NLSIU CTIL Essay Competition on International Trade Law: Register by Feb 25!

About NLSIU

NLSIU was the first National Law University established in India in 1986. The premier law school was set up with a mission to pioneer legal education reforms, and to anchor the transformation of the Indian legal system through research and policy interventions. The National Law School of India University completed 32 years in 2020. The founding faculty and students of this University have created what is arguably the most successful University in India in this generation. For over three decades now, the University has irrefutably remained a leader in the field of legal education in the country. 2021 was the fourth year in a row that the University has secured the top spot in the NIRF rankings! We have consistently maintained the top spot in the category since law was added as a category.

Many of our alumni have done exceedingly well across fields, including international relations and international law. At NLSIU, we understand that the world is in urgent need of intellectual, professional and political attention. The University is committed to providing students with the knowledge, tools and facilities required for them to be at the forefront of tackling the social and moral problems of the day, while helping them lead the complex transformation that current environmental and socio-political challenges pose for our societies, especially in the developing world. It seeks to create opportunities that will open doors to a more inclusive, progressive, and innovative approach to legal education. This Essay Competition is also in furtherance with NLSIU’s larger goal of achieving a paradigm shift in the field of legal education and foster transformative ideas.

About CIRIL

The Council for International Relations and International Law (CIRIL) is a student-run committee at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, India’s premier legal institution. We work to promote scholarship and interest in the fields of international law, international relations, and foreign policy. To this end, we organise competitions, periodic Lectures, study circles, and symposia. In the previous academic year (AY 2020-21), we organised multiple panels, which saw talks from multiple well-reputed and well-established dignitaries from the field of international law and international relations. These panels included a panel discussion on careers in international law, Rohingya crisis, et al. We are committed to continue to hold more value-adding panels.

At the beginning of this academic year (AY 2021-22), we had the privilege of having World Bank lead counsel (and a proud NLSIU alum) Mr. Vikram Raghavan, to deliver a talk on the importance of economics for lawyers and the working of the World Bank. We also started a social media series CIRILupdates where we regularly post weekly updates on the recent developments in the domains of international relations and international law.
In pursuance to our goals, we are proud to announce the Essay Competition to harness the vivid potential of students across the country, and allow them to contribute to the discourse!

About the Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL):

The Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL) was established in the year 2016 by the Ministry of
Commerce and Industry, Government of India, at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT). The
Centre’s primary objective is to provide sound and rigorous analysis of legal issues pertaining to
international trade and investment law to the Government of India and other governmental agencies.
The Centre is aiming to create a dedicated pool of legal experts who could provide technical inputs for
enhancing India’s participation in international trade and investment negotiations and dispute
settlement. The Centre also aims to be a thought leader in the various domains of international
economic law such as WTO law, international investment law and legal issues relating to economic
integration.
It is CTIL’s mission to identify, analyse and provide creative ideas and perspectives to influence the
international discourse on wide ranging aspects of international economic law. The Centre engages on
a regular basis with different stakeholders including central and state governments, think-tanks,
research centres, national law schools and other institutions rendering legal education in international
economic law, independent legal professionals, industry organizations and the private sector. The
Centre is also conceived as a ready repository of trade and investment related information including
updates on ongoing trade negotiations and disputes.

About the Indian Journal of International Economic Law (IJIEL):

The IJIEL is a student-edited, peer-reviewed law journal published annually by the National Law School of India University, Bangalore (NLSIU) under the patronage of the Indian government-sponsored chair on WTO Law.

The Journal is an endeavour to encourage scholarship in the niche but rapidly emerging and dynamic fields of international trade law and international economic law, in recognition of the staggering impact of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and cross-border trade and commerce in the world today. IJIEL hopes to cater to the needs of scholars, researchers, lawyers, policy makers and dedicated law students in the field of international economic law. This would include multidisciplinary research concerning the WTO, trade laws at various levels of government, financial institutions, regulatory subjects such as taxation and competition policy, various services sectors such as banking and brokerage, linkages to human rights and cultural problems, international commercial arbitration etc. The mission of IJIEL is to encourage thoughtful scholastic attention to international economic law in developing countries, and provide a forum for exploring the concerns of developing countries. An emphasis on the enhancement of legal knowledge, critical awareness and research skills in the field of international economic law, and an integrated interdisciplinary approach to global economic governance informed by law, political science, sociology and economics, shall inform the philosophy and practice of IJIEL.

