To forge closer ties between law practitioners and academia, the Institute of World Business Law, part of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), has inaugurated its first-ever prize in academic research. The ICC World Business Law Institute Prize will be given to a fresh new voice in legal scholarship, an individual under the age of 40, writing about international law, including arbitration. The recipient will be announced in November 2007 during the Institute's annual meeting at ICC's Paris headquarters.

"We're scouring the globe for the very best in law writing on a topical issue concerning international trade and dispute resolution. This is in step with our mission - to be steeped in the international trade issues of today, tomorrow and after tomorrow," said Serge Lazareff, Chairman of the Institute.

An award of €10 000 will be made for bold new research in international commercial law to someone who demonstrates the very highest standard of excellence in legal writing. The winning candidate will be chosen by the Institute after a call for papers canvassing virtually all the world's law schools. The prize will be given out every two or three years. The jury is made up of five eminent law scholars and jurists from France, Turkey, Italy, Lebanon and the Netherlands, drawn from the Institute's Council members.

Four law firms are sponsoring the prize: Bonelli Erede Pappalardo (Italy), Bredin Prat (France), Hengeler Mueller (Germany), Slaughter & May (UK) and Uria Menendez (Spain). 

Submissions must run between 200 and 250 pages, be written in English or French and arrive at the Institute by 1July 2007 at the latest in PDF format with two hard copies.

Founded by ICC in 1979, the Institute is an independent think tank that was created to foster closer links among lawyers across the globe, harmonize international trade practices through training and spread international best practices on arbitration. The Institute draws together 40 high-level lawyers, law professors and corporate counsellors in a unique pooling of practical and academic talent to address current and future issues facing arbitration.

The Institute also conducts training seminars around the world on arbitration, international contracts and on the emerging field of transnational law, an outgrowth of the global diffusion of new information and communications technologies and new financial practices. It holds a series of annual conferences, such as a yearly conference on audiovisual law at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Institute has been a vital conduit for enhancing the interworkings of global business and the law profession, and furthers the core mission of ICC: to serve world business by promoting the market economy, cross-border trade and investment, and entrepreneurship.