Global Essay Competition: From Foundations to Frontiers, UNCITRAL’s Role in Shaping Tomorrow’s Trade Law [online; deadline 31 December 2026]

In 2026, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) marks its 60th anniversary, six decades of shaping the rules that underpin global commerce. UNCITRAL was established by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1966. As part of the UNCITRAL 60 celebratory events, the UNCITRAL secretariat is launching a global essay competition, From Foundations to Frontiers: UNCITRAL’s Role in Shaping Tomorrow’s Trade Law, open to all researchers with an interest in international trade law and related disciplines.

The competition aims to:

• Engage researchers in shaping debates on the future direction of international trade law.
• Promote interdisciplinary thinking and innovative approaches to legal development.
• Strengthen global awareness of UNCITRAL’s work.
• Foster inclusive participation across diverse legal systems, regions and academic traditions.

The competition invites original research and thought-provoking contributions that address:

• The social and economic impact of UNCITRAL texts, assessing their role in facilitating international trade and promoting legal certainty across jurisdictions.
• Innovative and forward-looking ideas on the future of international trade law, exploring how UNCITRAL can continue to serve as a solution-oriented, inclusive, and responsive forum in an evolving global context.

Interdisciplinary perspectives that integrate legal analysis with insights from economics, technology, and other relevant disciplines are encouraged.

• The competition is open to researchers from all disciplines with an interest in international trade law, at all career stages. Students are eligible only if they are currently enrolled in, or have completed, a research-focused master’s or Ph.D programme in law.
• Submissions must be endorsed by a university or recognized research institution. Endorsement takes the form of official communication evidencing the endorsement by the university or institution. A recognized research institution is any research institution legally established in its home jurisdiction.
• There is no limit on the number of submissions a university or institution may endorse.
• Joint submissions are permitted, with no limit on the number of co-authors. Where co-authors are from different institutions, a single institutional endorsement is sufficient.
• Both published and unpublished works are admissible.

• Submissions may be made in any of the six official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) and should not exceed 10,000 words.
• The 10,000-word limit applies to body text and footnotes/endnotes. The bibliography is excluded from the word count.
• An abstract in English or French (up to 300 words) is required and is excluded from the word count.
• Both the submission and the abstract must be provided in Microsoft Word format.
• Footnotes and other references follow the editorial guidelines in the United Nations Editorial Manual.

Send the submission to the UNCITRAL secretariat by email (uncitral60@un.org) under the subject line “Global Essay Competition” before 31 December 2026.

Essays will be evaluated by a distinguished panel composed of current and former members of the UNCITRAL secretariat, as well as eminent professors with recognized expertise in international trade law.

• The top ten winning authors, ideally two from each regional group, will be invited to present their essays during the UNCITRAL Commission session in Vienna in June/July 2027.
• Those essays will be published as part of UNCITRAL 60 documentation.
• Winners will also be offered a visiting scholarship at the UNCITRAL secretariat, in accordance with applicable United Nations rules and regulations.
• If a winning essay has multiple authors, all co-authors will be invited to present it at the Commission session in 2027, but travel support will be provided for only one author.

Authors retain copyright in their essays. Winning authors are expected to grant UNCITRAL a license, by signing a form, to publish their essay as part of UNCITRAL 60 documentation.

For further information, contact uncitral60@un.org. The call is accompanied by a Frequently Asked Questions document (version of 24 April 2026), linked with this post.