Themes

1. International trade law and environmental regulation 

Examples: Carbon credit and impact on international trade; fisheries subsidies.

2. Health impacts of free trade

Examples: Medical products and TRIPS; Vaccine equality.

3. International trade law, development and inequality

Examples: MSP & farmers protests; gender & trade law; rights of indigenous persons.

4. Future of multilateralism in trade: recent concerns (WTO and regional trade agreements)

Examples: Implications of the Trade Facilitation Agreement for developing countries; analysing the impacts of regional trade agreements on free trade (RCEP, CPTPP etc.); Appellate Body crisis and Walker principles; US-China Trade wars

Registration

Participants will be charged a registration fee of Rs. 100. 

All registered participants who submit essays for the competition will be awarded E-Certificates.

All registered participants will have the opportunity to attend 2 webinars by experts in the field of international trade law: 

1. Prof. James J. Nedumpara (Professor and Head at the Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL) at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi and a Professor at Jindal Global Law School) on ‘Developing Countries in the WTO’s Free Market Trade Regime‘

2. Prof. Govindraj G. Hegde (Associate Professor of Law and Chair of Ministry of Commerce Chair on International Trade Laws at National Law School of India University, Bangalore) on ‘Implications for India Post Cairn & Vodafone Arbitration Cases

Submission Guidelines 

1. Register and make payment for the competition using this form. 

2. Once you are allotted a code after registration through mail, you can fill this form to submit the essay at any stage before the submission deadline. It should be in MS Word format (.doc) or (.docx) with the name of the file as the allotted code. No biographical information or references, including the name(s) of the author(s), affiliation(s) and acknowledgements should be included in the text of the essay document. 

3. The word limit is 3000-4000 words, excluding footnotes. No substantive footnoting is permitted. 

4. An abstract of not more than 200 words shall be provided. 

5. Co-authorship is not permitted. 

6. The body of the paper shall be as follows: Font: Times New Roman, Font Size: 12, Line Spacing: 1.5. 

7. Citations Font: Times New Roman, Font Size: 10, and Line Spacing: 1. 

8. Headings should be in bold and center-aligned. 

9. Footnotes must conform to the OSCOLA (4th edition). Endnotes are not permitted. 

10. The essay should not be submitted for any other competition and/or for any other purposes. 

11. The essay must be the original and bonafide work of the participant. 

Eligibility

All students pursuing under-graduate (three/five year) or post-graduate law degrees from any law school/university/college recognized by the Bar Council of India are eligible to participate in the Competition.

Important dates

i. Registration opens: 1st February, 2022. 

ii. Registration closes: 25th February, 2022.

iii. Submission deadline: 1st April, 2022.

Prizes

1st Prize:

• Cash Prize of Rs. 15,000 
• SCC Online Platinum Plus (Academic, Worth Rs. 36,000) 
• 1-year complimentary subscription to EBC Learning (worth Rs. 14,500) 
• Internship at Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL) 
• Opportunity to be published in the Indian Journal of International Economic Law (IJIEL) Journal/Blog  

2nd Prize:

• Cash Prize of Rs. 7,000 
• SCC Online Platinum Plus (Academic, Worth Rs. 36,000) 
• 1-year complimentary subscription to EBC Learning (worth Rs. 14,500) 
• Internship at Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL) 
• Opportunity to be published in the Indian Journal of International Economic Law (IJIEL) Journal/Blog  

3rd Prize:

• Cash Prize of Rs. 5,000
• 1-year complimentary subscription to EBC Learning (worth Rs. 14,500) 
• Internship at Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL) 
• Opportunity to be published in the Indian Journal of International Economic Law (IJIEL) Journal/Blog  

Contact Us

Siddhant Choudhury
Convenor, CIRIL
(+918828907703)

Shweta Prasad Shah
Joint Convenor, CIRIL
(+919561180685)

Mail at ciril@nls.ac.in

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