- Young CMI & Essay Prize
yCMI Essay Prize
yCMI Essay Prize 2024
The Comité Maritime International invites submissions for the 2024 Young Persons’ Essay Prize for original unpublished writing in the field of maritime law.
The CMI Assembly has decided not to prescribe a topic for the 2024 competition in order to open up the scope of the Essay to accommodate any topic of current relevance to maritime law. Entrants are however encouraged to visit the CMI website’s pages on work in progress – which may assist in choosing a suitable topic, as preference may be given in the adjudication process to essays covering topics currently under review by the CMI.
Candidates should be:
• 35 or younger on the closing date for entries (31 March 2024); and
• A member of a CMI-member Maritime Law Association; or
• If not such an MLA member, a person actively engaged in the practice, study or research of maritime law as prescribed in the Prize Rules. This status should be confirmed by a letter from a non-CMI member MLA, university, research institute, law firm or other employer. The letter should accompany the script.
Deadline for Submission: 31 March 2024
The 2023 winner of the Comite Maritime International Young Person’s Essay Prize (yCMI Essay Prize) is Kevin Chan.
yCMI Essay Prize 2023
“Charting the Sea of Limitation: Analysis of the IMO Unified Interpretation on the Test for Breaking the Shipowner’s Right to Limit Liability” by Chante Fourie was unanimously adjudged the runner-up of the yCMI Essay Competition 2023.
The 2022 winner of the Comite Maritime International Young Person’s Essay Prize (yCMI Essay Prize) is Rosalie Van Dael.
yCMI Essay Prize 2022
The 2020 winner of the Comite Maritime International Young Person’s Essay Prize (yCMI Essay Prize) is Eva Litina (Greece). First runner-up is Arron Honnibal (UK). Second runner-up is Alberto Bregante (Italy). Many congratulations! The winning essay and the essays of the runners-up can be accessed via the links below.
yCMI Essay Prize 2020
The 2019 winner of the Comite Maritime International Young Person’s Essay Prize (yCMI Essay Prize) is Helen Nieman. Congratulations!
yCMI Essay Prize 2019
Helen Nieman is an attorney advisor in Washington, D.C., with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration (MARAD). She offers in-house counsel on MARAD’s maritime programs and manages documentation drafting and closings of its vessel financing and guarantee program. She is also a judge advocate in the New York Army National Guard, serving as a brigade judge advocate for the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team with a focus on national security law. She previously deployed with the 42nd Infantry Division to the Middle East where she managed the legal assistance offices for the entirety of the region.
Helen previously worked for the City of New York in litigation and administrative law and was an adjunct professor of business law at CUNY Hunter College. She received her juris doctor from Brooklyn Law School and is admitted to practice law in the State of New York. She additionally holds a M.S. in Space Studies from the American Military University where her thesis addressed the vulnerabilities of space assets to cyber crimes and attacks. Currently, Helen is pursuing a M.S. in Cyber Operations from the University of Maryland.