The Australian Branch of the International Law Association is calling for submissions for the Brennan Essay Prize in Public International Law and the Nygh Essay Prize in Private International Law. These two prizes – named in honour of Sir Gerard Brennan, former Chief Justice of Australia and Patron of the Branch, and Dr Peter Nygh, a leading Australian scholar of private international law and former President of the Branch – are awarded to the authors of essays in the field of public international law and private international law (conflict of laws).
The prizes are awarded for essays that, in the opinion of a judging panel of three persons appointed by the Management Committee of the Australian Branch of the International Law Association, demonstrate outstanding scholarship and make a distinct contribution to an understanding of the subject.
The prizes are open to any Australian citizen, or person normally resident in Australia, or studying in Australia. The competition is intended to recognise and encourage achievement by a younger scholar or practitioner (a student or within five years of graduation). The judging of the essays will consider the stage of career of the entrant and assess those entries relative to opportunity to account for different levels of experience. The decision of the panel shall be final.
Each prize will be in the form of a certificate, a year’s membership of the International Law Association, and cash in the amount of $500.
Essays submitted in consideration for the prize should be between 5,000 and 8,000 words in length (including footnotes). They may have been submitted previously for course credit in an academic institution but not published or submitted for publication. An electronic copy must be submitted along with a short CV clearly indicating stage of career.
The essay must be the sole creation and original work of the entrant. No person may submit more than one entry for each annual competition.
The winner will be encouraged to submit the winning entry to the Australian International Law Journal for publication. The award does not guarantee that it will be published in the Journal.
Essays for the prize to be awarded in 2022 should be sent to the email address of the Secretary of the Australian Branch at [email protected] . Entries must be received no later than 15 July 2022. The results will be made available on the web site of the ILA www.ila.org.au on (approximately) 31 August 2022. Winners will be notified by email.