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.

Download the Saunders Prize rules.

Download the Saunders Prize rules.

Call for Nominations

The AACL is now calling for nominations for the 2023 Saunders Prize. The winner of the Saunders Prize in 2023 will be awarded $1000. 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 2022.
• 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 2023 will be The Honourable Virginia Bell AC, The Honourable Professor William Gummow AC, and Professor Michael Crommelin AO.

Nominations must be received by 1 June 2022.

Past Judges

Past judges of the Saunders Prize have included:

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