CALL FOR PAPERS: Society for Legal and Institutional History of Flanders, Picardy and Wallonia, "Extraterritoriality and the Law / L'Extraterritorialité et le droit" (Tilburg University, 30-31 May 2025, DEADLINE: 20 April 2025)

Description:

The Society for Legal and Institutional History of Flanders, Picardy and Wallonia holds its annual "International days" 2022 on 30 and 31 May 2025 in Tilburg (in The Netherlands)

The theme of the conference is: « l’Extraterritorialite et le Droit » (“Extraterritoriality and Law”)

The law as it stands, both public and private, has strong ties to a territory. For example, territory is fundamental in the constitutional order of France, Belgium and the Netherlands. In private law, this attachment to land is equally present. Conflicts in property law are judged by the lex situs. The constitutio Antoniniana (D.1.5.17) did the same for Roman citizenship. National law, comparative law and legal history are based and strongly focused on that national, territorial order, as well in Picardy, Wallonia, in Flanders, as anywhere.

Territorial validity contrasts sharply with the (also normative) dynamics of persons and their transactions across borders, and it contrasts sharply with an ideal of universal law. This congress focuses on all forms of extraterritoriality of law, and its possible explanations. It provides an opportunity to address topics such as the genesis and legitimacy of universally applicable law (natural law, ius commune, human rights), genesis and legitimacy of territorially applicable law (local or national norms, customary law), the adoption or non-adoption of concepts, norms, systems or arguments from elsewhere, in occasional or institutionalized collaborations. Colonial relations are also of great importance in the latter context and deserve attention.

This general theme does not exclude papers about other subjects regarding legal history or institutional history.

Presentations can be held in French, English or Dutch. Speakers have to send a summary to the organization (preferably in French and/or English).

Proposals can be sent before 20 April 2025 to J.M. MILO and E.G.D. van Dongen, j.m.milo@uu.nl; E.G.D.vanDongen@uu.nl

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Société d'histoire du droit et des institutions

des pays flamands, picards et wallons

(fondée à Lille en 1929)

Journées internationales d'histoire du droit et des institutions

Tilbourg (Pays-Bas), 30 et 31 mai 2025

Les journées internationales d'histoire du droit et des institutions 2025 auront lieu à Tilbourg (Tilburg), 30 et 31 mai 2025 et seront consacrées au thème de L’extraterritorialite et le Droit.

Le droit applicable, qu'il soit public ou privé, est fortement lié à un territoire. Par exemple, le territoire est fondamental dans l'ordre constitutionnel de la France, de la Belgique et des Pays-Bas. En droit civil, Ce rattachement au territoire est tout aussi manifeste. Les conflits en matière de droit des biens sont jugés selon la lex situs. La constitutio Antoniniana (D.1.5.17) a fait de même pour la citoyenneté romaine. Le droit national, le droit comparé et l'histoire du droit sont basés et fortement axés sur cet ordre géographique national, que ce soit en Picardie, en Wallonie, en Flandre, ou ailleurs.

Cette territorialité du droit contraste fortement avec la `dynamique normative’ des personnes et de leurs transactions transfrontalières, ainsi qu'avec l'idéal d'un droit universel. Ce congrès se concentre sur toutes les formes d'extraterritorialité du droit, et sur les motifs de cette extraterritorialité. Il permet d'aborder des sujets tels que la genèse et la légitimation du droit universellement applicable (droit naturel, ius commune, droits de l'homme), la genèse et la légitimation du droit territorialement applicable (normes locales ou nationales, droit coutumier) et l'adoption ou la non-adoption de concepts, de normes, de systèmes ou d'arguments venus d'ailleurs, dans le cadre de collaborations occasionnelles ou institutionnalisées. Dans ce dernier contexte, les relations coloniales revêtent également une grande importance et méritent l'attention.

Ce thème général n’exclut pas, par ailleurs, la possibilité de communiquer sur d’autres sujets d’histoire du droit, de la justice et des institutions.

Les interventions peuvent être faites en français, en anglais ou en néerlandais. Les orateurs sont priés d’envoyer un résumé à l’avance aux organisateurs (de préférence en français).

