11 May 2010

NOTICE: EUROPEAN SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE LEGAL HISTORY Inaugural Conference (5-6 July 2010)

The Inaugural Conference of the European Society for Comparative Legal History (ESCLH) will take place from 5-6 July 2010 at the University of Valencia (Valencia, Spain).


Speakers will include:

• R Jovita Baber, University of Illinois, “Multiplicity of Meanings: Legal Pluralism and the Layer Legality of Land in Sixteenth-century Andes”
• Louis Berkvens, Maastricht University, “An Approach of comparative history of legislation”
• Juan B. Cañizares, University of Valencia / MPIER, Frankfurt/M, “The notion of honour in the injury and slander offences. Normative and scholarly legal comparative approach between Spain and France, late 18th century-late 19th century”
• Chao-ju Chen, National Taiwan University, “In the Name of the Mother: A Feminist Legal History of Naming in Taiwan”
• Serge Dauchy, University of Lille–Nord de France, “A comparative study of legal culture in early Modern Europe”
• Seán Patrick Donlan, University of Limerick, “World is crazier and more of it than we think”: histories of legal and normative hybridity”
• Paul J. du Plessis, Edinburgh University, “Law, modernity and the place of European legal history”
• Matt Dyson, University of Cambridge, “Comparative Legal History: methodology for morphology”
• Francesca Galli, Institut d’Etudes Européennes, Section Juridique, ULB, Brussels, “British, French and Italian measures to deal with terrorism: a comparative study”
• Eduardo Galván, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, “How to govern an archipelago? The Channel Islands and the Canary Islands”
• Jean-François Gerkens, University of Liège, “The Liberation of the Debtor in mora by vis maior, or the Incredible Success Story of a Non Roman Rule”
• Adolfo Giuliani, University of Cambridge, “Two models of fact-finding”
• Jan Hallebeek, VU University Amsterdam, “Some Remarks on the Direct Enforcement of Obligations to Do in the Continental Legal Tradition”
• Karl Härter, MPIER, Frankfurt/M, “The Emergence of the International Order of Criminal Prosecution in the Modern Age: Extradition, Asylum and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters”
• Nikitas Hatzimihail, University of Cyprus, “Pre-Historical Private International Law: A Study in Conflicts Historiography”
• Dirk Heirbaut, Ghent University, “Feudal law in Flanders and the Lotharingian principalities: a comparison”
• David Ibbetson, University of Cambridge, “Comparative Legal History: A Methodology”
• Nir Kedar, Bar-Ilan University, “Transplanted Law v. Transplanted Culture: The Unique Case of Israeli Legal History”
• Marcelo Lacombe, NYU, “Constitutionalism , liberalism and militarism. A comparative approach on the evolution of constitutional systems in Europe and Latin America, during the nineteenth century?”
• Pia Letto-Vanamo, University of Helsinki, “Some Remarks on the History of Legal Argumentation”
• Michael A Livingston, Rutgers School of Law, “One Hatred, Many Laws: The Evolution of Antisemitic Laws in Germany, France, and Italy in Comparative Historical Perspective”


• Lara Magnusdottir, University of Iceland, “How to understand a Concordat when you don‘t know what the word means”
• Aniceto Masferrer, University of Valencia, “The French Codification and the Western Legal Traditions”
• Matthew Mirow, FIU College of Law, Miami, “Codification and the Constitution of Cádiz”
• Thomas Mohr, University College Dublin, “The Constitution of the Irish Free State in Inter-War Europe”
• Olivier Moréteau, Louisiana State University, “The ethnocentrism of French legal culture: origins and effects of a superiority complex”
• Anthony Musson, Exeter University, “Common legal heritage? Visual Representations of Law and Justice in Medieval Europe”
• Michael L Nash, Les Roches/Gruyères University of Applied Sciences, “A contrast in evolution: the legal framework of the British and Continental monarchies”
• Heikki Pihlajamäki, University of Helsinki, “The Need of Comparative Legal History in the Nordic Countries: The Case of Early Modern Sweden”
• Merike Ristikivi, University of Tartu, “Terminological turn as a turn of legal culture”
• Graziella Romeo, L. Bocconi University, “The development of the idea of social citizenship in a comparative perspective”
• Jonathan Rose, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, “Advocatorum Militia: The Chivalric Ethos of the Legal Profession--Loyalty and Honor”
• Judith Rowbotham, Nottingham Trent University, “Narrating Crime: Nineteenth Century Media Depictions of Crime”
• Stephen Skinner, University of Exeter, “Tainted Law: Critical Legal History and the Italian Penal Code”
• Ditlev Tamm, University of Copenhagen, “From a European to a Global Approach. Some Reflections on the Utility of Comparative law for Legal Education”
• Andreas Thier, University of Zurich, “Legal Transplants, Legal Transfers and Comparative Legal History”
• Judit Valls, University of Girona, “The Spanish Commercial Code of 1829”
• Henry Yeomans, University of Plymouth, “Moderate Measures in Alcohol Policy: British Attitudes and Victorian Hangovers, 1914-1921”

The future of the ESCLH and the Western legal traditions casebook project will also be discussed.



