Each year, the European Future Challenge focuses on matters related to 
sustainability and green innovation in European law.    
This year, we invite participants to write an essay addressing the topic of 
"Regulating AI for a Sustainable Future: Legal Challenges and Opportunities".

We at CERHA HEMPEL are eager to hear your critical perspective and innovative ideas on what additional factors or considerations lawmakers could take into account as they shape policies and decisions in the future. Your insights could help inform a more comprehensive approach to addressing the challenges ahead. In particular, we would like you to outline how governments and international bodies should regulate AI to ensure it contributes to sustainability rather than exacerbating environmental issues. Furthermore, we would like to hear your legal opinion on whether AI sustainability laws should be harmonized globally or be tailored to a national context.

Conditions of participation

This competition is aimed at law students and young professionals from Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Participants should be law students in at least their second year of study, graduates or young professionals with fewer than two years of post-graduate experience, respectively. Employees of CERHA HEMPEL are exempt from participation.

Please submit your entries by 19 May 2025

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

Please make sure that you meet all of the following requirements before you submit your paper to golegal(at)cerhahempel.com :

• Send your paper as a pdf file

• Each essay must not exceed 15 pages (including footnotes)

• Include your CV and motivation letter – both as pdf files

• English language requirement for all essays and supporting documentation

• Formatting requirements:   
  Standard font                                                 Arial 10.5 pt    
  Running text                                                   1.5 line spacing          
  Footnotes, bibliography, block quotations     single line spacing      
  Document margins                                        normal
  Header or Footer                                            consecutive page numbering

AWARDS, PRIZES and CERTIFICATES

Prizes will be awarded for the best essay in each participating country (National Award) and for the overall winner selected from all essays submitted (International Award). 

Each national winner will be awarded a prize of EUR 500 and may subsequently apply for an internship at the respective CERHA HEMPEL partner office.

The international winner will be awarded a prize of EUR 1,000 and may subsequently apply for an internship at a CERHA HEMPEL office of his/her choice.

All winners are invited to the award ceremony and subsequent networking event in Vienna. Their travel expenses as well as one overnight stay will be covered by CERHA HEMPEL (terms and conditions apply).

Each participant will receive a certificate of participation signed by CERHA HEMPEL and ELSA Austria and may attend the award ceremony in Vienna.

Your contact at CERHA HEMPEL:

Your contact at ELSA (The European Law Students‘ Association):

Ms. Arya Gerda Haager         
Vice President ELSA Austria

academicactivities@at.elsa.org