Merton law student wins 2018 Disraeli Society Prize

Law undergraduate Niamh Kelly (2015) has been awarded the 2018 Disraeli Society Essay Prize.

The prize, which has been established by the Disraeli Society and is jointly sponsored by the Programme for the Foundations of Law and Constitutional Government and the Federalist Society, seeks to promote broader thinking about topical aspects of law and encourage independent research work among Oxford's undergraduate students. Participants were asked to respond to the question 'The judges should simply apply the law, they should not evaluate its merits. Is this approach to the judicial role desirable?'

Entries were judged by two leading constitutional and administrative law specialists, Professors Nicholas Barber and Richard Ekins, who awarded Niamh the first prize of £400 and the opportunity to attend the Federalist Society Student Symposium in the USA in March 2019.

Niamh said:

"I am thrilled to have been awarded the inaugural Disraeli Society Essay Prize. I am delighted to have had the opportunity to take part in the competition and to further explore my own opinions and the opinions of others on the role of judges in applying and developing the law. I am very grateful to the Disraeli Society, the Programme for the Foundations of Law and Constitutional Government, the Federalist Society and all those involved in organising the competition."