With her essay on "Governing Shared Natural Resources of the International Seabed Area", Sharefah Almuhana won the Best International Future Lawyer Award 2016.
The Jury, composed of three AIJA Executive Committee Members, considered unanimously this paper the best one for this year's award.
Sharefah's research attempts to establish a strategy to distribute the potential outcomes from exploiting the natural resources existing in common and global property areas, namely, the International Seabed Area (the Area), which is located beyond the limits of national jurisdictions and is rich in valuable mineral deposits such as nickel, copper, cobalt, iron, and manganese. The huge deposits found beneath the oceans are commercially sound and estimated to satisfy the energy needs of the world for centuries.
Sharefah Almuhana graduated in May 2016 from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Cleveland, OH, U.S.A, with S.J.D – Doctoral Degree in Law. Sharefah also holds LLB and LLM both are from Kuwait University School of Law. Before going to the U.S. Sharefah served in the Kuwaiti Government as a “Legal Researcher” at the Ministry of Public Works of Kuwait. She is currently “Legal Intern” in a U.S. Immigration Law firm in Laramie, WY, U.S.A where she is learning about the U.S. Immigration Law and exposing to humanitarian cases regarding refugees, asylum seekers, and victims of human trafficking. Sharefah scholarly and researching interests include all aspects of the public and international law.
The Award consists of:
- Free AIJA membership until December 2019
- Publication of the Essay on AIJA’s various communication channels.
- Complimentary invitation to attend the full 54th International Young Lawyers' Congress.