International Section: Albert S. Pergam International Law Writing Competition Award

The International Section of the New York State Bar Association is pleased to announce the annual Albert S. Pergam International Law Writing Competition. The International Section is comprised of approximately 1500 members of the New York State Bar Association (both American and foreign lawyers) who practice, or have an interest in, public and private international law.

The writing competition, which began in 1988, fosters legal scholarship among law students in the field of international law. The competition is intended to encourage students of law to write on areas of public or private international law. It is the International Section’s belief that by providing a forum for students to disseminate their ideas and articles, the professional and academic communities are enriched. Furthermore, the competition presents an opportunity for students to submit law review quality articles to the Section for possible publication in one of its publications (i.e., New York International Law Review).

Law Students (including J.D., LL.M., Ph.D. and S.J.D. candidates) are cordially invited to submit to the International Section an article concerning any area of public or private international law or practice. Faculty members of any college or university are ineligible to participate. All submissions will be reviewed by a committee of attorneys practicing international law, and a winner will be chosen based on a variety of factors, including significance and timeliness of the subject matter, thoroughness of research and analysis, clarity of writing style, as well as the importance and originality of the topic to the understanding of private/public international law or comparative law.

Prize: The winner will receive —

1) $2,000 USD; and
2) Publication of the article (subject to editorial approval) in the New York International Law Review.

Award Presentation: 2024 International Section Annual Meeting

Contact: For questions, contact Carra Forgea at [email protected].

2023 Award Winner

Lauren HubbardLauren Hubbard
University of North Carolina Law School

Judicial Enforcement of Oregon’s New Constitutional Right to Afford Health Care

Lauren Hubbard will graduate with her Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law and Master of Public Policy from Duke University in May 2024. During law school, Lauren externed at the United States Court of Appeals and she will be published in the North Carolina Civil Rights Law Review this spring. After law school, she will work at a federal agency in Washington, DC. Lauren chose to write on this topic because, as states are amending their constitutions to add socio-economic rights, courts must fulfill those promises. This Article would not be possible without the insightful feedback from UNC Law Professor Holning Lau throughout the writing process.

Past Award Winners

2022 – IAN ROBERT MADDOX
University of North Carolina Law School
South Africa’s Dormant Emergency Clause and the Value of an Emergency Constitution

2021 – RYAN MIGEED
The George Washington University Law School, Washington, D.C.
Ending the Game of Environmental Politics in the Arctic: How the Arctic States Can Achieve Dispute Resolution Using Existing Legal Frameworks

2020 – DANIEL J. ALVAREZ
Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, White Plains, NY
China, Hong Kong, and the Foreign Offender’s Ordinance: How Proposed Amendments to Hong Kong’s Extradition Laws Threatened International Human Rights

2019 – RACHEL PHILLIPS
Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA
Toward A Safer Society: Guatemalan Responses to Femicide

2018 – CAMILA A. SOSA
St. John’s University School of Law, Queens, NY
The Forgotten Victims of Terrorism: Asylum Seekers Barred by the Board of Immigration Appeals’ Failure to Define De Minimis Support

2017 – CAROLINE A. FISH
St. John’s University School of Law, Queens, NY
Beyond “Sex Slaves” and “Tiny Terrorists”: Toward a More Nuanced Understanding of Human Trafficking Crimes Perpetrated by Da’esh

2016 – J. RAYMOND MECHMANN, III
St. John’s University School of Law, Queens, NY
Remedying Eternal “Inadequacy”: How Anonymous Juries in the Special Criminal Court Would Preserve Ireland’s Jury Trial Right

2015 – JULIA H. PURDY
University at Buffalo School of Law, Buffalo, NY
The Right to Water in International Arbitration: A Narrow Case Study of the Kishenganga Arbitration

2014 – RYAN H. HUTZLER
The George Washington University Law School, Washington, D.C.
Building a Different Kind of Relationship

2013 – ROUZHNA NAYERI
Southern Methodist University – Dedman School of Law, Dallas, TX
No Longer the Sleeping Dog, the FCPA Is Awake and Ready to Bite: Analysis of the Increased FCPA Enforcements, the Implications, and Recommendations for Reform

2012 – BRANDON NAGY
Arizona State University – Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Phoenix, AZ
Unreliable Excuses: How do Differing Persuasive Interpretations of CISG Article 79 Affect its Goal of Harmony

2011 – ANTHONY ROCK

2011 – CASEY G. WATKINS
Rutgers Law School – Newark, Newark, NJ
Whaling in the Antarctic: Case Analysis and Suggestions for the Future of Antarctic Whaling and Stock Management

2010 – ALLISON LEIGH RICHMOND
Scrutinizing the Shipwreck Salvage Standard: Should a Salvor Be Rewarded for Locating Historic Treasure?

2009 – OLGA V. PETROVSKY, ESQ.
St. John’s University School of Law, Queens, NY
International Antitrust Agreement: Premature Proposal and Practical Solutions

2008 – STEVEN R. BLAU
Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA
The Federal Reserve and European Central Bank as Lenders-of-Last-Resort: Different Needles in Their Compass

2007 – CANON PENCE
University of North Carolina Law School, Chapel Hill, NC
Japanese Only: Xenophobic Exclusion in Japan’s Private Sphere

2005 – SAAD GUL
Wake Forest University School of Law, Winston-Salem, NC
The Bells of Hell: An Assessment of the Sinking of ANR General Belgrano in the Context of the Falklands Conflict

2004 – BABBACK SABAHI, ESQ.
Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA
The ICJ’s Authority to Invalidate the Security Council’s Decisions Under Chapter VII: Legal Romanticism or the Rule of Law?

2003 – MICHELLE RAE PINZON, ESQ.
Was the Supreme Court Right? A Closer Look at the True Nature of Removal Proceedings in the 21st Century

2002 – PERNILLE IRONSIDE
Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, Toronto, CA
Rwandan Gacaca: Seeking Alternative Means to Justice, Peace and Reconciliation

2001 – CHARLES T. KOTUBY, JR.
University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pittsburgh, PA
The External Competence of the European Community in The Hague Conference on Private International Law: Community Harmonization and Worldwide Unification

1999 – EMILY W. SCHABACKER

1998 – ALBERT H. KRITZER, ESQ.

1997 – EDWARD CHUKWUEMEKE OKEKE, ESQ.
New York Law School, New York, NY

1996 – ILIA B. LEVITINE
Washington and Lee University School of Law, Lexington, VA

1995 – MICHAEL J. WALD, ESQ.

1994 – MARIANNA ROTH
Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA

1993 – SUZANNE M. BERNARD, ESQ.

1992 – GABRIELLE BRUSSEL, ESQ.

1991 – KARL SCHWAPPACH

1990 – ADESEGUN AKIN-ALUGBADE

1989 – YVONNE C. LODICO

1987 – HAROLD R. BURKE
Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, White Plains, NY
Structuring Joint Venture Transactions to Avoid International Currency Controls

1986 – PATRICIA L. JANNACO, ESQ.