Gaire Blunt Scholarship
The Gaire Blunt scholarship is offered by the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia (BLS). It was first awarded in 2008 and commemorates Gaire Blunt, who was a leading competition law practitioner and a partner at Allen Allen & Hemsley (now Allens Arthur Robinson) from 1970 to 2005.
After the enactment of the Trade Practices Act in 1974 Gaire was in the vanguard of those who were to shape the form, regulation and administration of competition law in Australia. He was a member of the inaugural Trade Practices Committee of the Law Council of Australia, the first Consulting Editor to the CCH Trade Practices Reporter and one of the leading practitioners in the field.
For almost ten years Gaire was a lay member of the Administrative Division of the New Zealand High Court. His work for the New Zealand High Court on the Kapuni gas case was a highlight.
This scholarship recognises that Gaire played a central role in developing and mentoring the careers of many young lawyers and was always concerned to ensure that he gave younger lawyers the opportunity to demonstrate and develop their talents.
Scholarship details
Applications must be submitted on an official application form obtained from the Administrator of the BLS. The form contains the full conditions of entry, the most important aspects of which are:
- The Gaire Blunt scholarship is aimed at persons at a junior stage of their career in Australia, whether it be as a practising lawyer, academic or member of the public service or corporate sector.
- All decisions concerning eligibility will be made by the BLS Executive in its discretion.
- One scholarship will be offered each year to the value of $5,000.
- To apply for the scholarship lawyers will need to submit a paper on a competition law topic no more than 10,000 words, by 31 December 2009.
- Papers submitted as part of the scholarship application will be judged by a panel which will be appointed by the BLS Executive and will include a member of the BLS Executive; the chairperson of the BLS Trade Practices Committee or his/her nominee; a representative from academia and a judge or other person of standing approved by the BLS Executive.
- As a condition of accepting the scholarship, the author of the paper should be prepared to deliver the paper at a workshop run by the BLS (although whether or not the author will be asked to deliver the paper at a workshop each year will be at the discretion of the BLS Executive). This could be at the annual trade practices workshop or at the trade practices workshop which is run for younger lawyers.
- The application form will include the criteria to be applied in assessing the paper.
- One scholarship will be offered each year for five years after which time the scholarship program will be reviewed by the BLS Executive.
- If awarded the Scholarship, the recipient will not for a period of six months after the award, without the prior approval of the BLS Executive, submit the paper for publication. A condition of approval will be the acknowledgement of the award of the Gaire Blunt Scholarship for the paper.
Contact
Carol O'Sullivan
Section Administrator, Business Law Section
Law Council of Australia
Ph: 02 6246 3718
Email: carol.osullivan@lawcouncil.asn.au
