Visit JCPCUK Supreme Court 15th Anniversary: Essay and Art Competition winners announced
The Supreme Court is delighted to announce the winners of the 15th anniversary Art and Essay competitions.
Essay Competition
The UK Supreme Court is pleased to announce the results the Essay Competition held to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of its opening in 2009.
Students and early career legal professionals from across the UK were asked to write a 1000-word “As the Supreme Court approaches its 15th anniversary, what reflections would you offer on its role and achievements?"
The essays were judged by Lady Simler, who was appointed to the UK Supreme Court on 14th November 2023.
Our Judicial Assistants and Lady Simler spent a great deal of time carefully reading entries to the essay competition, and selected four runners up. Congratulations to Sofia El Mamouni, Craig Williams, Mustafaen Kamal and Jasmine Jones. Each of the runners-up received a signed certificate and a copy of ‘The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom’ by Chris Miele.
The UK Supreme Court received over 120 entries to the competition, but there could only be one winner. Congratulations to trainee solicitor Jude D’Alesio, who produced an innovative and well-structured entry for the 15th anniversary Essay Competition. Jude recently visited the UKSC to collect his prize and meet with Lady Simler. Lady Simler said “It was a challenge to choose a winner from the entries we received for the essay competition. The standard was high and many of the entries offered thoughtful, mature reflections on the achievements of the Supreme Court in its 15th year, drawing not only from case law but a wide range of other sources, and coupled with originality and flair. It is clear to me that the legal profession has a bright future ahead.
"Over tea, I thoroughly enjoyed finding out more about Jude’s legal aspirations, as well as his wider interests and motivation behind the winning essay. I wish him every success in his future career.”
Reflecting on his essay competition experience, Jude highlighted his approach to the question, and the value of support from family and friends:
“I was delighted to see the Supreme Court hosting its essay competition. I submitted my piece with the full expectation it would not make the final cut, but being happy nonetheless to have taken part. To win the competition, therefore, was a big surprise!
I answered the question in a way that was not bogged down with black letter case law. Instead, I tried to write something enjoyable for the average reader that put the Supreme Court in its proper historical and social context.
As a prize, I had a one-to-one meeting with Lady Justice Simler at the Supreme Court. This was an unforgettable experience, and I was struck by how down-to-earth, authentic, and modest a character Lady Simler was. A highlight of the visit was also watching court proceedings from the public gallery, which gave an insight into the work of barristers which I hope to take back into my job as a trainee solicitor!
The experience has really inspired me to enter similar competitions in the future, and I would like to give the biggest thank you to my family and friends for supporting me!”
Read the winning essay here.
-----
Art Competition
The Art Competition invited entries from talented artists aged 15 to 18 from across the United Kingdom. The competition formed part of a series of events to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the opening of the Court, that also included the Essay Competition and a banner exhibition of notable cases.
Artists were asked to send entries focused on the Supreme Court Building or judicial system. The competition received pieces on a variety of topics including the Middlesex Guildhall and paintings of photographs from previous annual services to mark the Opening of the Legal Year.
The judging panel was made up of experts from the arts and heritage sector, as well as members of the UK Supreme Court. We would like to thank Dinah Casson, British interior designer and founder of Casson Studio; Caro Howell, Director General of Imperial War Museums; Vicky Fox, the Chief Executive Officer of the Supreme Court and Chris Maile, former Head of Human Resources of the Supreme Court for their time and constructive comments on the entries.
Ultimately, the panel selected two winners: ‘Reflections’ and ‘Lady Justice’ for display in the Court’s collections. These works are accompanied in the exhibition by ‘Court in Waiting’: a highly commended entry.
Vicky Fox, Chief Executive of the UK Supreme Court, said: “The 15th anniversary art competition received entries from across the United Kingdom. We were delighted that students were inspired to tell the story of justice through their artwork, and we were impressed by the talent and skill of the artists who submitted their entries.”
We are grateful to the entrants and the judges of the Art Competition for taking part in our celebrations, and for helping us to showcase the work of the UK Supreme Court through creativity.
The three winners’ artworks will be on display at the UK Supreme Court until the end of April 2025.