Baxter Family Competition on Federalism

2023 edition: Federalism: What Makes it Work (or not!) 

The Faculty of Law and the Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism are proud to announce the return of the prestigious Baxter Family Competition on Federalism for a fourth edition in 2023. This edition’s overall theme is Federalism: What makes it work (or not!). 

Winners of the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism 2023: Federalism: What Makes it Work (or not!) 

McGill University’s Faculty of Law and the Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism are delighted to announce the winners of the 2022-2023 Baxter Family Competition on Federalism. Organized by Professor Johanne Poirier, this essay competition was open to students and recent graduates in law and political science.    

We received numerous submissions of an exceptional quality from scholars and junior practitioners from 13 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Haiti, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Amongst those, the international jury attributed the following prizes: 

• First Prize: Shahal Khoso (Pakistani PhD candidate in Political Science, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain) – 5,000$ . “Postcolonial Federalism: Tracing Colonial State-Formation in the Global South” For its original and ground-breaking argument challenging Western-centric approaches to federalism, through a skillful comparative and historical angle.
• Second Prize: Arnaud Hoste and Ashley Saad (LLM candidates, McGill University, Montreal, Canada) – 3,000$. “Canadian Federalism and Environmental Protection: What Makes it Work (or Not!)”  For its important insights into a complex and relevant area of Canadian federalism, supported by a rich diversity of sources. 
• Third Prize: Nadine Dahou and Anne-Frédérique Naud (MA candidates in Applied Political Studies, Université de Sherbrooke, Canada). “The Evolution of Intergovernmental Relations in Immigration: Cooperative Federalism in Canada and Australia”. For its skillful comparative approach to a crucial issue of facing federal states, supported by a profound analysis of secondary sources.  
• Special Mention from the Jury: Andreas Samartzis (Greek PhD candidate in Law, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom). “Judicial Supremacy in the European Federal Union”. For its novel perspective and instructive overview of theoretical approaches to the legitimacy of judicial power in this complex polity. 
• Special Mention from the Jury: Olivier Jacques (Assistant Professor in Public Health, Université de Montréal, Canada). “Régler le déséquilibre fiscal ? Les contraintes politiques et institutionnelles à deux solutions idéales”. For its strong theoretical and practical contribution to the global debate on a crucial issue of redistribution and balance in the Canadian federal system.  

We are deeply grateful to the distinguished members of our international jury, who thoroughly considered the submissions for the 2023 Competition:  

• The Honourable Marie Deschamps, former Justice at the Supreme Court of Canada  
• The Honourable Clément Gascon, former Justice at the Supreme Court of Canada  
• Prof. Maria Jesus Garcia Morales, Professor of Constitutional Law at the Autonomous University of Barcelona 
• Prof. Rekha Saxena, Professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Delhi 
• Prof. Sabine Kropp, Professor of German Politics at the Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science at the Free University of Berlin  
• Prof. Yonatan T. Fessha, Professor of Law and Research Chair in constitutional design in divided societies at the University of the Western Cape 
• Prof. Guy Laforest, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Laval University; Member of the Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la diversité et la démocratie (CRIDAQ); and independent scholar.  
• Josiah Wamwere-Njoroge, winner of the 2021 edition of the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism, post-graduate student at the Kenya School of Law.  

Pictures from the 2023 Baxter Symposium

About the Baxter Competition  

 
Created in 2016, the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism has been made possible through the generous support of Rachel Baxter, BSc’84, BCL’88 and Colin Baxter, BCL’90, LLB’90, who both practice law in Ottawa.  

The overarching goal of the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism is to advance research and foster informed debate on federalism, in Canada and abroad. The competition is open to both to law and political science students and young practitioners from around the world.   

The first three editions received over 100 entries, from 22 countries (in addition to Canada, we had participants from Germany, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Spain, the United States, Ethiopia, France, Hungary, India, Ireland, Indonesia, Kenya, Morocco, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Zimbabwe!)

2021 edition: Federalism, Identity and Public Policy in Challenging Times

About the Baxter Competition 

Created in 2016, the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism has been made possible through the generous support of Rachel Baxter, BSc’84, BCL’88 and Colin Baxter, BCL’90, LLB’90, who both practice law in Ottawa. 

