Daniel Peat Wins European Society of International Law Book Prize 2020
The European Society of International Law (ESIL) awarded its 2020 Book Prize to Daniel Peat, an Assistant Professor of Public International Law at the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies at Leiden Law School. The ESIL Book Prize is awarded annually 'for an outstanding published work in the field of international law'.
The 2020 Prize Jury was composed of Professors Erika de Wet (University of Pretoria), Mathias Forteau (University of Paris Ouest, Nanterre La Défense) and Christian Walter (LMU Munich). The jury evaluated a wide range of books published in 2019 submitted for consideration by leading international law publishers, ultimately deciding to award the Prize to Daniel Peat’s recent book, Comparative Reasoning in International Courts and Tribunals (Cambridge UP 2019).
The Committee explained their decision as follows:
'Peat's book is concise (a quality that the members of the jury found important) yet very substantial, innovative and highly stimulating. It is of great interest not only for the law and practice of international adjudication, but also for the theory of the sources of international law (general principles of law, relationship between domestic law and international adjudication, and relationship between comparative law and international law, which is a fascinating, emerging issue) and their interpretation. As such, it will provide any international lawyer with new insights and perspectives on core issues of general international law and will no doubt pave the way to future researches in the field.'
The Prize was awarded at the General Assembly of ESIL on 11 September 2020, and a virtual celebration will be held with the Prize Jury and winner on 2 October 2020.