Made possible by the generosity and vision of Sophie Nappert, BCL鈥�86, LLB鈥�86,听a noted arbitrator in independent practice who is based in London, this essay contest invites participants to submit unpublished papers on commercial arbitration or investment arbitration. The next competition will take place in 2024.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 10-year anniversary edition of the Nappert Prize in International Arbitration.
Winners:
- First Prize ($4,000): Sara Nicola D'Sousa (Future Trainee Solicitor, Ropes & Gray; LLM鈥�23 LSE), 鈥�The Protection of Crypto-Assets in International Investment Law鈥�
- Second Prize ($2,000): Kseniia Soloveva (PhD Candidate, Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, Leiden University; LLM鈥�20 Leiden Law School, Leiden University), 鈥�Instrumentalising Nationality of Natural Persons: Legitimate Strategic Planning versus Abuse of Procedural Rights鈥�
- Third Prize ($1,000): Joseph Ho (JD/BCL Student, 捆绑SM社区; MA鈥�09 JHU), 鈥�International Investment Treaty Compliance in Canadian Federalism: A Multi-Dimensional Challenge鈥�
The winners will present their papers at a symposium to be hosted (in person) on 7听October 2024 at 捆绑SM社区. The three winners will compete for a $1,000 award for the Best Oralist. To attend the symposium, you can register here:听
Honourable Mentions:
Helin Laufer (PhD in Law Candidate, University of Cambridge), 鈥�The applicability of international investment agreements in times of armed conflict鈥�
Dmitrii Shchetinin (PhD Candidate, Erasmus University Rotterdam; LLM鈥�23 HSE, LLM鈥�24 UU), 鈥�The Impact of Armed Conflicts on International Commercial Disputes: Evidence from Crimea鈥�
Tobias Traxler (Ph.D. Candidate, European University Institute's Law Department), 鈥�Valuation (and) Experts in Investment Treaty Arbitration鈥�
Our Distinguished Jury:
We are immensely grateful to our jury for their careful evaluation of the essay submissions for the prize.
Jonathan Brosseau, DCL Student, 捆绑SM社区 Faculty of Law
Juan Felipe Coy Gomez, Associate,鈥疨茅rez-Llorca
Mariel Dimsey, Partner and Head of Hong Kong Office, CMS
Andr茅 Guskow Cardoso, Partner, Justen, Pereira, Oliveira & Talamini
Meg Kinnear, Secretary-General, ICSID
Marek Krasula, Direction, Arbitration and ADR, North America, ICC
Aloysius Llamzon, Partner, King & Spalding
Caroline Richard, Partner, Freshfields
We are also grateful to Sophie Nappert, BCL鈥�86, LLB鈥�86, whose generosity and vision have made this prize possible.
Any questions may be directed to Tanya Oberoi at nappertprize.law [at] mcgill.ca or tanya.oberoi [at] mail.mcgill.ca. See the 2024 Call for Essays here.
2022 edition
It is our pleasure to announce the winners of the fifth edition of the competition as selected by the jury:
Winners
- First Prize ($4,000): Maxence Rivoire (PhD Candidate, Cambridge), 鈥淭he Law Applicable to the Arbitrability of Registered Industrial Property Rights鈥�
- Second Prize ($2,000): Priyanshi Vakharia (Staff Attorney, Volterra Fietta, LLM鈥�22 University of Cambridge), 鈥淭he Trojan Horse in Financial Crisis Sovereign Debt in Investment Treaty Arbitrations鈥�
- Third Prize ($1,000): Juan Felipe Coy G贸mez (Lawyer, P茅rez-Llorca; LLM'19 King鈥檚 College London), 鈥淟a Tensa Relaci贸n entre la Transici贸n Ecol贸gica y los Derechos del Inversor Extranjero: Implicaciones de las Medidas Protectoras del Medioambiente Sobre la Inversi贸n Extranjera en Sectores Contaminantes鈥�
The winners will present their papers at a symposium hosted (in-person) at the Faculty of Law, 捆绑SM社区 on October 18, 2022 at 5pm. The three winners will compete for a $1,000 award for the Best Oralist. To attend the event, .