Les personnes désireuses de communiquer sont priées de faire parvenir leur proposition de communication avant le 20 avril 2025 à J.M. MILO et E.G.D. von Dongen par courriel: j.m.milo@uu.nl; E.G.D.vanDongen@uu.nl

Source: VUB Core

CALL FOR PAPERS: XXIXth Annual Forum for Young Legal Historians, "Compromis à la belge - The Role of Compromise in Legal History" (Ghent University, 17-20 September 2025, DEADLINE: 18 April 2025)

XXIXth Annual Forum for Young Legal Historians, "Compromis à la belge - The Role of Compromise in Legal History" 

Belgians often refer to the bric-a-brac solutions that the country’s lawmakers come up with as ‘compromis à la belge’ – Belgian compromises. They are never pretty, often incomprehensible, but somehow work. It is only fitting therefore that the next Annual Forum of the Association of Young Legal Historians, taking place in Ghent, Belgium, should seek to explore the role of compromise in legal history. We want to invite young researchers to come together and reflect on the complex interactions between legal institutions, societal norms, and power dynamics that either foster or reject compromise in legal decision-making. Compromise is broadly defined as any agreement where parties relinquish part of their demands. Participants are encouraged to examine its applications across different contexts, from individual disputes to institutional negotiations, and from idealized notions to ad hoc resolutions. The conference will also consider frameworks that facilitate compromise, as well as decision-making processes that explicitly reject it. Panel discussions will be structured around thematic rather than geographical or historical divisions. Possible topics include:

 • Ethical dimensions of compromise in law, including its impact on marginalized groups, human rights, and governance. 

• The role of stakeholders in legal decision-making, such as social partners and interest groups.

 • When and how compromise enhances or undermines legal legitimacy.

 • Institutions that mediate compromise, such as arbitrators, mediators, and justices of the peace. Legal history is inherently interdisciplinary, intersecting with both law and history. 

The increasing diversity of the field, incorporating extra-European legal traditions alongside traditional Roman and Ancien Régime studies, necessitates new ways of fostering dialogue. By selecting a theme that allows in-depth case studies without cultural bias, the conference seeks to contribute to the emerging field of global legal history. Rather than organizing panels based on geographic or historical categories, the conference will emphasize thematic connections to stimulate discussion across subfields that seldom engage with one another. This approach is designed to generate fresh insights and new research directions in legal history. 

We invite scholars to contribute to this exploration of compromise in legal history, bridging disciplinary gaps and fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas. 

Practical information 

If you would like to present a paper during the conference, please send an application including an abstract of not more than 250 words and your CV to aylhforum2025@gmail.com before 18 April 2025. 

Acceptance letters will be sent out by the end of May. It is also possible to apply for a full panel. In that  case, your proposal should also include, in addition to individual paper proposals, an abstract introducing the theme of the panel. Presentations have to be in English and should not exceed 15 minutes each. Since one of the primary goals of the conference is to allow young researchers to get to know each other personally, we only accept presentations in person. The conference fee will be € 180 and does not include accommodation. Further information about the upcoming forum can be found at the website of the conference. Information about the Association of Young Legal Historians and the past Annual Forums is available at the AYLH-website. Participants who are interested will also be invited to send in an article after the conference that will be published in a volume of conference proceedings, which will include the individual articles and concluding remarks in which we will highlight commonalities of content and challenges faced.  We look forward to receiving your abstracts and we will uncompromisingly endeavor to provide a conference that is both academically and socially fulfilling.  

The organizing committee,  

Amber Gardeyn Pieterjan Schepens Jasper Van de Woestijne 

Consult the call here or via the Association's website.

CALL FOR PAPERS: "Cooperation or Domination: International Organisations as Imperial Designs" (The Center for Global Public Law at Koç University, 4 July 2025, DEADLINE: 23 March 2025)

Source: Koç University

Cooperation or Domination: International Organisations as Imperial Designs

The Center for Global Public Law (CGPL) at Koç University is pleased to announce a Workshop to be held in Istanbul on 4 July 2025. The workshop will focus on the intersection between international organisations and imperialism, capitalism and race exploring whether and how these institutions have served as instruments of domination under the guise of cooperation. Each paper will be assigned a discussant who will provide detailed feedback, fostering an in-depth discussion and critique of the presented work. Discussants include Catherine Brölmann (University of Amsterdam), Jean d’Aspremont (Sciences Po, University of Manchester), Lys Kulamadayil (Geneva Graduate Institute), and Fuad Zarbiyev (Geneva Graduate Institute). Scholars at all stages of their careers, including PhD students, junior and senior academics, are invited to submit abstracts.

