Dickson Poon School of Law Graduate Receives Georg Schwarzenberger Prize in International Law

The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies is pleased to announce that Mathies Andreas Beier is this year’s recipient of the Georg Schwarzenberger Prize in International Law. 

The prize was endowed by friends and former students of the late Professor Georg Schwarzenberger, a distinguished academic who taught international law at the University of London from 1938 to 1975. It is awarded to a student in one of the law schools of the University of London on the basis of outstanding performance in Public International Law. 

This year’s winner, Mathies Andreas Beier, has distinguished himself academically and professionally. He began his studies at the Humboldt University of Berlin. He then pursued a degree in Public International Law at the Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas. In 2024 he completed an LLM in International Dispute Resolution with distinction from the Dickson Poon School of Law. Mathies is currently a trainee lawyer at the Higher Regional Court in Berlin, where he is seconded to the Berlin Regional Court II. His LLM dissertation is entitled, ‘Criminal Law Applicable to the Merits in International Commercial Arbitration’. In this work, Mathies combines elements of national criminal law and international commercial arbitration with the principles of public international law.

In making his nomination, Professor Dan Hunter, Executive Dean of the Dickson Poon School of Law, described Mathies’ dissertation as displaying  ‘an exceptional understanding of public international law reasoning’. He went on to say that Mathies’ work 

navigated complex theoretical questions about the application of criminal law in arbitral proceedings, examining the tension between national sovereignty and the increasingly transnational nature of dispute resolution. The dissertation was theoretically sophisticated, demonstrating a nuanced understanding of the relationship between national legal systems and the international legal order.

Mathies’ evidence of excellence in international law extended beyond his academic studies at the University of London. He was a driving force behind the KCL team in the 2024 Day of Crisis Competition, organised by the Hague Academy of International Law. He also volunteered at the KCL Human Rights and Environmental Law Clinic, where he provided legal advice on issues at the intersection of human rights and environmental protection. 

The Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Professor Carl Stychin, offered congratulations to this year’s winner: 

The Institute is very proud to manage the Georg Schwarzenberger Prize on behalf of the University of London. Mathies Andreas Beier is an outstanding recipient of this year’s Prize based on a stellar range of achievements in international law. On behalf of the Institute, I want to wish Mathies every success in his legal career. He rightfully joins a very select group of winners of this prestigious award. 

Mathies Andreas Beier said: 

It is a great honour for me to receive the Georg Schwarzenberger Prize in International Law. The outstanding academics who believed in me during the selection process and my dissertation inspire profound gratitude in me. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to the teams at the Day of Crisis Competition, the Law Clinic and the European Law School Network. The achievements for which I am being recognised would not have been possible without them.

_{(Photo reproduced with permission of Mathies Andreas Beier)}