(Photo Credit: IFRC)

The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) has launched its First Annual International and Comparative Disaster Law Essay Contest.   The contest is co-sponsored by the IFRC, the American Society of international Law (ASIL) and the “International Disaster Law Project” of the Universities of Bologna, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Roma Tre and Uninettuno (also associated with the Italian Red Cross), with support from the International Institute of Humanitarian Law. The contest seeks entries from graduate or undergraduate students (regardless of major/concentration) with a deadline of January 30, 2015.

Among the top prizes are sponsored participation in the week-long annual “International Disaster Law Course” in Sanremo and a
year membership in ASIL and waiver of fees for attendance of the 2015 Annual meeting on April. Note that all submissions must be in English and must address international or comparative legal issues for disasters linked to natural hazards.

• Submissions may range from 5,000 to 10,000 words, including footnotes.

• Essays should be submitted to disaster.law@ifrc.org  as Microsoft Word attachments. In the subject line, please state “Submission: International and Comparative Disaster Law Essay Contest”. Questions may be directed to the same email address.

• The full contest rules, prizes to be awarded, as well as a sample list of topics, are available here.