Workshop Theme

International law has long functioned as a hegemonic tool, enabling actors to impose their political, legal, and cultural values on others through legal vocabulary. It that respect, it is well-document that European imperialism is intrinsic to the formation of international law which proclaims to be universal. This legacy persists beyond the era of formal colonisation, as international organisations have increasingly become key instruments in shaping the global order where imperialist practices have not ended with decolonisation. These organisations, often presented as platforms for dialogue, negotiation, and cooperation, have played a pivotal role in transforming member and non-member states by imposing values and principles that reflect the interests of dominant powers. International organisations have simultaneously perpetuated some imperialist geographies and configurations of the world order. They have played a key role in entrenching global inequalities by promoting specific economic policies that disproportionately harm the Global South. Further, the voting rights, representation, decision-making are only some of the practices that sustain racial inequalities. This workshop aims to critically examine the ways in which international organisations perpetuate hierarchies, racial inequalities, and forms of imperialism and capitalism, to carve their own zone of control and domination. At the same time, it will question whether international organisations can be a site of resistance to such imperial practices.

Recent political shifts redefine the role of international organisations in the international legal order. Events such as the expulsion of Russia from the Council of Europe, NATO’s expansion with Finland and Sweden, Brexit, and the rise of organisations like BRICS exemplify this reconfiguration. These developments invite renewed scrutiny of how international organisations mediate power dynamics in a multipolar world. In this evolving landscape, questions of imperialism, capitalism and race are no longer confined to the legacies of European colonial powers. The influence of China, India, and Russia challenges the traditional dominance of the Global North and calls for a critical reassessment of how international organisations shape the global order.

We invite submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• The relationship of international organisations with imperialism, capitalism and race in post-colonial contexts
• Universalism versus particularism: the imposition of values through international organisations
• Theoretical approaches to understanding international organisations as instruments of hegemony and capitalism
• Historical approaches to understanding international organisations and their relationship with imperialism, capitalism and race
• Regional international organisations and their transformative influence on member states
• The role of European international organisations in continuing European imperialism
• Imperial ambitions of non-European organisations and their implications
• The creation of inequalities and hierarchies through membership and decision-making in international organisations
• Techniques and tools used by international organisations to enforce transformations on states
• The lack of transparency, unequal voting rights, and issues of democratic legitimacy in the functioning of international organisations as mechanisms that consolidate the dominance of powerful states
• Regional human rights courts and their role in promoting specific interpretations of human rights
• The variety and plurality of imperialist projects at work in the framework of international organisations
• The potential of universal and regional international organisations as sites of resistance towards other forms of imperialism
• The convergence of international organisations’ imperialist practices with other forms of imperialism

Submission Guidelines

Abstracts of no more than 500 words should be sent to kuremer@ku.edu.tr by 23 March. Please include your affiliation in the abstract, indicate whether you require funding, and provide a 200-word bio.

Workshop Format

The Workshop will adopt a roundtable format to foster in-depth discussions. Each presentation will be followed by comments from discussants and an open discussion. Participants are expected to read the papers before the Workshop and actively engage in the discussions. Selected papers may be published in a special issue.

Timeline

Deadline for abstract submissions: 23 March

Notification of acceptance: 6 April

Submission of 3.000-word draft papers: 20 June

Funding

Limited funding is available to cover travel and accommodation costs, with priority given to junior scholars and those without institutional financial support.

Organiser

Işıl Aral

Assistant Professor of International Law, Koç University

Director, Center for Global Public Law

This Workshop is funded by the Koç University Seed Research Fund and the Science Academy’s Young Scientist Awards Program.

For inquiries, please contact us at kuremer@ku.edu.tr.

Source: European Society of International Law monthly newsletter - Koç University