Osgoode student Michael Abdelkerim has won third prize in the American Judges Association’s 2005 Law Student Essay Competition for his paper titled “Section 273.65 of the National Defence Act: Inappropriate and Unconstitutional”.
Abdelkerim, a second-year student in the LLB program, was in competition with full-time law students from across the United States and Canada.
While this is the first time in over a decade that a Canadian has won this award, Osgoode Hall Law School has an impressive track-record in the AJA Essay Competition. The previous two Canadian winners are also Osgoode alumni: Pam Carpenter (LLB ’93), who won in 1992; and Mohammed Muslim (LLB ’95), who won in 1994.
In addition to receiving a commemorative plaque and prize money, Abdelkerim’s essay will be published in the AJA journal, Court Review.
Section 273.65 of Canada’s National Defence Act allows the government to authorize interception of private communications to aid collection of foreign intelligence or to protect government computer systems.