In-Person | Journal of Private International Law Biennial Conference

The Functions and Futures of Private International Law

About the conference

Private international law is experiencing a resurgence of activity and interest, driven by the continuing challenges of globalisation across a range of issues from commercial disputes to family law. This is reflected in a flourishing of both practice and academic scholarship. In practice, alongside the ever-growing body of case law before national and regional courts and tribunals, there are major recent developments in traditional private international law, like the coming into force of the Hague Judgments Convention 2019, alongside work developing innovative responses to new challenges, such as digital assets and other new technologies, or the complexities of recognising personal status in cross-border situations. In academic scholarship, there is renewed attention to the functions of private international law, seeking to better understand its past development, its present conceptions and effects, its relationship with neighbouring disciplines (such as international arbitration and foreign relations law), and the possibilities it presents for the future. One major challenge is how or whether the traditional purposes and techniques of private international law should be reimagined for a modern era where issues such as human rights, environmental protection and climate change have a new centrality in legal thinking. The 10^th Journal of Private International Law Biennial Conference, which also celebrates the 20^th anniversary of the first Conference and the launch of the Journal, is a landmark which provides an opportunity for private international lawyers from around the world to gather to renew their strong and characteristic sense of community, and to share and debate ideas across the discipline.

About the Organisers and Supporting Organisation

The Journal of Private International Law

The Journal of Private International Law (J. Priv. Int. L.) was launched in spring 2005. We invite papers for this scholarly, peer-reviewed publication of original articles and analysis of current developments in the field. The journal covers all aspects of private international law (jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, and international administrative and judicial cooperation). It accepts analysis of private international law globally (focusing on the work of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH)), comparatively, regionally and in individual legal systems.

There are at least four scholarly articles of 8-12,000 words, including footnotes, per issue. We welcome articles from scholars anywhere in the world writing in English about developments in any jurisdiction on any aspect of private international law. We also welcome shorter articles or analysis from anywhere in the world, including analysis of new treaties and conventions, and lengthy review articles dealing with significant new publications.

Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group

Routledge is the world’s leading academic publisher in the Humanities and Social Sciences. We publish thousands of books and journals each year, serving scholars, instructors, and professional communities worldwide. Our current publishing program encompasses ground-breaking textbooks and premier, peer-reviewed research in the social sciences, humanities, built environment, education and behavioural sciences.

Taylor & Francis publishes research from the forefront of science, medicine, technology and engineering. Our journals program began in 1798 with the publication of Philosophical Magazine, and since then the knowledge that we have published has been helping to shape human understanding and drive policy, discoveries and change. What began as a journals program is increasingly supporting researchers to share their research process via a broad range of outputs including data publication, impact statements, open citations, and video.

UCL Faculty of Laws

The UCL Faculty of Laws is one of the leading centres of legal education and research in the world. The Faculty is recognised as offering an outstanding educational experience, and was recently ranked first in the UK for law in The Times Good University Guide 2025. UCL Laws was also rated the top law school for research quality in the UK in REF 2021, ranking in the top five across all three measures (research outputs, research impact and research environment). This exceptional set of results reflects the Faculty’s commitment to being an inclusive and supportive research community which values methodologically diverse and rigorous scholarship, intellectual innovation and originality, and transformative real-world impact.

Call for Paper Proposals

We are pleased to invite the submission of paper proposals for the conference. Submission is open to anyone regardless of seniority or academic affiliation, including postgraduate students and practitioners, with an expectation that you will produce a paper for submission to the Journal of Private International Law by the end of the 2025 calendar year (with publication subject to the usual peer review process). Proposals are welcome on any topic within the scope of the Journal. A proposal should include an abstract of no more than 500 words, as well as details of the name and affiliation(s) of the author(s).

The conference will include, in the customary manner, a mixture of parallel panel sessions (on Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning) and plenary sessions (on Friday). Please indicate in your proposal whether you are willing to present in either format, or only in one or the other – a willingness to be flexible will increase your chance of being selected. Selection will be made by the conference organisers (Professor Ugljesa Grusic and Professor Alex Mills) and the Editors of the Journal (Professor Jonathan Harris and Professor Paul Beaumont).

The conference will be held in Bentham House, the home of UCL Faculty of Laws, in Bloomsbury, London. Speakers will not be expected to pay a conference fee, but will need to pay for their own expenses, including travel and accommodation. A conference dinner will be held on Friday (12 September 2025), at additional cost and with limited places – details will be provided in due course on the conference web page at [web page address]. There are a wide variety of hotels available nearby – further information about accommodation options and other practicalities will also be provided on the conference web page in due course.

Please send your paper proposal by email to JPrivIL25@ucl.ac.uk by 17 January 2025.

We look forward to receiving your proposals, and to welcoming you to London in September 2025!

Dr Ugljesa Grusic, Associate Professor (UCL)
Professor Alex Mills, Professor of Public and Private International Law (UCL)
Professor Paul Beaumont, Professor of Private International Law (University of Stirling)
Professor Jonathan Harris, Professor of International Commercial Law (King's College London)

Registration

TBC

Conference Materials

TBC

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