The Clive M. Schmitthoff Essay Competition is headed by Pace Law School's Institute of International Commercial Law together with Queen Mary–University of London's Centre for Commercial Law Studies. Competition detail are listed in the table below.
| Eligibility | Any student at any institute of higher learning anywhere in the world. |
| Subject | Any topic related to the CISG or UNIDROIT Principles, the PECL or the Proposed Common European Sales Law. All law schools and many business schools from time to time grant course credit for student essays on selected topics. Essays prepared in response to such assignments are eligible. |
| Length & format | Student's choice. Where the essay is written as a course assignment, its length and format are at the professor's discretion. Where English is not the student's native language, the essay may be submitted in the native language accompanied by a typed English translation. Submission of essays as e-mail attachments is satisfactory and encouraged. |
Evaluation criteria |
See below for evaluation criteria and data on essays awarded First Place in prior events. |
Awards |
A prize of $500 will be awarded for the best essay and arrange for publication in the Pace International Law Review. For all essays of special merit, the author and faculty member under whom the student studied will each receive a Certificate of Merit. |
Submission |
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Essays are evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Quality of analysis (is it convincing, substantiated, understandable?)
- Thoroughness of research (types and varieties of source material)
- Originality (even though the topic may have been discussed in various publications, is the author's approach innovative?)
- Interest of the subject matter
- Quality of writing (style, clarity, organization)
First Prize essays for preceding years are listed below in order of award:
- Kevin Bell [United States], "The Sphere of Application of the Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods"
- Camilla Baasch Andersen [Denmark], "Reasonable Time in Article 39(1) of the CISG: Is Article 39(1) Truly a Uniform Provision?"
- Pilar Perales Viscasillas [Spain], "Battle of the Forms Under the 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods: A Comparison with Section 2-207 UCC and the UNIDROIT Principles"
- Peter A. Piliounis [Canada], "The Remedies of Specific Performance, Price Reduction and Additional Time (Nachfrist) under the CISG: Are these worthwhile changes or additions to English Sales Law?"
- Joern Rimke [Germany/South Africa], "Force majeure and hardship: Application in international trade practice - with specific regard to the CISG and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts"
- John Felemegas [Australia], "The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods: Article 7 and Uniform Interpretation"
- Djakhongir Saidov [Uzbekistan], "Methods of Limiting Damages under the Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods"
- Bruno Zeller [Australia], Four Corners: "The Methodology for Interpretation and Application of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods"
- Francesco G. Mazzotta [Italy], "Article 78: Endless Disagreement Among Commentators, Much Less Among the Courts"
- Peter J. Mazzacano [Canada], "Canadian Jurisprudence and the Uniform Application of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods"
- Fan Yang [China], "The Application of the CISG in the Current PRC Law and the CIETAC Arbitration Practice"
- Keith William Diener [United States], "The Recovery of Attorneys' Fees under CISG Article 74: A Critique of the Case Law and Commentary with an Interpretation of Article 74"
- Nathalie Hofmann [Germany], "Interpretation Rules and Good Faith as Obstacles to the UK's Ratification of the CISG and to the Harmonization of Contract Law in Europe"
- Katrina Winsor [New Zealand], "The Applicability of the CISG to Govern Sales of Commodity Goods"
- Rodrigo Momberg Uribe [the Netherlands], "Change of circumstances in international instruments of contract law. The approach of the CISG, the PICC, the PECL and the DCFR"
- Elizabeth Simos [England], "The CISG: A Lost Cause in the UK?"
- Villy de Luca [Italy], “The Conformity of the Goods to the Contract in International Sales”
- Viktor Előd Cserép, E Pluribus Unum – Out of Many, One Common European Sales Law?, 29 Pace Int'l L. Rev. 205 (2017)