The overarching goal of the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism is to advance research and foster informed debate on federalism, in Canada and abroad. The competition is open to both to law and political science students and young practitioners from around the world.  

The first three editions received over 100 entries, from 22 countries (in addition to Canada, we had participants from Germany, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Spain, the United States, Ethiopia, France, Hungary, India, Ireland, Indonesia, Kenya, Morocco, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Zimbabwe!) 

The Faculty of Law of McGill University and the Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism are delighted to announce the winners of the 2020-2021 Baxter Family Competition on Federalism, organized by Professor Johanne Poirier.

For the first time, the Competition was open to authors from the disciplines of law or political science. This edition’s overall theme was Federalism, Identity and Public Policy in Challenging Times.

We received numerous and diverse submissions of an exceptional quality from scholars and junior practitioners from 12 countries. Amongst those, the international jury has selected the following papers:

1. First prize: Josiah Wamwere-Njoroge (LLB candidate, Riara University, Nairobi, Kenya) – 5,000$
   The Utility of a Decentralized Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (abstract)
   For its well-developed, thoughtful and theoretically grounded argument, and its comparative focus, allowing an analysis relevant to the fundamentals of federalism.
2. Second prize: Kelty McKerracher (JD/JID candidate, University of Victoria, Canada) – 3,000$
   Relational Legal Pluralism and Indigenous Legal Orders in Canada
   For its topical, novel and mature argument, tackling both the theoretical roots and practical possibilities of legal pluralism as a path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
3. Third prize: Benoît Delerue (PhD candidate in political science, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, Lyon, France) – 1,000$
   Le régime fédératif face au triptyque structure-conjoncture-fracture: évolution structurelle des fédérations canadienne et états-unienne sous l’effet des crises conjoncturelles et des fractures politiques
   For its originality, the depth of its research in primary historical sources, and its comparative approach, providing a rich reflection on the evolution of federations.

• Honourable mention: Philipp Renninger (PhD candidate in law, University of Lucerne and University of Freiburg, Switzerland and Germany)
  ‘Federalism, Chinese Style’? or: How to Contain COVID-19 Through a Central-Local Chess Game
  For its novel study of China through the lens of federalism and the metaphor of the chess game, thus engaging with the complexity of the federal phenomenon.

Winners presented their papers at the Baxter Family Symposium on Federalism, held online on May 15, 2021.

View the 2021 Baxter Family Symposium on Federalism here:

Our distinguished jury

We are grateful to the distinguished members of our international jury, who thoroughly considered the submissions for the 2021 Competition:

• The Right Hon. Beverley McLachlin, former Chief Justice at the Supreme Court of Canada.
• The Honourable Clément Gascon, former Justice at the Supreme Court of Canada.
• Prof. Francesco Palermo, President of the International Association of Centres for the Study of Federalism; Head of the Institute for Comparative Federalism at EURAC Research; and Professor of Comparative Public Law at University of Verona’s Faculty of Law (Italy).
• Prof. Nicola McEwen, Professor of Territorial Politics at University of Edinburgh’s School of Social and Political Science; and Co-Director of the Centre on Constitutional Change (United Kingdom).
• Prof. Yasmeen Abu-Laban, Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta; Canada Research Chair in the Politics of Citizenship and Human Rights; and Vice-President of International Political Science Association (Canada).
• Prof. Nico Steytler, Professor at the University of the Western Cape’s Faculty of Law; and South African Research Chairs Initiative Chair in Multilevel Government, Law and Policy (South Africa).
• Prof. Jaclyn L. Neo, Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Law; Director of Centre for Asian Legal Studies; and Co-Chair of International Society for Public Law (ICON-S)’s Singapore Chapter (Singapore).
• Jan Raeimon Nato, BCL/LLB (2019), Student-at-Law at Baker McKenzie, and Winner of the 2019 Baxter Competition (Canada).

2019 edition

The McGill Faculty of Law and the Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism are delighted to announce the winners of the 2019 Baxter Family Competition.

