Oxfam and Tax Justice Human Rights Essay Competition-2016

• Oxfam and Tax Justice Network are joining hands to launch a tax justice and human rights essay competition. The competition is mainly for the legal /law students and professionals to write an essay on how would you use human rights law to challenge tax injustice.
• The competition is launched on January 26, 2016, and the last date of submission of the essay is March 13, 2016, before midnight (GMT).
• The entrants from the developing countries and countries from any income group can write 3500 words complaints mentioning their suffering and wants to know the best use of law to protect themselves as well as their people’s human rights in the face of tax injustice.
  • Oxfam and Tax Justice are organizing this competition is order to identify the plaintiffs, defendants, remedies, sought and arguments that are considered enforceable in an existing legal forum.
  • Overall, substantial damage is done to human rights through the use of tax havens, the opacity of corporate accounting, the manipulation of trade prices and the disguising of beneficial ownership.
• The competition will be judged by a panel of eminent lawyers chaired by Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, a Senior Research Fellow at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) who from 2008 to 2014 was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights.

• Opportunity to present work at International Workshop: The name of the winners will be announced in March 2016. The winners will get an opportunity to present their work at the Tax Justice Network’s annual research workshop to be held at City University London.
  • The essay’s of the winners, as well as other recommended entries, will be translated and be published on the official website.
• Attend Workshop: The workshop will be held on April 28 and April 29, 2016. The theme of the workshop is ‘Corruption and Tax Havens’.
  • The best submission of each category will avail an economy class travel to London for the research workshop.
  • The winner is responsible for arranging their own visa (if needed) to attend the workshop.
• Books on Law: The winners will also receive signed copies of books on tax justice, human rights and inequality from leading experts in this field.
• Sharing on Social Media: Winners and runners-up will have their full names, essays and photographs displayed on the Oxfam and Tax Justice Network websites and social media channels.

It is to be noted that submitted proposals will be considered for active litigation.

Instructions for writing the essay

• The students must indicate in the subject line of the essay whether they are ‘Practitioner’ or ‘Student’ category.
• As this is an international competition, submission of the essay will only be accepted in English, Spanish and French languages.

• The essay must be written in word or PDF format.
• The essay which exceeds 3500 words will be cancelled.
• There will be only one essay per entrant.
• Plagiarism is strictly prohibited and will lead to disqualification. Entrants need to cite appropriately and crediting the original author if they are using already existing materials.

Submission of Essay

• The last date of submission of the essay is March 13, 2016, before midnight (GMT). The entrants must submit their essay along with a brief summary of their case to email id taxjusticecompetition@oxfam.org.uk

For any further questions, entrants can contact at taxjusticecompetition@oxfam.org.uk