CALL FOR PAPERS FOR THE 2012 LIEBER SOCIETY RICHARD R. BAXTER MILITARY WRITING PRIZE

Since 2007, the Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict, an Interest Group of the American Society of International Law, has, through its Lieber Society Military Prize, annually recognized a paper that significantly enhances the understanding and implementation of the law of war. The prize is given for exceptional writing in English by an active member of the regular or reserve armed forces, regardless of nationality. In 2011, the Lieber Society changed the name of the award to the Richard R. Baxter Military Prize.

After serving as an Army Judge Advocate during and after World War II, Richard B. Baxter spent his life studying, writing, and advancing international law and the law of armed conflict while serving as a professor at Harvard Law School, a consultant to the U.S. Department of State, the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of International Law, President of the American Society of International Law, member of numerous delegations to international conferences, and finally as a judge on the International Court of Justice. Baxter epitomizes the conjunction of practical experience and academic expertise that this prize is designed to encourage.

The Prize. The winner will receive a certificate confirming that he or she has won the 2012 Lieber Society Richard R. Baxter Military Prize, $500.00, and a one-year membership to the American Society of International Law (ASIL). The judges may also select additional persons to receive Lieber Society Richard R. Baxter Military Prize Certificates of Merit.

Request for Assistance. Any person receiving this Call for Papers who is aware of exceptional writing that meets the qualifications of this competition is requested to nominate the paper directly to the Lieber Society and forward this Call to the author of that paper.

Definition of the Law of War. For this competition, the Law of War is that part of international law that regulates the conduct of armed hostilities. Papers may address any aspect of the law of war, including, but not limited to the use of force in international law; the conduct of hostilities during international and non-international armed conflicts; protected persons and protected objects; the law of weapons; rules of engagement; treatment of detainees, to include interrogation procedures; and occupation law. Papers addressing practical problems confronting members of armed forces are preferred.

Qualifications for entering the competition. Persons submitting papers do not have to be ASIL members. They may be citizens of any nation, but they must be an active member of a nation’s regular or reserve armed forces.

Papers that may be entered. Papers submitted in this competition must be in English (or translated into English if written in another language) and not more than 35 pages long if printed with single line spacing or 70 pages if written with double line spacing, including footnotes. Both papers that have been published and papers that have not been published will be considered for the Prize.

Required Contact Data. All submissions must contain the following data on the author of the paper: full name and military rank or rating, current postal and e-mail addresses, current telephone and fax numbers. If a person other than the author is making the submission, it must also contain the above data for the person submitting the paper.

Deadline for submitting papers. Papers for the 2012 competition had to be received no later than Saturday, December 31, 2011.

This year's submission period has ended

Announcement of winner. The winner and any persons receiving Certificates of Merit will be announced at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law in Washington, DC.

Please visit our awards page to see recent Lieber Prize winners.