Sahra Arif, LL.M. Commercial Law student of Commercial & Company Law and team member of the International Maritime Law & Arbitration Moot (IMLAM) 2019, was awarded the first prize in the European Investment Law and Arbitration Review (EILAR) 2019 Competition for her paper: “The Future of Intra-EU Investment Arbitration: Intra-EU Investment Arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty post Achmea”. Sahra’s paper touches upon issues related to intra-EU dispute settlements under the Energy Charter Treaty. It is particularly relevant after the CJEU’s recent judgment in Achmea ruling investor-state dispute settlement clauses in intra-EU bilateral trade agreements incompatible with EU law. Sahra continued to work on the intricacies surrounding the Achmea judgment in her Master Thesis, where she addresses the consequences of Achmea in relation to extra-EU bilateral trade agreements.
Sahra’s work was supervised by Piotr Wilinski, who was a strong supporter and encourager of Sahra’s participation in this renowned competition organized by the European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration (EFILA) and sponsored by Brill – Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and Norton Rose Fulbright. Winning in the EILAR Competition means that Sahra's work will be published in the European Investment Law Review edited by Prof. Loukas Mistelis (Queen Mary University London) and Prof. Nikos Lavranos (SG of EFILA) and published by Brill – Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
The experience proved to be extremely enriching for Sahra, according to her own words:
“It was my first time participating in an essay competition, so to win the 1st prize is truly an incredible honour and an amazing achievement. I am particularly grateful to my supervisor Piotr Wilinski for not only encouraging me to participate but providing his valuable help during the process. I strongly encourage students to participate in the various essay competitions held every year. It is a great opportunity to dive into an area of your interest and really put your academic skills to the test!
Apart from winning EILAR Essay 2019 Prize, Sahra is a valued member of the Erasmus School of Law International Maritime Law & Arbitration Moot (IMLAM) 2019 team. Just like Piotr Wilinski LL.M., Sahra’s coaches, Dr Julia Constantino Chagas Lessa and Warren de Waegh LL.M. were able to note her writing skills from the very start of her studies at Erasmus University. It is too early to say if Sahra will win prizes during the competition, but Sahra has impressed her coaches while working on this year’s complex memoranda by really diving into the legal issues and conducting intrinsic research. The competition will take place during the International Maritime Law Arbitration Week (IMLAW) from the 30th of June until the 5th of July 2019 at the Erasmus University, Rotterdam.
Sahra’s IMLAM coaches and Piotr Wilinski, together with the whole ESL Commercial & Company Law department are very proud of Sahra’s achievement.
- More information
More information about this eventful week can be found here.