Eligible candidates are invited to submit their proposals to Dr Eugenio Vaccari at eugenio.vaccari@rhul.ac.uk
The School of Law and Social Sciences is offering a home fee waiver and a maintenance award of £16,000 p.a. for 3.5 years for a FT student wishing to pursue a transformative doctoral research on the interaction between insolvency law and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms (particularly, arbitration and mediation).
The aim of the project is to analyse the contribution of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms to the management of complex insolvency and restructuring procedures. The provisional title of the scholarship is: "International Arbitration, Cross-Border Liquidation and Multi-National Restructuring: at Crossroads?".
The Project
ADRs are becoming mainstream tools in the handling of cross-border insolvency procedures. Skilled professionals with experience in liquidation and restructuring disputes are increasingly using their facilitative approaches to replace lengthy and expensive judicial procedures with flexible and tailored ADR mechanisms. However, the use of ADR mechanisms in insolvency and restructuring procedures is controversial from a principled, legal and conceptual standpoint.
It is envisaged that this research will focus on the most prominent ADR mechanism, arbitration. It will revolve around the arbitrability of disputes and the enforceability of arbitration awards when one of the parties is undertaking a liquidation or restructuring procedure. Proposals on the use of other ADR mechanisms such as conciliation and mediation will also be considered.
The outlook of the research is international, with a particular focus on the Anglo-American approach in light of the recognised status of the U.K. and the U.S.A. as restructuring and arbitration centres. Based on the expertise of the candidate, reference could also be made to other jurisdictions such as Singapore and Dubai, in light of their prominence as restructuring hubs in the Asian-Pacific and Middle-East regions.
How to Apply
Eligible candidates must show excellent interpersonal skills and hold a first or upper-second class honours degree in law or equivalent, and a Masters-level qualification (or be close to completion). Candidates with a background in ADR, Company and Insolvency Law are particularly encouraged to apply for this scholarship.
The successful candidate will be supervised by Dr Eugenio Vaccari and Dr Leonardo V P de Oliveira. Applications need to be submitted by 10 January 2022 to Dr Eugenio Vaccari at eugenio.vaccari@rhul.ac.uk. Students are encouraged to make informal enquires with the above-mentioned members of the staff before submitting their applications. More information on the scholarship and how to apply is available here.
