm on Monday, 19 October 2020. All entries via email must be received by this date. All entries via post must be postmarked no later than this date.
Other notes
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The participant’s name shall only appear on the application form accompanying his/her essay. Judges will score all essays anonymously.
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Plagiarism and/or impersonation is strictly prohibited.
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All entries must be original work. Any entries that have been previously published in any form (including on any websites, blogs, online forums, newspapers, magazines, etc.), or previously performed or awarded, will be disqualified.
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Participants are not allowed to submit their entries to other competitions before the result of the competition is announced.
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Essays must be written by a single author; co-authored essays are not accepted.
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Once submitted, the essay entry is considered final. We do not allow participants to modify an entry after it has been received.
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Entries via post will not be returned. Please make a copy as necessary before submission.
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Participants accept that the copyright of their essays belong to Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong.
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Please indicate the number of words at the end of the essay.
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The organizer reserves the right to disqualify entries and reclaim prizes awarded should be found to have violated any of these guidelines, copyright, or any other applicable law or regulation.
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The results will be announced on Monday, 23 November 2020 on the ROLE website (www.role.hku.hk).
Online session
We are going to host an online information session for potential participants seeking clarification. Participation is optional, and details are as follows:
Date: Thursday, 23 July 2020
Time: 3 – 4 pm
To join: Please email to register for the session.
Please direct additional questions to role.admin@hku.hk or call 3917 1839.