SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME FOR JUNIOR SCHOLARS AND MINORITIES

Total Budget	Scholarships Available
USD $27,000.00	90 awards
Application opens	Application closes
25th March 2026	19th April 2026

1. Programme objective

This Scholarship Programme (hereinafter, the “Programme”) aims to promote the participation of junior scholars and individuals from traditionally marginalised groups and minorities in the 2026 World Congress of Constitutional Law (hereinafter, the “Congress”). Through this financial support, the Programme encourages the participation, as panellists, of persons whose work engages in an interdisciplinary manner with the legal challenges arising from the sustainability of constitutional law and constitutional law for sustainability.

2. Budget and coverage

2.1  Total budget

The total budget allocated for this Programme is twenty-seven thousand united states dollars (USD $27,000.00). This is the binding and operative figure upon which all awards are calculated and disbursed.

2.2  Grant structure and individual award amounts

A total of ninety (90) scholarships will be awarded under this Programme. Awards are structured according to the applicant’s final ranking, as set out below.

Ranking	Grant value	Coverage
1st – 90th	Registration waiver only	Only will be covered the full waiver of the Congress registration fee. No additional financial reimbursement is provided. Travel, accommodation, and all other expenses remain the responsibility of the scholar.

Important notice regarding reimbursement: If a scholarship recipient has already paid the Congress registration fee, they should retain the original receipt and submit it in order to request reimbursement.

2.3  Number of scholarships

The Programme will award a fixed total of ninety (90) scholarships, subject to the availability of the budget of USD $27,000.00 and the receipt of a sufficient number of eligible applications. The ninety (90) ranked applicants will receive a registration waiver only.

3.  Selection process

3.1  Selection committee

The Selection Committee is composed of six (6) faculty members from Department of Constitutional Law of the Universidad Externado de Colombia. Following the Committee’s evaluation, results will be subject to a second-stage review by two (2) international professors who are members of the International Association of Constitutional Law (IACL). This two-stage structure is designed to ensure transparency, procedural integrity, and academic independence throughout the selection process.

3.2  Two-stage evaluation process

Stage 1: Administrative review (due diligence)

Applications will first undergo an administrative review to verify:

• Nationality requirement (UNCTAD Global South classification)
• Proof of panel or presentation acceptance
• Completeness of all required documents
• Compliance with the Junior Scholar or Minorities definitions

Applications failing to meet any of these requirements will be rejected in limine and will not proceed to substantive evaluation.

Stage 2: Substantive Evaluation (merit assessment)

Applications that pass the administrative review will be evaluated by the Selection Committee according to the following weighted criteria:

Criterion	Weight	Description
Academic and Professional Excellence	30%	Demonstrated academic or professional performance, including publications, awards, and a sustained commitment to constitutional law.
Diversity and Inclusion	30%	Contribution to geographic, gender, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity within the scholarship cohort.
Research Potential and Impact	20%	Quality of the Statement of Purpose, relevance of current research, potential contribution to the field, and expected impact of Congress attendance on career development.
Global South Relevance	20%	Relevance of the research topic to constitutional law challenges in the Global South and potential impact on legal systems in developing nations.

3.3  Ranking and award decision

Applications will be ranked in descending order based on total scores. Scholarships will be awarded beginning from the highest-ranked application, in accordance with the two-tier structure set out in Section 2.2, until forty-eight (48) scholarships have been awarded or the total budget of USD $27,000.00 is exhausted, whichever occurs first.