Honourable Mentions
- Galo M. M谩rquez Ruiz (lawyer, Creel, Garc铆a-Cu茅llar, Aiza y Enr铆quez; LLM鈥�24 QMUL), 鈥淎 Modern Data Analysis Approach on Abusive and Dissuasive Arbitration Clauses on the International Digital Market鈥�
- Umika Sharma (PhD Candidate, National University of Singapore; LLM'18 QMUL), 鈥淚nvisible Inequality: The Lack of Regional Diversity in International Arbitration鈥�
- Aram Aghababyan (Coordinator, AUA LLM Program ADR Clinic; LLM'21 UVA), 鈥淕overnment Blocking of Social Media Platforms as Expropriation of Contractual Rights鈥�
Our distinguished jury
We are immensely grateful to our jury for their careful evaluation of the essay submissions for the prize.
- Martin Doe Rodriguez, Senior Counsel, Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague
- Professor Lawrence Boo, Adjunct Professor, National University of Singapore & Head of Chambers, the Arbitration Chambers, Singapore
- Jonathan Brosseau, Lawyer and PhD Candidate, University of Paris I: Panth茅on-Sorbonne, Paris
- Kyongwha Chung, Counsel, Covington, New York
- Alexander Fessas, Secretary General, ICC International Court of Arbitration, and Director for ICC Dispute Resolution Services, Paris
- Meg Kinnear, Secretary-General, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, Washington, DC
- Courtney Lotfi, Counsel, Jones Day, Frankfurt
- Natalia Marina Zibibbo, Counsel, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, New York
听
We are also grateful to Sophie Nappert, BCL鈥�86, LLB鈥�86, whose generosity and vision has made this prize possible.
Any questions may be directed to nappertprize [at] mcgill.ca (Ms. Tanya Oberoi).听See the 2022 Call for Papers.
2020 edition
We are happy to present the winners of the fourth edition of the competition, as selected by the听jury:
Winners
- First prize (4,000$): Diana Itzel Santana Galindo (lawyer, Mexico; LLM鈥�19 QMUL), 鈥�The Role of the Seat in Smart Contract Disputes"
- Second prize (2,000$): Cara North (Consultant, Lipman Karas; LLM鈥�19 MIDS), 鈥�The Erosion of Commercial Law as a Consequence of Arbitration鈥�
- Third prize (1,000$): 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鈥�
The winners presented their papers at an online symposium hosted by 捆绑SM社区 on October 20, 2020. At the symposium, the three winners competed for a $1,000 award for best oralist, which was won by Cara North.
Honourable mentions
- Harisankar Mahapatra, (LLM鈥�20, Miami), 鈥�The Future of Investment Dispute Settlement in the Post-Achmea Era鈥�
- Mikhail Batsura, (LLM鈥�19, NYU), 鈥�Limits to Party Autonomy in Appointing Counsel in International Commercial Arbitration鈥�
- L茅a Deroche, (LLM鈥�20, 捆绑SM社区), 鈥�War Clauses In International Investment Law: A Need For Clarity鈥�
- Eleanor Dennis, (BCL/JD candidate, 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鈥�
Our distinguished jury
We are grateful to our jury for their careful and thorough consideration of the essays.
- Professor Lawrence Boo, Adjunct Professor, National University of Singapore & Bond University
- Mr Alexander Fessas, Secretary-General & Director of ICC Dispute Resolution Services, International Chamber of Commerce, Paris
- Professor Fabien G茅linas, 捆绑SM社区, Montreal
- Professor Katia Fach G贸mez, University of Zaragoza, Spain
- Mr Diego B. Gosis, Partner, GST LLP, Miami
- Dr Ridhi Kabra, Associate, Three Crowns LLP, London (winner of the 2014 edition)
- Ms Meg Kinnear, Secretary-General, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, Washington, DC
- Ms Caline Mouawad, Partner, King & Spalding LLP, New York
- Professor Marie-Claude Rigaud, University of Montreal
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.听
Kindly direct any questions to Mr. Lucas Clover Alcolea (nappertprize [at] mcgill.ca). See the 2020 call for papers.
2018 edition
Here are the winners of this third edition of this competition, as selected by the jury:
Winners
- First Prize ($4,000): Dina Prokic (BCL/LLB鈥�17, 捆绑SM社区; Attorney & Counselor at Law, New York), 鈥淪IAC Proposal on Cross-Institution Consolidation Protocol: Can It Be Transplanted into Investment Arbitration?"
