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Darren Burrows

Darren Burrows

Senior Clerk
+44 (0)20 7520 4611
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Jackie Ginty

Jackie Ginty

First Deputy Senior Clerk
+44 (0)20 7520 4608
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Rob Smith

Rob Smith

Deputy Senior Clerk
+44 (0)20 7520 4612
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Times Law Awards

*** THIS YEAR’S COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED ***


Assisted dying – MPs have given it the provisional go-ahead, but how might the creation of what the justice secretary criticised as the state offering death as "a service" change society’s and the law’s approach to death?

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill sparked fraught and emotional debate before being passed at the end of November by 330 votes to 275. It proposes giving terminally ill people the right to request and be provided with assistance to end their lives. Crucially, a High Court judge will have to rule on every application, with those eligible required to be diagnosed with a terminal illness that is expected to kill them within six months. Once granted, individuals would have a fortnight’s cooling-off period before being offered a fatal substance prepared by a doctor. Proposed protections for the process sparked some of the fiercest debate. It will be unlawful to use dishonesty, pressure or coercion when discussing assisted death with individuals, and offenders will face up to 14 years in jail.

Do the safeguards in the Bill provide sufficient protection for the risks involved, bearing in mind vulnerable people, the risks of coercion, and uncertainties in medical diagnoses? The Family Division of the High Court is already burdened with a backlog of cases – will assisted dying applications overload judges? Is it fair to expect judges to take decisions in such cases, and should the law be an instrument of death in this way?

The essay competition is open to all students registered with UK higher education institutes, pupil barristers and trainee solicitors. Essays should be no more than 1,000 words and must be received by midday on Monday, 17 February 2025. There are more than £10,000 of prizes on offer to the six finalists, whose entries will be read by a judging panel of senior figures, including a justice of the Supreme Court, and Daniel Toledano KC and Sonia Tolaney KC from One Essex Court. The awards will be presented at a dinner ceremony at the Guildhall in the City of London in May this year. Full rules and entry details can be found below.