The competition seeks to provide students with a platform to engage critically with contemporary legal, social, and ethical questions surrounding reproductive choice, bodily integrity, and the evolving contours of family law. By encouraging rigorous and original scholarship, the Centre aims to foster meaningful discourse on issues that continue to shape legal and policy debates both in India and globally.

About the Centre for Family Law

The Centre for Family Law, National Law University, Jodhpur, is dedicated to promoting scholarship, dialogue, and research in the field of family law and allied disciplines. Through lectures, discussions, publications, competitions, and other academic initiatives, the Centre seeks to foster critical engagement with contemporary legal and social issues affecting families and individuals.

About the Competition

The relationship between family law and questions of reproductive autonomy has become increasingly significant in contemporary legal discourse. Issues such as abortion rights, assisted reproductive technologies, maternal healthcare, child marriage, and bodily integrity raise complex questions concerning individual autonomy, state regulation, gender justice, and access to healthcare.

Recognising the need for sustained academic engagement with these issues, the Centre for Family Law has launched this essay competition to encourage students to explore the intersections between law, family, society, and individual rights through analytical and research-driven writing.

Theme: Reproductive Rights and Bodily Autonomy

Participants are invited to critically examine the legal, constitutional, social, and policy dimensions of reproductive rights and bodily autonomy through an interdisciplinary lens. The following sub-themes are merely indicative and not exhaustive:

• Abortion: Reproductive Choice and State Control
• Female Genital Mutilation and the Right to Bodily Integrity
• Surrogacy and Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021
• Maternal Health and Post-Birth Care
• Child Marriage and Reproductive Autonomy

Participants are free to explore any topic that falls within the broader theme of the competition.

Awards and Recognition

The competition offers:

• Cash prizes up to the tune of Rs. 10,000;
• One-year CaseMine AI Pro subscriptions for the authors of the top three winning entries;
• Publication opportunities in the Family Law Chronicle for selected submissions;
• Certificates of Achievement, Merit, and Participation, as applicable.

Registration form and Fee payment portal

To facilitate the administration of the competition and ensure committed participation, the following registration fee shall be applicable:

• Single-Author Submission: ₹300
• Co-Authored Submission: ₹600

Please find the registration link attached: https://forms.gle/bYsK76wwn2GynfSJA

Please note that the link to the payment portal is attached in the description of the google form. Participants are required to upload proof of payment while completing the registration process.

Important Dates

• Registration Deadline: 24 August 2026 [this has been extended to 13 August, 2026]
• Submission Deadline: 10 September 2026

For detailed information regarding eligibility, formatting requirements, registration, and submission procedures, participants are advised to refer to the official competition brochure.