ACICA Essay Competition 2023

The topic of the 2023 Competition was The Next Big Thing in Arbitration. Essays were invited to address the topic without limitation. Some suggestions for potential areas of focus included:

    • Can commercial arbitration compete with automated online dispute resolution platforms?
    • Increasing ESG-related disputes in commercial and investment arbitrations
    • Impact of war & crisis on the dispute resolution framework 
    • Increasing appetite for third party funding

Judging Panel

Entry submissions were judged by an eminent panel of international practitioners and academics, chaired by Duncan Watson KC (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).

Essay Winner

The winner of the 2023 ACICA Essay Competition is Jason Wang.  Jason is a Queensland Barrister with a background in finance. Prior to the bar, Jason worked in private sector and academic roles across Hong Kong, Australia and the United Kingdom. In 2020, Jason graduated top of his class from Oxford University’s MSc in Law and Finance, where he specialised in financial regulation and corporate transactions.

Jason is passionate about the intersection between law and technology and hopes to use his research to bring greater access to justice for all Australians.

Jason has been awarded a complimentary ticket to the ACICA & Ciarb Australia International Arbitration Conference, a cash prize of AUD1,100.00, a year’s complimentary ACICA Associate membership and his essay will be published in the December edition of the ACICA Review.