The Nappert Prize in International Arbitration at McGill has always had a focus on diversity and multinationalism. It is for this reason that entrants have always been able to submit their entries in either English or French – something that also reflects the bijural nature of McGill University as well as Canada – and from 2018, entries were also accepted in Spanish. In this way the pool of possible entrants is deeper and all who participate in the process are enriched by an exchange of ideas between not only different legal systems but also between different cultures. Indeed, every year has seen entries from almost all continents and have been judged by panels representing civil, common law and mixed jurisdictions. I emphasise again then that the Nappert Prize, much like international arbitration itself, has diversity and multinationalism built into its very DNA.

From the beginning the competition has had a focus on issues at the cutting edge of international arbitration and international law. Over the years, issues addressed by winning entries have included, for example, mass claims arbitration, tax disputes, consolidation, and climate change. This last edition’s winning entries are as follows:

  • First prize: Diana Itzel Santana Galindo (Lawyer, Mexico; LLM’19 QMUL), ‘The Role of the Seat in Smart Contract Disputes’
  • Second prize: Cara North (Consultant, Lipman Karas; LLM’19 MIDS): ‘The Erosion of Commercial Law as a Consequence of Arbitration’
  • Third prize: Juan Felipe Coy Gómez (Lawyer, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; LLM'19 KCL): ‘El Medioambiente y el Arbitraje Internacional de Inversión: Estado Actual y Propuestas Para la Reforma del Sistema Arbitral en la Gestión de Disputas Medioambientales’

The topics once again are not only diverse, but they also address novel topics which will no doubt be the focus of considerable interest in the future. We are also happy to see that for the first time one of the winning papers was written in Spanish. The fact that the competition has continued to generate such interest despite the tragic circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic has also given us great satisfaction.

As convener of the Prize, it gives me pleasure to congratulate all the winners, honourable mentions, and entrants for once again contributing to a diverse and stimulating collection of essays and I look forward to many further years of success! I would also like to thank the jurors for the written and oral rounds of the competition. Without their considerable and generous investment in time, the Nappert Prize would not be possible. I would also like to thank ICC for agreeing to publish the winning papers,1 as well as the team at McGill University, notably Dr Lucas Clover Alcolea, Ms Lysanne Larose, and Ms Libby Parker. Last but not least, thanks go to Sophie Nappert herself for her continuing support.

I hope that the papers published here inspire you as they have inspired us, and I look forward to the next edition, which will take place in 2022.

For more information on the Nappert Prize and its next edition, please visit https://www.mcgill.ca/law/research/essay-contests/nappert-prize-international-arbitration.

1
The papers published in this edition of the ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin have been subject to amendments prior to publication with the agreement of the authors. The winning papers of the Nappert Prize 2018 edition were published in the ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin, issue 2018/4, and are available in the ICC Digital Library (https://library.iccwbo.org/). See also, Selected Papers from the inaugural Nappert Prize Nappert Prize in International Arbitration (ICC, 2015, https://2go.iccwbo.org/nappert-prize-in-international-arbitration.html).