See the Competition's main page for the details of each edition.
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!)
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!). The Competition is open both to law and political science students/PhD candidates, as well as junior scholars and practitioners from around the world.
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.
Winners will present their paper at the Baxter Family Symposium on Federalism, which will be held at McGill University’s Faculty Club on Friday, May 5th, 2023, from 12:00 to 2:30 PM. More information will soon be shared on the Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism’s website and social media.
To attend the Symposium, please RSVP at baxter-competition.law [at] mcgill.ca. A light lunch will be served.
Baxter Family Symposium on Federalism on 15 May 2021 - Federalism, Identity and Public Policy in Challenging Times
The MacKell Chair welcomed the three winners and the recipient of the honourable mention of the 2021 edition of the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism to present their papers. See the Symposium poster.
The Symposium was held online on Saturday, 15 May 2022.
With the participation of:
- First prize: Josiah Wamwere-Njoroge (LLB candidate, Riara University, Nairobi, Kenya): “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.
- Second prize: Kelty McKerracher (JD/JID candidate, University of Victoria, Canada): “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.
- Third prize: Benoît Delerue (PhD candidate in political science, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, Lyon, France): “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.
We thank the many participants who submitted papers and our most distinguished jury for the difficult task of selecting winning papers from the many excellent contributions.
View the 2021 Baxter Family Symposium on Federalism here:
2021 edition: Federalism, Identity and Public Policy in Challenging Times
The Faculty of Law and the Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism were proud to announce the return of the prestigious Baxter Family Competition on Federalism for a third edition in 2021. This edition’s overall theme was Federalism, Identity and Public Policy in Challenging Times. For the first time, the Competition was open both to law and political science students/PhD candidates, as well as junior scholars and practitioners from around the world.
The three winners had the unique opportunity to present their papers during the 2021 Baxter Symposium, held online in May 2021. The winning texts were selected by a stellar international jury:
- 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), assistant legal counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, and winner of the 2019 Baxter Competition (Canada).
2019 Edition
On April 2, 2019, the McGill Faculty of Law and the Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism were delighted to announce the winners of the 2018-2019 Baxter Family Competition. The winners, Jan Raeimon Nato, Berihun Gebeye, Catherine Mathieu and Rafael Viotti Schlobach, presented their works at the Baxter Symposium on May 11, 2019. See pictures of the Symposium.
We received numerous high-quality submissions 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:
- First Prize: Jan Raeimon Nato (BCL/LLB candidate, McGill University, Montreal) - $5,000
“Duties of Federal Loyalty: Lessons to Learn, Conversations to be Had”
- Second Prize: Berihun Gebeye (SJD Candidate, Central European University, Budapest) - $3,000
“Federal Theory and Federalism in Africa”
- 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"
- Rafael Viotti Schlobach (BCL, University of São Paulo, São Paulo)
- Special jury mention: Breanne Lavallee-Heckert (BCL/LLB candidate, McGill University, Montreal)
“‘The Space in Between’: Métis Self-Governance within the Canadian Federation”
2017 edition
Here are the winners of the inaugural Baxter Family Competition, picked from nearly 40 entries:
- First Prize: Asha Kaushal (Assistant Professor, University of British-Columbia)
Constitutional Jurisdictions - $5,000
- Second Prize: Erika Arban (Lecturer, University of Antwerp)
Exploring the Principle of (Federal) Solidarity - $3,000
- Third Prize: Eleonore Gauthier (Articling Student, Toronto)
Spending Power, Social Policy, and the Principle of Subsidiarity - $1,000