These Official Rules ("Rules") govern participation in the GAR-LCIA Hackathon ("Competition"). By applying, registering, or submitting an Entry to the Competition, you ("Participant") on behalf of yourself and your Team agree to these Rules.

The Competition is organized and sponsored by Global Arbitration Review (GAR), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Three Crowns LLP, and Stanford Law School’s liftlab (collectively, the "Organizers").

• Entry closes and Competition begins: 26 November 2026 (9am GMT). Judges’ virtual welcome and Q&A (time to be announced).
• Judges’ Welcome and Q&A: 30 November and 2 December 2026
• Phase 1 Submission Deadline: 14 January 2027 (23:59 GMT)
  • Finalists Announced: 29 February 2027
• Phase 2 Virtual Final:
  • 25 March 2027 (time to be determined): Live virtual presentations for the Student category
  • 26 March 2027 (time to be determined): Live virtual presentations for the Professional category
• Winners Announced: 18 March 2027 (at the GAR Awards, Paris)
• All dates and times are subject to change by the Organizers, with notice to registered Participants

General Eligibility: The Competition is open to residents worldwide, provided they are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry; and are not listed on the US OFAC Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List or the UK Sanctions List. Participation, receipt of prizes and any financial support remain subject to all applicable sanctions restrictions. 

Competition Categories:

• Professional Category: Open to all legal practitioners, technologists, academics, operations professionals, and other professionals.
• Student Category: Open to individuals able to provide evidence of current full-time or part-time enrolment in an academic institution (e.g., university, law school, business school). There is no restriction on the area of study.  

Teams from technology companies may enter the Professional Category. They must disclose on the Entry Form that their organization sells legal technology and identify in their Submission Form any existing product on which their solution builds.

A Participant may not participate on two or more teams.

Academic institutions may field two or more teams in either category.  Professional organizations can request permission to field more than one team (write to hackathon@globalarbitrationreview.com.)

Legal Compliance: The Competition is void in any country or jurisdiction where prohibited, licensed, restricted, or taxed by applicable law.  It is the Participant's responsibility to ensure they are legally eligible to enter and receive a prize under the laws of their jurisdiction.

Third-Party Rights: Submissions must not infringe upon the intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or other rights of any third party.  Teams using copyrighted materials must the necessary rights or permissions for their use of those materials from the owner. Teams may not rely on confidential client data in their submissions.

Team Size: Teams may consist of one (1) to five (5) members.  A one-person team is permissible.

Team Composition: We encourage mixed teams (ie cross disciplinary). Team members must be from the same organization or institution.  However, the organizers will consider cross-organizational teams on a case-by-case basis.  To request an exception to this policy, please email hackathon@globalarbitrationreview.com.

Entry Process: Each team should nominate a team captain (“Team Captain”).  The Team Captain must complete the official online registration form on behalf of the Team, providing the names, affiliations, and contact details for all members,

Entry Fees:

Professional Category: A non-refundable fee of €250 per team is required.

• Student Category: Entry is free.
• Team Changes: The Team Captain may not add or remove team members after the Phase 1 Submission Deadline (14 January 2027).

Coaches/Advisors: Student teams may be supported by coaches and/or advisors. However, the submitted work product must be the students’ own, and coaches/advisors may not participate in the final presentation.

Task: Using AI, submissions must address a challenge or create an opportunity relevant to the practice of international arbitration.

Phase 1: Submission (26 November 2026 - 14 January 2027): Registered teams will develop their solution and submit a completed Submission Form and a 5-minute video via the official submission portal. Submissions will be judged remotely by the Judging Panel based on the criteria in Section G.

Phase 2: Virtual Final (25 and 26 February 2027): 

• Four (4) finalist teams from the Student category and four (4) finalist teams from the Professional category (8 teams total) will be invited to present their solutions across these two days.  
• Each team will have no more than 20 minutes total to (i) present virtually to the final Judging Panel and (ii) answer the Panel’s questions.  During this time, teams are expected to show a live and functioning demonstration of their solution in action (see Judging Criteria).  To ensure equal presentation opportunity for all finalists, Teams may not exceed the allotted 20 minutes. 
• The Judging Panel will select, from each category, a winner and a runner-up.
• The Phase 1 submissions will not be made available to the public.
• The Phase 2 final presentations will be open to the public for viewing, albeit in recorded form.  Phase 2 will not be livestreamed so as to avoid advantaging teams presenting later over those presenting earlier.