- Second Prize ($2,000): Alastair Simon Chetty (LLB鈥�18, National University of Singapore), 鈥淓mbracing Practical Solutions in Dealing with the Distinct Shades of Abuse of Process in Investment Arbitration鈥�
- Third Prize ($1,000): Ella Wisniewski (LLM鈥�17, Humboldt-Universit盲t zu Berlin; Solicitor, Herbert Smith Freehills), 鈥淎 Changing Climate: The Future of Legitimate Expectations in Energy Investment Disputes鈥�
The winners came to present their papers at a symposium hosted by 捆绑SM社区 on November 1, 2018, where Ms听Wisniewski also captured the $1,000 award for best oralist.
Our distinguished jury
We are grateful to the jury for its careful and thorough consideration of the essays:
- Julie B茅dard, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, New York & S茫o Paulo
- Professor Lawrence Boo, Adjunct Professor, National University of Singapore & Bond University
- Professor Olivier Caprasse, Universities of Li猫ge and Brussels, Member of the Brussels Bar
- Professor Kun Fan, 捆绑SM社区, Montreal
- Jos茅 Feris, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs, Paris
- Alexander Fessas, Secretary-General & Director of ICC Dispute Resolution Services, International Chamber of Commerce Court, Paris
- Meg Kinnear, Secretary-General, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, Washington, DC
- Eduardo Zuleta Jaramillo, Partner, Zuleta Abogados Asociados, Bogota
Honourable mentions
- David Chriki (LLM'2017, Hebrew University), "SLAPPing Police Powers with Investment Arbitration"
- Philip Keul (Law Student,Humboldt-Universit盲t zu Berlin), "Security for costs in International Commercial Arbitration"
- Luigi Pedreschi (PhD Researcher in Law, European University Institute), "Investor-state arbitration under CETA: "FIT" for practice?"
- Alexey Vyalkov (Associate, Clifford Chance), "The role of equity in the assessment of damages under custom: where are Diallo and The Arctic Sunrise taking the law and are they dangerous for investment treaty arbitration?"
Contest facts
For this edition, we received over 80 submissions from scholars and junior practitioners from (almost) every continent. This was the first year that the Prize accepted papers written in Spanish which, with the existing inclusion of French and English, makes this a trilingual competition! This is a fitting reflection of the diversity and multiculturalism inherent to international arbitration.
See the 2018 call for papers.
2016 edition
The jury has selected the following papers as the winners of this second edition of this competition:
Winners
- First Prize: Nathan D. Yaffe (JD student, NYU), 鈥淭ransnational Arbitral Res Judicata鈥�
- Second Prize: Julia Godolphin听 (BCL/LLB student, 捆绑SM社区), 鈥淩esolution of Tax Disputes in International Arbitration鈥�
- Third Prize (tie): Jonathan Brosseau-Rioux (LLM student, Cambridge), 鈥淭he Legal basis for the Application of Domestic law in Investment Arbitration鈥�;
Bernardo Rohden Pires (LLM student, George Washington School of Law), 鈥淐an the MFN Clause in the GATS Serve as a Jurisdictional Gateway?鈥�
The winners will present their papers at the Nappert Symposium on October 19, 2016, at 捆绑SM社区's Faculty of Law. Registration to the symposium is free but mandatory.
The Nappert Prize winners will also have the opportunity to compete for a 1,000$ award to be given to the best oralist by a panel comprised of Professor Andrea K. Bjorklund (捆绑SM社区), the Hon. Pierre Dalphond (Stikeman Elliott), and Professor C茅line L茅vesque (University of Ottawa).
