Essay earns high praise from Sir Anthony Mason

Posted Friday, 12th July 2013

 

Congratulations to Arts/Law student, Marie Iskander on winning first prize in the Sir Anthony Mason Constitutional Law Competition. In ranking the four finalists and announcing the winners on 20 June, Sir Anthony praised the message of Marie's essay as 'very well and persuasively written'.

‘The prize-winning essay by Marie Iskander, which is a substantially shorter essay than the other three, in effect criticises the majority reasoning [in Monis v The Queen [2013]]. 

 

The message of the essay, which is very well and persuasively written, is that prohibition of offensive speech directed at private individuals and protection of the private domain should be considered legitimate restrictions on the implied freedom [of political speech]. The point is well-argued and is perhaps not sufficiently acknowledged in the majority reasoning and not sufficiently enlarged in the minority reasoning,' Sir Anthony said.

It was definitely a night to remember for Marie.  ‘I will forever remember the moment when Sir Anthony Mason complimented my original argument and my ability to write succinctly, yet persuasively,’ she said. 

Marie’s essay on implied freedom of political communication critiqued the judgment in Monis v The Queen [2013]. Marie said she found this a particularly fascinating area and intends to write a research thesis about it next semester.

The competition was organised by the NSW Young Lawyers Public Law & Government Committee and attracted entries from LLB and JD students across Australia.