Mustafa Mert Dicle was awarded this prestigious award due to his role as Ambassador for QMUL.
As the Ambassador for Queen Mary University of London, Mustafa Mert Dicle (Comparative and International Dispute Resolution LLM, 2023) recently received the Ambassador of the Year Award from BIICL (British Institute of International and Comparative Law). Mert says that "Throughout the year, he had the chance to be a part of the esteemed Ola Ugwu (The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law Head of the Public and Youth Engagement Programme), Professor Spyros Maniatis (Law PhD, 1999) and Jan van Zyl Smit's (The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law Acting Director) amazing team and contributed to an outstanding series of events. As a volunteer researcher and BIICL's ambassador, Mert has promoted BIICL's memberships, advertised BIICL training and events, and also organized events featuring international lawyers. He has also attended BIICL's Course on Energy Law. He acted as a panelist at the Magna Carta event. He has also attended various BIICL events such as: House of Lords Event - AI Ethics and the Rule of Law, Use and Abuse of Nationality in International Arbitration, The Importance of the International Rule of Law - lecture by Rt Hon David Lammy MP, 39th ITF Public Conference - Energy Disputes in ISDS, Young Investment Treaty Forum's debate - ''States, rather than tribunals are responsible for the failure to give sufficient weight to environmental concerns.'', Young Investment Treaty Forum's debate - ''The approach of the Multilateral Investment Court to the appointment of judges will not balance interests of States and investors.'', and Small States and Access to Justice."
Mustafa Mert Dicle is a Turkish-qualified lawyer with 5 years of experience in litigation and arbitration. As a Chevening Scholar, he graduated from the Comparative and International Dispute Resolution LLM program from CCLS, Queen Mary University of London, School of International Arbitration with a Distinction. His dissertation titled “Making Türkiye More Arbitration Friendly with Respect to the Existence and Validity of Arbitration Agreements” also got a Distinction. At the same time, he is a volunteer researcher at BIICL and BIICL’s Ambassador for Queen Mary University of London. Also, he is a contributing editor at the "E-Mails to a Young Lawyer" project. He acted as an arbitrator in many moot court competitions. He has had speaking engagements on several topics related to international arbitration before ICC YAAF, ISTAC - Arbitration School, ASA Below 40, and Istanbul Bar Association's Arbitration Center. He has publications on international arbitration as well. At the same time, he is an author at Kluwer Arbitration Blog. He also gained different perspectives, and got international work experience as a visiting lawyer in London respectively at Bench Walk Advisors, White & Case LLP, CANDEY and Alaco.
Mert believes that the quality of education he received at the CCLS, and the guidance that he got from Professor Mistelis contributed a lot to his career. He also underlines that prospective students should be studying at the CCLS given the wonderful networking opportunities with professionals from all around the world, on top of the amazing reputation of QMUL. He recalls the trip to Cumberland Lodge where he made friendships that extended beyond his time at the CCLS. Finally, his advice to CCLS students and alumni is to look out for opportunities for collaboration and be proactive in maintaining connections.