The European University Institute Law School has announced the results of the 2023 Antonio Cassese Doctoral Dissertation in International Law. Xiaohang Chen, a postdoctoral researcher at Peking University Law School, won the 2023 Cassese Prize for his doctoral dissertation "The Imagination of Alternatives: The History of International Arbitration in the Late Nineteenth Century 1863-1888." The jury of the prize considered that the doctoral dissertation "combines a great deal of archival research" and "has a clear methodological awareness and is an important contribution to the historiography of international law".

Using an interdisciplinary approach to international law and history, combined with archival materials, this doctoral dissertation focuses on the historical process of international arbitration gradually evolving into a mature international dispute settlement mechanism in the late 19th century. The paper discusses the formation and development of international arbitration ideas and mechanisms in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and the United States, and demonstrates how the political, social and cultural contexts of different countries shaped and influenced the formation of different international arbitration schemes in the late 19th century. Finally, taking the professionalization of international law as the starting point, the paper discusses the important role of the Institut de Droit International and the International Law Association in the codification and development of arbitration rules. Dr. Chen defended his doctoral dissertation in March 2022, where the dissertation defense committee included Nehal Bhuta, Professor of International Law at the University of Edinburgh, Ann Thomson, Professor of History at the European University College, Samuel Moyn, Professor of Law at Yale University, and Yongle Zhang, Tenured Associate Professor at Peking University Law School. The thesis was highly praised by the defense committee members.

Dr. Chen graduated from Peking University Law School in July 2016 with a degree in international law, and then entered the European University College to pursue a doctorate in international law under the tutelage of Professor Nehal Bhuta. In June 2022, Dr. Chen entered Peking University Law School to conduct postdoctoral research, co-supervised by Professor Li Ming, Director of the Institute of International Law of Peking University. This award is a high affirmation of the originality of Chen Xiaohang's doctoral dissertation.

The Antonio Cassese Prize was established in 2014 by the Faculty of Law of the European University College to commemorate the outstanding contributions of the Italian international jurist Cassese in public international law and international criminal law. The prize is awarded annually to the best doctoral dissertation in international law that has been defended in the previous calendar year.

Award link: https://www.eui.eu/news-hub?id=xiaohang-chen-wins-mauro-cappelletti-prize