Events and Announcements: 20 September 2026

To have your event or announcement featured in next week’s post, please send a link and a brief description (1-2 paragraphs) to ojeventsandannouncements@gmail.com.

Calls for Applications

Mainz Masterclass in International Adjudication: Applications are invited for participation in the First Mainz Masterclass in International Adjudication on 9 April 2027, organized by the Mainz International Adjudication Centre (MAIAC) at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany. The Masterclass will be held by Professor Campbell McLachlan KC (University of Cambridge) and will be devoted to “Evidence in International Adjudication”.

Professor McLachlan will draw upon his extensive academic research and his two decades of experience as an international arbitrator, particularly in disputes between sovereign States and private parties. He will engage with the masterclass participants on both the legal issues concerning the admissibility and treatment of evidence and on the legal craft involved in the effective presentation and testing of evidence at the hearing, using practical examples from reported cases. The morning session will concern the production and presentation of factual evidence: documentary and witness. The afternoon session will concern the use and testing of the testimony of expert witnesses.

The deadline for applications is 31 October 2026. More information can be found here.

Levan Alexidze International Law Moot Court Competition 2026: The Academician Levan Alexidze Foundation, in cooperation with Georgian American University and the International Criminal Law Centre at Tbilisi State University, is pleased to announce the launch of the “Edition VIII 2026” of the Levan Alexidze International Law Moot Court Competition (LA-IL-MCC). The eighth edition of the Competition will focus on legal issues potentially arising for deliberation before the International Court of Justice, including the legality of the use of force, the law of naval warfare, and the fight against transnational crime.

Universities and other higher education institutions from Europe, the South Caucasus, Central and South-East Asia, and the MENA region are eligible to participate in the Competition. There is no registration or participation fee. The registration deadline is 10 October 2026.

The International Round of the Competition will be held in Tbilisi and online on 16–17 December 2026. For further information and details regarding registration, competition rules, and other relevant materials, please visit the official LA-IL-MCC webpage.

Calls for Papers

Workshop – Twenty Years of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights – Reflections, Reckonings and the Road Ahead: On 4 November 2026, SOAS University of London will host a one-day PhD/early career workshop to mark the twentieth anniversary of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.  We welcome papers on any aspect of the Court’s work, including but not limited to, doctrinal developments within the Court’s jurisprudence; critical or decolonial perspectives on the African human rights system; the Court’s jurisprudence in comparative perspective; access to justice and admissibility issues in respect of the Court’s contentious and advisory jurisdiction; and implementation, compliance, and the Court’s impact in practice.  Abstracts of 200–300 words, along with a short biographical note (100 words), should be submitted to Gwawr Thomas (712749@soas.ac.uk) and Irish Tony-Awusaku (734251@soas.ac.uk) by 1 October 2026.  Further information is available here.

International Symposium in Memory of Theo van Boven: The Maastricht Centre for Human Rights has issued a call for abstracts for a two-day international symposium convened in memory of Professor Theo van Boven. The symposium will explore forward-looking and effective human rights strategies in an increasingly contested environment, addressing topics including the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and minorities, intersectional discrimination, reparations and redress, and the role of the United Nations in responding to gross human rights violations. Abstracts of up to 300 words should be submitted by 31 October 2026. The full call is available here.

Hosting Global Justice: The Netherlands as Host State of the ICJ and ICC: Leiden University will host a conference on “Hosting Global Justice: The Netherlands as Host State of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC)” in The Hague on 15 April 2027. Organised by Otto Spijkers and Letizia Lo Giacco and supported by a KIEM grant, the conference explores the Netherlands’ unique role as host state of two of the world’s most important international courts. It brings together scholars, practitioners and activists to examine the legal, political and societal dimensions of hosting global justice. The organisers invite abstract submissions by 1 December 2026. More information, including the full Call for Papers and an introductory chapter on the conference theme, are available on the project website here.

Law Beyond Borders — 18th Cornell Law School Inter-University Graduate Conference: Cornell Law School’s JSD program is hosting its 18th Inter-University Graduate Conference, “Law Beyond Borders”, on 25 and 26 March 2027 in Ithaca, NY. The conference invites paper proposals across four streams: public international law (use of force, IHL, human rights, occupation, state responsibility); private international law in a digital world (jurisdiction, AI, blockchain, smart contracts, cross-border data); comparative law and society (with a stated emphasis on Asian law and society); and crime, justice, and society (restorative justice, transitional justice, algorithmic bias in justice systems). 

Eligible applicants include JD, LLM, and JSD students, post-docs, teaching fellows, and recent graduates who are not tenure-track faculty.

If you are interested, please submit a 500-word abstract with 3–4 keywords plus a 150-word bio by December 1, 2026.  Selected participants must submit a final paper (max 10,000 words including footnotes) by February 15, 2027. Full submission details and the proposal portal are available here. For any question, please contact jsda.law@cornell.edu.

Algorithmic Sovereignty and Democratic Integrity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: The Organising Committee of the 1st International Conference on Algorithmic Sovereignty and Democratic Integrity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, to be held on 12 November 2026 at the University of Coimbra Institute for Legal Research, invites submissions for papers to be presented in Panel IV. The panel welcomes innovative and interdisciplinary contributions that deepen, complement, or challenge current debates on artificial intelligence, democracy, and algorithmic sovereignty. Relevant topics include algorithmic governance and the public sphere; electoral integrity and generative AI; digital constitutionalism and fundamental rights; algorithmic fairness and social justice; AI in courts and public administration; impact assessments and algorithmic audits; global technology governance; human autonomy and democratic responsibility; and other emerging perspectives.

Abstracts of 250–350 words should include the title, research problem, methodology, expected contribution, four to six keywords, the author’s name, and a biographical note of 100–150 words indicating the author’s affiliation, ORCID, and academic degree. Proposals must be submitted to niedja.santos@ij.uc.pt by 30 September 2026, with the subject line “CFP – Algorithmic Sovereignty & Democracy.” Selected authors will be notified by 15 October 2026. Each paper will be allocated 15 minutes for presentation, followed by discussion, and some authors may subsequently be invited to contribute a full paper to an edited volume.

Event

Attribution of Non-State Actor Conduct During Armed Conflict, University of Reading: Global Law at Reading will host a panel discussion on Attribution of Non-State Actor Conduct During Armed Conflict on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, 16:30–18:00 UK time (HBS G13, University of Reading), followed by a reception at Park House, with options for both in-person and online attendance. Chaired by Professor Marko Milanović (University of Reading), the panel brings together government and military legal advisers and academics, including Paul Berman (Counsel for International Law, House of Lords, UK Parliament), Dr Miles Jackson (Associate Professor of Law, University of Oxford), and Dr Jennifer Maddocks (Lecturer in International and Operational Law, University of Reading), to examine the attribution of non-state actor conduct to states under the International Law Commission’s Articles on State Responsibility, drawing on contemporary proxy relationships such as Russia’s use of separatist entities in Eastern Ukraine and Iran’s “Axis of Resistance.” The discussion will also engage with Dr Maddocks’ recent monograph, Attribution of Non-State Actor Conduct During Armed Conflict (Oxford University Press). Registration for in person or online attendance here.