The UACES Practitioner Prize is awarded to a practitioner of EU affairs who, in the judgement of the jury, has made an outstanding contribution to the development of the EU and its policies or law. Such practitioners may be from the EU institutions, national governments and administrations, the NGO community or the private sector. The prize may be given in recognition of a single major achievement or in recognition of a long period of outstanding service. Priority may be given to practitioners who have challenged orthodoxy in policy-making circles to the ultimate benefit of the public, and/or to practitioners who have a record of engagement with the academy.

The inaugural prize was awarded in 2008 to Rt Hon Professor Sir David Edward, KCMG, GC, LLD, DHC, FRSE, Emeritus Professor at the University of Edinburgh. An influential judge on both the Court of First Instance (1989-92) and then the European Court of Justice (1992-2004), Prof Sir David has been influential not only in developing the jurisprudence and law of the EU, but in explaining and evaluating the role of the Courts to a range of audiences via means such as his books, engagement with students, and his oral history site at the University of Denver. He has a distinguished career as both a practitioner and an academic, and is Professor Emeritus at Edinburgh. A very deserving recipient of the initial UACES Practitioner award.

Alex Warleigh-Lack, David Edward and John Kerr