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Announcing the winners of the 2020 Nappert Essay Prize in International Arbitration

Published: 4 September 2020

The Faculty of Law at 捆绑SM社区 is delighted to announce the winners of the 2020 Nappert Prize in International Arbitration. A panel of nine distinguished judges selected the following three papers among over 60 entries.

  • First prize (4,000$): Diana Itzel Santana Galindo (lawyer, Mexico; LLM鈥19 QMUL), 鈥The Role of the Seat in Smart Contract Disputes"
    Diana Itzel Santana Galindo is a Mexican attorney, graduated from Universidad Panamericana. Diana is also a recent LL.M. graduate in Comparative and International Dispute Resolution at Queen Mary University of London. Following her studies, she undertook legal internships at the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB International), Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC/BIAC), and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC)
  • Second prize (2,000$): Cara North (Consultant, Lipman Karas; LLM鈥19 MIDS), 鈥The Erosion of Commercial Law as a Consequence of Arbitration
    Cara North is a consultant at Lipman Karas. Cara is a 2019 graduate of the Masters of International Dispute Settlement (MIDS), a joint programme between the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International Development Studies. Before completing the MIDS, Cara was working as a Senior Associate in the London Office of Lipman Karas LLP and a consultant at the Hague Conference on Private International Law working on the Hague Conference's Judgments Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Civil or Commercial Judgments.
  • Third prize (1,000$): Juan Felipe Coy G贸mez (lawyer, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; LLM'19 KCL), 鈥El Medioambiente y el Arbitraje Internacional de Inversi贸n: Estado Actual y Propuestas Para la Reforma del Sistema Arbitral en la Gesti贸n de Disputas Medioambientales
    Juan Felipe Coy is a graduate of University Carlos III of Madrid (bachelor's degree in Economics and bachelor's degree in Law) and King's College London (LLM'19), and he spent an academic year at University of California. He worked as a trainee at Garrigues and Allen & Overy, he is currently working at the dispute team at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. He is a member of the Madrid Bar Association.

The winners will present their papers at an hosted by 捆绑SM社区 on 20 October 2020. During the symposium, the Nappert Prize winners will have the opportunity to compete for a 1,000$ award for best oralist, before a distinguished panel of experts:

  • Prof. Lauro Gama Jr, Pontifical Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro
  • Ms Carmen N煤帽ez-Lagos, Nu帽ez-Lagos Arbitration, Paris
  • Mr Martin Doe, Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague

There are also four honourable mentions:

  • Harisankar Mahapatra, (LLM鈥20, Miami), 鈥The Future of Investment Dispute Settlement in the Post-Achmea Era
  • Mikhail Batsura, (LLM鈥19, NYU), 鈥Limits to Party Autonomy in Appointing Counsel in International Commercial Arbitration
  • L茅a Deroche, (LLM鈥20, 捆绑SM社区), 鈥War Clauses In International Investment Law: A Need For Clarity
  • Eleanor Dennis, (BCL/JD, 捆绑SM社区), 鈥Judicial Consideration of Substantive Invalidity: Understanding the Courts鈥 Protective Role under the New York Convention and the Model Law

We are grateful to Professor Lawrence Boo, Alexander Fessas, Professor Fabien G茅linas, Professor Katia Fach G贸mez, Diego B. Gosis, Dr Ridhi Kabra, Meg Kinnear, Caline Mouawad, and Professor Marie-Claude Rigaud for their careful and thorough consideration of the essays.

We are also grateful to Sophie Nappert, BCL鈥86, LLB鈥86, whose generosity and vision have made this prize possible. The next Nappert Prize competition will be held in 2022. More details will be available in late 2021.

Find out more by visiting the Nappert Prize page.

Congratulations to the 2020 winners!

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