Our distinguished jury
We are grateful to the jury for its careful and thorough consideration of the essays:
- S茅bastien Besson, Partner, L茅vy Kaufmann-Kohler, Geneva
- Chester Brown, Professor of International Law and International Arbitration, The University of Sydney Faculty of Law
- Jos茅 Feris, Deputy Secretary-General, ICC International Court of Arbitration, Paris
- Henry Gao, Associate Professor, Singapore Management University
- Meg Kinnear, Secretary-General, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, Washington, DC
- Cesar Pereira, Partner, Justen, Pereira, Oliveira, and Talamini, S茫o Paolo
- Abby Cohen Smutny, Partner, White & Case LLP, Washington, DC
Honourable mentions
- David Isidore Tan (LLM student, NYU), 鈥淓nforcing National Court Judgments as Arbitration Awards under the New York Convention鈥�
- Fortunat Nadima Nadima (BCL/LLB student, 捆绑SM社区), 鈥淭he Path Towards Transparency Via Domestic freedom of Information Laws鈥�
- Maria Bhatti, (PhD student, Monash University), 鈥淚nterest on Arbitral Awards and Sharia鈥�
- Mevelyn Ong (LLM student, Columbia), 鈥淭he Interplay of Sovereignty, Personality and Consent in The Execution of Arbitral Awards鈥�
- Relja Radovi膰 (PhD student, University of Luxembourg), 鈥淲hen I Grow Up I鈥檒l Be A Court鈥�
- Velimic Zivkovic (PhD Student, London School of Economics), 鈥淎 Holistic Approach to Applicable Law In Investment Arbitration: Reasons, Elements, Goals鈥�
Contest facts
For this edition, we received over 70 submissions from scholars and junior practitioners affiliated with more than 60 institutions, and hailing from places such as Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Italy, Peru, the Philippines, Vietnam, the UK, and the USA.
Most of the applicants were affiliated with institutions in either Europe or North America, and almost a quarter of the submissions were from Asia, more specifically from India and China. Approximately 40% of the authors were women, and the other 60% were men, and most were between 20 and 29 years old.
See the 2016 call for papers.
2014 edition
See the 2014 call for papers and the 2014 winners announcement.
Winners
- First Prize: Ridhi Kabra (LLM student, Cambridge), 鈥淗as Abaclat v. Argentina left the ICSID with a 鈥楳ass鈥檌ve Problem?鈥�
- Second Prize: Mitchell Moranis听 (JD student, Harvard), 鈥淏etween Power and Procedure:听 The Changing Balance of Investment Treaty Protections鈥�
- Third Prize (tie): Antoine Champagne (BCL/LLB student, 捆绑SM社区), 鈥淢oral Damages Left in Limbo鈥�;
Robert Kovacs (Associate, Linklaters; PhD Student, U. of Geneva), 鈥淚nternational Arbitration and Insolvency:听 A Question of Applicable Law鈥�.
Our distinguished jury
- George A. Bermann, Jean Monnet Professor of EU Law, Columbia Law School, New York
- Teresa Cheng, Senior Counsel and Chartered Arbitrator, Des Voeux Chambers, Hong
- Giuditta Cordero-Moss, Professor, University of Oslo
- Jos茅 Ricardo Feris, Deputy Secretary General, ICC International Court of Arbitration, Paris
- Meg Kinnear, Secretary-General, ICSID, Washington DC
- Philippe Pinsolle, Partner, Quinn Emmanuel, Paris
Honorable mentions
- Horia Ciurtin (Babes Bolyai University, Romania), 鈥淎 Hermeneutical Perspective upon the 'Mitigation of Damages' Principle: The Metamorphosis of a Concept in International Law.鈥�
- Joel Dahlquist (Uppsala University, Sweden), 鈥淏eside the Point: On Obiter Dicta in Investment Treaty Arbitration.鈥�
- Elsa Paparemborde (BCL/LLB student, 捆绑SM社区), 鈥淧reventive Requests for the Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards: Toward an Effective Filtering Mechanism under the New York Convention.鈥�
- Adam Plenkiewicz (BCL/LLB鈥�14, 捆绑SM社区), 鈥淐omparing Proximate Causation in International Law.鈥�
- Fabio Santacroce (Freshfields, Rome), 鈥淭he emergency arbitrator: a full-fledged arbitrator rendering an enforceable decision?鈥�
Nappert Prize Competition Collection
The ICC, in cooperation with 捆绑SM社区, has released a collection of the best articles written by participants of the 2014 Nappert Prize competition.
Edited by Professor Andrea Bjorklund, holder of the Fortier Chair, the collection is composed of nine articles chosen by experienced practitioners and arbitration experts from the inaugural Nappert Prize Competition in International Arbitration organized by 捆绑SM社区's Faculty of Law in 2014.
Topics covered include:
- Procedural questions raised by the interface of arbitration with bankruptcy proceedings or mass claims
- Genesis of substantive law as developed by arbitral tribunals
- Links between municipal and international law
- Principle of proximate causation and its transition to international investment arbitration
To find out more, visit