We received numerous high-quality submissions from scholars and junior practitioners, with authors originating from a total of 13 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Ethiopia, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Scotland, Spain, the United States, and Zimbabwe. From these, the international jury selected the following:

1. First Prize: Jan Raeimon Nato (BCL/LLB candidate, McGill University, Montreal) – $5,000
   “ Duties of Federal Loyalty: Lessons to Learn, Conversations to be Had”
2. Second Prize: Berihun Gebeye (SJD Candidate, Central European University, Budapest) – $3,000
   “ Federal Theory and Federalism in Africa”
3. Third Prize (ex-aequo) – $1000, to be shared:
   • Rafael Viotti Schlobach (BCL, University of São Paulo, São Paulo)
     “ Homogeneity Clauses in Federal Countries: A Comparative Analysis”
   • Catherine Mathieu (DCL candidate, McGill University, Montreal)
     “ L’initiative constitutionnelle comme élément déclencheur de la réforme du fédéralisme canadien"
4. Special jury mention: Breanne Lavallee-Heckert (BCL/LLB candidate, McGill University, Montreal)
   “ ‘The Space in Between’: Métis Self-Governance within the Canadian Federation”

Winners presented their papers at a Symposium held on 11 May 2019 starting at 11:30 at McGill University’s Thomson House (3650, McTavish St.). See photos of the proceedings. This Symposium coincided with the Younger Comparativists Conference of the the American Society of Comparative Law, which was being held 10-11 May, 2019 at McGill.

The jury

We are grateful to the distinguished members of our international and bilingual jury, who thoroughly considered the submissions for the 2019 Competition:

• The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, Former Chief Justice at the Supreme Court of Canada
• Prof. Eva Maria Belser, Co-Director of the Institute of Federalism and holder of the Chair for Constitutional and Administrative Law, University of Fribourg (Switzerland)
• Prof. Hugo Cyr, Doyen de la Faculté de droit de l’UQAM et codirecteur du Centre d’analyse politique sur la constitution et le fédéralisme — CAP-CF (Canada)
• Dr Rohan Edrisinha, Constitutional Advisor to the United Nations Development Programme, New York, and Faculty Member at University of Colombo Faculty of Law (Sri Lanka)
• Dr Menaka Guruswamy, BR Ambedkar Research Scholar, Lecturer at Columbia Law School and Barrister at the Supreme Court of India (United States and India)
• Prof. Asha Kaushal, Assistant Professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia and winner of the 2017 Baxter Competition (Canada)
• Prof. Francesco Palermo, President of the International Association of Centers for the Study of Federalism, Head of the Institute for Comparative Federalism at EURAC Research, Professor of Comparative Public Law at University of Verona’s Faculty of Law (Italy)
• Prof. Cheryl Saunders, Laureate Professor Emeritus, Co-Director of Studies in Government Law, International Law and Public Law, Melbourne Law School (Australia)

See the 2019 call for papers.

Should you have any questions regarding the Competition, do not hesitate to contact our research assistant at marie-helene.lyonnais [at] mail.mcgill.ca.

2017 edition

Bravo to the winners of the inaugural Baxter Family Competition:

1. First Prize: Asha Kaushal (Assistant Professor, University of British-Columbia)
   Constitutional Jurisdictions - $5,000
2. Second Prize: Erika Arban (Lecturer, University of Antwerp)
   Exploring the Principle of (Federal) Solidarity - $3,000
3. Third Prize: Eleonore Gauthier (Articling Student, Toronto)
   Spending Power, Social Policy, and the Principle of Subsidiarity - $1,000

The winners presented their papers at a Symposium that took take place at McGill University’s Faculty Club (3450, McTavish St.) at 16h00, on March 22, 2017.

The jury

We are grateful to the distinguished jury members for their careful and thorough consideration of the essays:

• Prof. Eva Maria Belser, Co-Director, Institute of Federalism, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
• The Honourable Ian Binnie, Lawyer and former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
• The Honourable Marie Deschamps, Lawyer and former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
• Prof. Jean Leclair, Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal
• Prof. Peter Oliver, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa
• Prof. Patricia Popelier, Associate-Dean, University of Antwerp, Belgium 
• Prof. Cheryl Saunders, Director of Studies, Government Law, Melbourne Law School, Australia
• Prof. Marc Verdussen, Faculté de droit, Université catholique de Louvain

2016 Competition Entries

We received close to forty high-quality submissions from legal scholars and junior law practitioners of which 35 were deemed admissible. Authors originate from a total of nine countries: Canada (British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Québec), Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We thank all participants for their contributions. (2016 Call for papers.)