ACICA is pleased to announce the winner of the 2021 ACICA Essay Competition as Dan Xie from University of New South Wales. Dan is a PhD Candidate at Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales, Australia. She was also the visiting scholar at Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law. She holds an LL.M. in International Commercial Arbitration (Magna Cum Laude) from Stockholm University and an LL.M. in Civil and Commercial Law (Summa Cum Laude) and an LL.B. (Summa Cum Laude) from China University of Political Science and Law. Her current research is in the areas of international dispute resolution and private international law
The topic for this year’s competition was Arbitration, But Not as We Know It, and entries were received across a broad range of focus areas including Arb-Med, Third Party Joinder and Remote Hearings.
Dan’s essay entitled “Iura Novit Curia and Due Process” explores the question of whether an arbitral tribunal can investigate the content of the applicable law ex officio, whether the tribunal is bound by the parties’ legal arguments in their submissions and the risk of violating a party’s right to be heard. It was an excellent essay in a competitive field.
Competition entries were assessed by an esteemed panel of judges, chaired by Alex Baykitch AM (Independent Arbitrator), and consisting of Gowri Kangeson (Partner, DLA Piper), Janet Walker (Independent arbitrator, Sydney Arbitration Chambers), Russell Thirgood (Independent arbitrator) and Professor Robert Cunningham (Dean & Head of Curtin Law School).
ACICA President Georgia Quick congratulated Dan and all of the participants who submitted entries to the competition and extended ACICA’s gratitude to the panel of judges, who gave significant time and effort to the competition.
Ms Xie has been awarded a guest seat at the ACICA table for the ADC ADR Awards Night Dinner in 2021, a cash prize of AUD1,100.00, a year’s complimentary ACICA Associate membership and publication of her essay in the December 2021 edition of the ACICA Review.
