ACICA Essay Competition 2020
ACICA was pleased to launch its inaugural essay competition in 2020.
The topic of the 2020 Competition was International Arbitration & Climate Change
Essays were invited to address the topic without limitation. Some suggestions for potential areas of focus included:
- The interaction between climate litigation in national courts and international arbitration
- The role and sustainability of international commercial arbitration for the new green economy
- Investor-state arbitration and climate change
- Climate disasters and international arbitration
- The potential for arbitration/ADR to be used to resolve inter-state disputes related to climate change
Judging Panel
Entry submissions were judged by an eminent panel of international practitioners and academics, chaired by Damian Sturzaker (Marque Lawyers) and consisting of the Hon. Wayne Martin AC QC, Judith Levine (Levine Arbitration), Lucy Martinez (Martinez Arbitration) and Professor Jacqueline Peel (University of Melbourne).
Essay Winner
The 2020 essay prize winner was Michael Riordan, a fifth year student undertaking a Bachelor of Law/Bachelor of Commerce double degree at Monash University. Michael initially became interested in international arbitration whilst studying comparative energy law on a semester-long exchange at the University of Bergen. Michael finds international arbitration a fascinating area of law due to the combination of complex legal problems it presents and its importance in encouraging cross-border commerce and investment. As a young global citizen, Michael considers that climate change is a topic that attracts much concern and contemplation. An intriguing aspect of this is the role that climate change has to play in shaping the law in the years to come. Needless to say, the opportunity to investigate the interaction between international arbitration and climate change certainly piqued his interest!
Michael was awarded a guest seat at the ACICA table for the ADC ADR Awards Night, a cash prize of AUD1,100.00, a year’s complimentary ACICA Associate membership and his essay was published in the December edition of the ACICA Review.
