The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) is inviting all law students to join the Space Policy and Law Essay Writing Contest. Delve into the intersection of law and space by answering the question: “What is ‘outer space’ and how should our national laws define it?”  

The authors of the top 3 essays will receive monetary awards.  

Submit entries by 18 July 2025 via email to splad@philsa.gov.ph.  

Mechanics:

    1. Open to all law students in the Philippines (proof of enrollment of the current or immediately preceding semester should be submitted together with the essay)
    2. The essay should be English, encoded, single space, 1.5 spacing after each paragraph, minimum of 1,500 to maximum 2,500 words (excluding the title), A4, and in PDF format. 
    3. The word count should appear on the last page of the essay. 
    4. All entries should be original, unpublished and in line with the question: What is ‘outer space’ and how should our national laws define it?  
    5. AI tools may be utilized to assist in paraphrasing, reference matching, and the general research process. The participant should maintain full authorship and responsibility over the content of the essay. 
    6. Entries should be submitted until 11:59 pm, 18 July 2025 by email to splad@philsa.gov.ph
    7. The subject of the email should be SURNAME_NAME_ESSAY_TITLE  
    8. The following information shall likewise be included in the email:
      1. Name
      2. Year of Study
      3. School
      4. Contact Number
      5. Participation Waiver and Release Form
      6. Waiver of Liability and Indemnification
      7. Consent to Publish Works – Download the form here: http://bit.ly/45uuaE7  
    1. The decision of the judges shall be final and cannot be appealed.
    2. PhilSA employees and relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity are not eligible to join. 

Criteria for Judging:

Content

  • Relevance to the theme – connection, significance of the issue being discussed 
  • Comprehensiveness – how complete and detailed the writer’s exposition of the topic. 
  • Originality – uniqueness, novelty and authenticity of ideas 
  • Insights – a fresh way of looking at things, critical view of the subject 
 50% 
Organization 

  • Clarity of Thoughts – use of simple and appropriate words to convey ideas or issues. 
  • Creativity – the use of appropriate devices and expressions in the exposition of the subject. 
  • Unity and Consistency – ability to highlight the focal point 
 30%
Punctuation, Spelling, Capitalization, Grammar 

  • Correct use of punctuation, spelling, capitalization and grammar 
 20%
TOTAL 100%