ACICA Essay Competition 2022

ACICA is pleased to launch its essay competition for 2022. Entries to the competition are invited and encouraged from students based in Australia who are studying a Bachelor, Juris Doctor or Masters level law degree in 2022, and to lawyers based in Australia in their first five years of practice. There is no requirement to be an ACICA member.

The topic of the 2022 Competition is Arbitration in the Digital World. Some suggestions for potential areas of focus include arbitration in connection with:

  •  Cryptocurrency
  • Cybersecurity
  • Non-fungible tokens
  • Blockchain arbitration platforms
  • Digital arbitral awards
  • Innovations to arbitral procedure

Entries are not limited to the above topics and we invite entrants to explore other ideas connected with Arbitration in the Digital World. However, due to the
abundance of material on virtual hearings that has been proliferated in recent years, ACICA will not be accepting essays on the topic of virtual hearings.

Submission Requirements

All entry submissions must:

  • be typed in a Word document using Times New Roman or Arial with 11 or 12 point and 1.5 line spacing
  • clearly identify the entrant’s name, contact details, University (if a student) or date of admission (if a lawyer) and and entrant’s city of study or work
  • be limited in word length to between 3,000 and 7,000 words (including footnotes)
  • be the original and sole work of the entrant

All entry submissions will be acknowledged but will not be returned and ACICA accepts no responsibility for the safe-keeping of entry submissions. Entry submissions are to be directed to the ACICA Secretariat at secretariat@acica.org.au. The final date for submissions is 31 July 2022 at 5pm (AWST).

Judging Panel

Entry submissions will be judged by an eminent panel of international practitioners and academics, chaired by Duncan Watson QC (Partner, Quinn Emanuel, Hong Kong and Perth) and consisting of Dr Anne Matthew (Senior Lecturer, School of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane), Daniel Meltz (Barrister, 12 Wentworth Selborne Chambers, Sydney), Rebecca Yorston (Principal, LK Law, Adelaide), and Raini Zambelli (Barrister, List A Barristers, Melbourne).

Announcement of Winner

The winner will be announced by 16 September 2022 and will be awarded a guest seat at the ACICA table for the 2022 ADC ADR Awards Night Dinner, a cash prize of AUD1,100.00, a year’s complimentary ACICA Associate membership and publication of the entry submission in the December edition of the ACICA Review. ACICA may also arrange for submissions or extracts of submissions to be published in other publications.

Inquiries

All inquiries may be directed to the ACICA Secretariat by email or on (02) 9223 1099.