Saunders Prize for Excellence in Scholarship in Constitutional Law

About

The Saunders Prize for Excellence in Scholarship in Constitutional Law (Saunders Prize) is named in honour of Laureate Professor Emeritus Cheryl Saunders AO, in recognition of her exceptional eminence in constitutional law and her leadership in the creation of the AACL.

The Saunders Prize will be awarded to the author of an article or note on a subject of constitutional law, published in an Australian legal journal in the preceding calendar year, which, in the opinion of the Panel, reflects the highest standards of research and scholarship. The Saunders Prize will be judged by a Panel consisting of three eminent constitutional law scholars or practitioners, appointed for each year by resolution of the Council of the AACL. At least one member of the Panel is a member of the Council of the AACL.

Call for Nominations

The AACL will next call for nominations for the 2024 Saunders Prize. The winner of the Saunders Prize in 2024 will be awarded $1,000. Nominations should take the following form:

  • A nominated article should be sent by way of e-mail attachment to the AACL Council at (with the subject line “Saunders Prize”).
  • The article should be in the form in which it was published. Manuscripts in other forms will not be accepted.
  • In addition, a covering letter should be included containing the details of the nominating party and (if different) the article’s author. The covering letter should also confirm that the article was published in an Australian legal journal in 2023.
  • An article may be nominated by an individual or by a law journal. However, each individual and each law journal is limited to one nomination.

The Judging Panel for the Prize in 2024 is yet to be fixed.

It is expected that the last dates for nominations will be 1 June 2024.

Past Judges

Past judges of the Saunders Prize have included:

  • Prof the Hon William Gummow AC KC
  • The Hon Susan Crennan AC KC
  • The Hon Virginia Bell AC SC
  • The Hon Alan Robertson SC
  • Prof Michael Crommelin AO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Past Winners

2023

2022

2021

2020 (Joint Winners)

2019

2018

2017

2016 (Joint Winners)