The conference fee is €100 and we ask that those planning to attend the conference register by 1 June 2010.

Please contact the conference organiser, Aniceto Masferrer (Aniceto.Masferrer@uv.es), or one of the other members of the ESCLH Executive for the programme or for registration and accommodation information:

• Dr Seán Patrick Donlan (Limerick): sean.donlan@ul.ie
• Professor Jan Hallebeek (VU University Amsterdam): j.j.hallebeek@rechten.vu.nl
• Professor Dirk Heirbaut (Ghent): dirk.heirbaut@UGent.be
• Professor Aniceto Masferrer (Valencia): Aniceto.Masferrer@uv.es
• Professor Remco van Rhee (Maastricht): remco.vanrhee@maastrichtuniversity.nl

09 May 2010

NOTICE: Fuzzy Law and the Boundaries of Secularism (24 June 2010)

Professor Werner Menski (Professor of South Asian Laws, SOAS, University of London) will present a paper on 'Fuzzy Law and the Boundaries of Secularism on Thursday, 24 June 2010 fom 6:30-8:00pm.


The lecture will be held at the Clinical Lecture Theatre, Francis Bancroft Building Queen Mary, Mile End Campus, London E1 4NS. Professor Roger Cotterrell (Anniversary Professor of Legal Theory, Queen Mary, University of London) will chair.

NOTICE: Forensic Cultures in Interdisciplinary Perspective

For those unable to attend our Malta Symposium the same weekend, note that a 'Forensic Cultures in Interdisciplinary Perspective' conference is being held at the University of Manchester (UK) on 11-12 June 2010:


This international conference examines in analytical and historical perspective the remarkable prominence of forensic science and medicine in contemporary culture. It brings together leading scholars from history, sociology and socio-legal studies, media and cultural studies, and practitioners working within the diverse locations of forensic culture – from crime scenes and bio-medical laboratories to television studios. Topics for discussion include the politics and practice of DNA evidence, the use of "cold case review" in re-evaluating celebrated murder trials from the past, the historical invention of "crime scene investigation", the work of forensic identification at mass grave sites, and media forensics – including a dinner event featuring the creators of the BBC forensic dramas Waking the Dead and Silent Witness.

Forensic Cultures is sponsored by the University of Manchester's Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM), and by the Wellcome Trust.

For further details, including registration information, please see the conference website at http://www.chstm.manchester.ac.uk/newsandevents/conferences/forensics/ or contact the organisers, Dr Ian Burney (ian.burney@manchester.ac.uk) and Dr David Kirby (david.kirby@manchester.ac.uk)

CALL FOR PAPERS EXTENDED: CONGRESS OF THE WORLD SOCIETY OF MIXED JURISDICTION JURISTS

The deadline for proposals for the World Society of Mixed Jurisdiction Jurists' Third International Congress has been extened to 15 June 2010.


The Congress is to be held from 20-23 June 2011 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel). Its theme is 'Methodology and Innovation in Mixed Legal Systems':

Mixed legal systems, both the classical ‘mixed jurisdictions’ combining common law and civilian law and more exotic hybrids, are increasingly important touchstones for comparative law. The Third Congress of the World Society of Mixed Jurisdiction Jurists focuses on legal methodology and innovation in mixed systems in the twenty‐first century: investigating past experiences, exploring present practices, and predicting future possibilities.

Proposals for papers on any of a number of topics are welcome. They may be submitted by jurists from any jurisdiction, and by members and non-members of the Society alike. Proposals should be submitted to the Secretary-General of the Society, Prof. Celia Fassberg (mscelia@mscc.huji.ac.il). They should not exceed 500 words and should be accompanied by a curriculum vitae of one page only. The Planning Committee will make its selection by 1 August 2010. The time allocated for delivery of papers will be no longer than 20 minutes. Papers delivered at the conference will be considered for publication in the conference proceedings. The Society regrets that it cannot guarantee publication of all papers delivered and cannot cover travel expenses of participants in the Congress.

21 April 2010

CONFERENCE: The XVIIIth International Congress of Comparative Law (25 July - 1 August 2010)

The XVIIIth International Congress of Comparative Law will be held in Washington, DC from 25 July-1 August 2010. It:

will take place at American University Washington College of Law, George Washington University Law School, and Georgetown Law from July 25 to August 1, 2010.

This weeklong conference of the International Academy of Comparative Law (Paris), which takes place only once every four years, is being held for the first time in the United States and is presented by the American Society of Comparative Law along with the International Academy and the host schools. The program features over forty scholarly programs with some of the most prominent academics, judges, and justices from around the world.

Confirmed speakers include:

- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Justice Sabino Cassese of the Italian Constitutional Court

Every effort is being made to achieve truly interactive meetings in the Academy-format sessions, which are led by a distinguished chair and a general reporter but which will allow comment and conversation between national reporters from many countries and others in attendance at each session. In addition, the agenda includes a number of panels exploring innovative topics in comparative law.