Winners Announcement (18 March 2027): Winners from both categories will be announced at the GAR Awards in Paris, and online the following day (19 March 2027).

Judges: The final judging panel (“Judging Panel”) consists of:

• David Samuels (Publisher, GAR)
• Kevin Nash (Director General, LCIA)
• Lucy Greenwood (Independent Arbitrator, Founder of the Green Pledge)
• Hugh Carlson (Chief Executive Officer, Three Crowns)
• Dr. Megan Ma (Executive Director, Stanford Law School’s liftlab)

Judging Criteria: Entries will be evaluated by the judges based on the following four (4) criteria:

• Impact and relevance (25%): How effectively does the solution address a real, significant problem or ‘pain point’ in international arbitration? Is the problem well-defined and the solution’s potential impact high? 
• Innovation and novelty (30%): Is the solution genuinely innovative? Does it present a new approach, a fresh application of existing technology, or a process redesign that is creative and original? 
• Feasibility and scalability (25%): Is the solution viable and applicable in the real world? Is the implementation plan realistic? Does it have the potential to be adopted widely by the industry? 
• Execution (20%): Does the solution go beyond an idea into a demonstrable use case?  Is the team able to show to the Judging Panel a live and fully functioning demonstration of its solution, rather than only a recording?  

Finality of decisions: All decisions made by the judges are final, binding, and at their sole discretion. No correspondence will be entered into regarding the judging process or decisions.

Announcement: Winners for the Professional and Student categories will be announced at the GAR Awards on 18 March 2027 in Paris.  Winners will also be announced on the GAR and LCIA websites.

• Two tickets to Paris per team (with expectation that GAR will pay some or all of the travel costs for students). 
• Winners invited on stage at the GAR Awards
• Winners in both Student and Professional categories invited to present their solutions at the LCIA symposium at Tylney Hall. Free attendance and accommodation for up to two representatives per winning team (with aspiration to pay travel for the winning student team). 
• Mentoring from industry experts for finalists in the student competition during Phase 2 and after the final.

Travel: Proceeds from entry fees, after administrative costs, will be used to support the event and may be put towards helping up to two participants from Student finalist teams attend the awards ceremony in Paris. This is a goal, not a guarantee.

All participants must adhere to a high standard of professionalism and respect throughout the competition. This hackathon is meant to be a positive, collaborative learning experience. Harassment or discrimination of any kind (including on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, etc.) will not be tolerated. Teams should compete fairly and refrain from sabotage or plagiarism.  Violation of this Code of Conduct may result in individual or team disqualification.

Governing Law: This Competition and these Rules are governed by, and will be construed in accordance with, the laws of England and Wales.

Dispute Resolution: All disputes arising from or related to this Competition shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

No Employment or Partnership: Participation in this Competition does not constitute an employment, joint venture, or partnership relationship between the Participant and any of the Organizers.

IP License: By entering, Participants grant the Organizers a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to display, reproduce, and communicate their submissions (including name and likeness) solely for educational, promotional, or archival purposes.

Novelty of the submission: A submission must be original to the team and not previously submitted by the team, or individual team member, to another hackathon or competition - or otherwise in existence (eg available for sale); the exception is a team may build on a concept that it, or one of its members, submitted to the inaugural GAR-LCIA Hackathon, provided that it discloses this in its Submission Form. The judges will assess what is new.

Limitation of Liability: By participating, Participants agree to release and hold harmless the Organizers and their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents from any and all liability, claims, or actions of any kind whatsoever for injuries, damages, or losses to persons or property which may be sustained in connection with submitting an Entry or otherwise participating in any aspect of the Competition.

Data Protection and Privacy: The Organizers will collect participant data solely for competition administration, communication, and promotion. Data will be handled in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the GDPR. Participants may request deletion of personal data post-event.

Participants may request deletion of personal data post-event to the extent permitted by applicable law and consistent with the Organizers’ legitimate interests in record-keeping, audit, and competition administration.

The Organizers reserve the right to modify the dates, rules, or prizes, or to suspend or cancel the Competition at any time for any reason, with notice to Participants.  By registering, Participants agree to abide by the rules and accept the judges’ decisions as final. For any questions not covered here, teams may contact the Organizers at hackathon@globalarbitrationreview.com and consult the FAQ section on the event page.

Judges may elect to recuse themselves in the event of a potential perceived conflict of interest.