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").
 

• Competition Begins: 6 January 2026 (9am GMT). Judges’ virtual welcome and Q&A (time to be announced).
• Phase 1 Submission Deadline: 5 February 2026 (23:59 GMT)
  • Finalists Announced: 19 February 2026
• Phase 2 Virtual Final:
  • 12 March 2026 at 3pm GMT: Live virtual presentations for the Student category
  • 13 March 2026 at 3pm GMT: Live virtual presentations for the Professional category
• Winners Announced: 26 March 2026 (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. are not ordinarily resident in a jurisdiction subject to comprehensive UK/US sanctions, nor appear on the US OFAC SDN List or the UK Consolidated List. 

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.  

To prevent the appearance of a conflict of interest, organizations represented in the vendor showcase may not field a team in the hackathon. For additional details about the vendor showcase email hackathon@globalarbitrationreview.com with the subject line "vendor showcase" or reach out to Hemant Chauhan on coordinates below.

A Participant may not participate on two or more teams.

Academic institutions may field two or more teams in either category.  Professional organizations may only field up to one team each.

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 have written permission 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.

Registration 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,

Registration Fees:

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

• Student Category: Registration is free.
• Team Changes: The Team Captain may not add or remove team members after the Phase 1 Submission Deadline (5 February 2026).

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 (6 January–5 February 2026): Registered teams will develop their solution and submit a completed Submission Form and an optional 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 (12 and 13 March 2026): 

• 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 encouraged 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 (26 March 2026): Winners from both categories will be announced at the GAR Awards in Paris, and online the following day (27 March 2026).
 

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 26 March 2026 in Paris.  Winners will also be announced on the GAR and LCIA websites.

• Two tickets to Paris per team (with aspiration to pay some travel for students). 
• Winners invited on stage
• Winner and runner up of the student competition invited to present their solutions at the LLM x Law Hackathon. [Editor’s note: paragraph amended on 17/12/2025.]
• Invites for winners to LCIA YIAG symposium at Tylney Hall (max three per team)
• Mentor slots for winners plus runners up in the Student Competition with Stanford Law School's liftlab

Travel: Proceeds from registration 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 a member to another hackathon or competition. Existing research, tools, or models may be used, provided the submission represents a materially new application or configuration and the team has all necessary rights to use those components. [Editor’s note: paragraph amended on 17/12/2025.].

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. [Editor’s note: paragraph amended on 17/12/2025.]

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. 

Rules updated on 17/12/2026. Amendments indicated with an [Editor’s note].