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 are named, respectively, 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. The Brennan Essay Prize is awarded to the author of an essay in the field of public international law. The Nygh Essay Prize is awarded to the author of an essay in private international law (conflict of laws), including in the field of international commercial arbitration.

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 2024 should be sent to the email address of the Secretary of the Australian Branch at secretary@ila.org.au.

– Entries must be received no later than 31st July 2024.
– The results will be on (approximately) 31st August 2024.
– The results will be made available on the web site of the ILA www.ila.org.au.
– Winners will be notified by email.

Essay prizes have been awarded for 2024:

• Nathan Tsang, ‘Digital Assets And The Lex Situs Rule: A “Decentralisation” Approach’ has been awarded the Nygh Essay Prize in Private International Law for 2024
• Jack Nelson, ‘The Abuse of Rights: An Exercise in Ground Clearing’ has been awarded the Brennan Essay Prize in Public International Law for 2024

The International Law Association (Australian Branch) and Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) invite applications for the Peter Nygh Hague Conference Internship. This prize enables a postgraduate student or graduate of an Australian law school to undertake an internship with The Hague Conference on Private International Law (The Hague Conference) in The Hague, Netherlands by providing funds for the cost of travel and a contribution towards living expenses.

With over 80 members (including the European Union) representing all major regions and legal systems, The Hague Conference is a global intergovernmental organisation. It aims for the ‘progressive unification’ of the various State private international law rules. The work of The Hague Conference involves finding internationally agreed approaches to jurisdiction of courts, applicable law and the recognition and enforcement of judgments. This is achieved through the development and servicing of multilateral legal conventions which respond to global needs in the areas of international commercial law and banking, international civil procedure, international protection of children, international family and family property relations, international legal co-operation and litigation as well as international judicial and administrative co-operation.

Activities of The Hague Conference are coordinated by a multinational Secretariat – the Permanent Bureau – located in The Hague. The successful intern will work for 5 to 6 months under the direction of the Secretariat assisting with research, translation and preparation of meetings in accordance with the needs of the lawyers of the Permanent Bureau.

More information about the internship, including on how to apply, is available here.

The Peter Nygh Hague Conference Internship was established in memory of the late Hon Dr Peter Nygh AM, a leading international lawyer and former judge of the Family Court of Australia. Dr Nygh began his 25 year association with The Hague Conference as a member of Australia’s first delegation in 1975. During this time, Dr Nygh helped to draft the Convention on the Celebration and Recognition of the Validity of Marriages as well as the Convention on the Law Applicable to Matrimonial Property Regimes, work which contributed to his appointment to the Family Court of Australia.

After his retirement from the bench, Dr Nygh returned to The Hague Conference, and between 1994 and his death in 2002 he contributed in many ways, including serving as a co-rapporteur on The Hague ‘judgments project’ from 1996 and representing Australia in the negotiations that led to the 1996 Child Protection Convention. In his later years, Dr Nygh spent extended periods in The Hague without remuneration or payment of his expenses, yet his work did not go unrecognised. He was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian Government as well as the Order of Australia, partly in recognition of his outstanding and longstanding contribution to private international law, and in particular his representation of Australia at The Hague Conference.

While serving as President of the ILA (Australian Branch), Dr Nygh worked to promote co-operation between the Branch and the AIIA. These two organisations show their deep appreciation for his work by jointly presenting and promoting the Internship. The AIIA is an independent, non-profit, apolitical national organisation committed to the promotion of informed discussion among members of the Australian public on international issues and their impact on Australia. It provides a forum for discussion by hosting a range of Australian and international expert speakers from the political arena, government, academia, business and the media, as well as publishing the Australian Journal of International Affairs and the Australia in World Affairs book series.