Aside from the academic program, the XVIIIth Congress will include social events, such as breakfasts, lunches, and receptions almost every day and a closing banquet at the Organization of American States on the National Mall. The conference hotel will be the Ritz-Carlton Washington DC, which is offering extraordinary rates for those attending the XVIIIth Congress, but availability is limited.

For complete details and registration, please visit: http://www.wcl.american.edu/events/2010congress/

18 April 2010

CALL FOR PAPERS

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE DCFR, KORTRIJK, 10-11 JUNE 2010

The Subfaculty of Law of the University of Leuven (Campus Kortrijk) organises an international conference on “The Draft Common Frame of Reference: a national and comparative perspective”. The conference will take place in Kortrijk on 10-11 June 2010.

Interested parties are invited to submit a proposal for a contribution relating to this theme for consideration to Vincent Sagaert. Abstracts should reach us no later than 15 May 2010 and should not exceed 400 words. All submissions will be considered on relevance and merit.

Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified by 30 June 2010, and full papers must reach us no later than 15 September 2010.

For more information contact: vincent.sagaert@law.kuleuven.be

15 April 2010

REMINDER - CALL FOR PAPERS: THE WORLD SOCIETY OF MIXED JURISDICTION JURISTS

The World Society of Mixed Jurisdiction Jurists has issued a Call for Papers for its Third International Congress (20-23 June 2011, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel)). Proposals are due Saturday, 1 May 2010.

The theme of the Congress is 'Methodology and Innovation in Mixed Legal Systems':


Mixed legal systems, both the classical ‘mixed jurisdictions’ combining common law and civilian law and more exotic hybrids, are increasingly important touchstones for comparative law. The Third Congress of the World Society of Mixed Jurisdiction Jurists focuses on legal methodology and innovation in mixed systems in the twenty‐first century: investigating past experiences, exploring present practices, and predicting future possibilities.

Proposals for papers on any of a number of topics are welcome. They may be submitted by jurists from any jurisdiction, and by members and non-members of the Society alike. Proposals should be submitted to the Secretary-General of the Society, Prof. Celia Fassberg (mscelia@mscc.huji.ac.il) by 1 May 2010. They should not exceed 500 words and should be accompanied by a curriculum vitae of one page only. The Planning Committee will make its selection by 1 August 2010. The time allocated for delivery of papers will be no longer than 20 minutes. Papers delivered at the conference will be considered for publication in the conference proceedings. The Society regrets that it cannot guarantee publication of all papers delivered and cannot cover travel expenses of participants in the Congress.

12 April 2010

NOTICE: SSRN e-Journals

Various SSRN e-Journals have announced new articles. A few that might be of interest include:

Comparative Law e-Journal

The State Management of Legal and Cultural Diversity in Canada
Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens, University of Montreal - Centre de recherche en droit public

Tribal Citizen Participation in State and National Politics: Welcome Wagon or Trojan Horse
Michael D. Oeser, University of Wisconsin Law School

Constitutionalism, Legal Pluralism, and International Regimes
Alec Stone Sweet, Yale Law School and Yale Political Science
(also in Law, Institutions & Development e-Journal)

Law & Humanities e-Journal

The Intellectual Properties of Geography
Dwijen Rangnekar, University of Warwick - School of Law

Law, Norms & Informal Order e-Journal

Disrupted Attachments: A Social Context Complex Trauma Framework and the Lives of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada
Lori Haskell, University of Toronto - Department of Psychiatry
Melanie Randall, Faculty of Law, UWO
Dear Colleagues
I hope you find useful to have the links to the new issue of OPINIO JURIS in COMPARATIONE. once again we look forward to host contribution from our Juris Diversitatis group.
If you have problems to read the post, please let me know.
With my bests
ciao
Giovanni


if this message does not display correctly, click here

Table of Contents

Opinio Juris in Comparatione Vol. 1/2010

Opinio Juris Comparatione Submitter, LIDER-Lab, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna

What Price for the Community Enforcement of WTO Dispute Settlement Body’s Rulings?

Sara Poli, University of Southampton
Alessandra Arcuri, Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Law

Financial Contracts and ‘Junk Bonds’ Purchases in the Italian Legal System: A Matter of (In)Correct Disclosure

Cristina Amato, University of Brescia

Legal Education in Italy

Vittoria Barsotti, University of Florence
Vincenzo Varano, University of Florence

Italian Report on Insurance Law between Business Law and Consumer Law

Onofrio Troiano, affiliation not provided to SSRN
Diana Cerini, Universit� degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca
Maria Gagliardi, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
Giovanni Comand�, LIDER-Lab, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna



LSN LAW RESEARCH CENTERS PAPERS
OPINIO JURIS IN COMPARATIONE
(STUDIES IN COMPARATIVE & NATIONAL LAW, ETUDES DE DROIT COMPARE
ET NATIONAL, ESTUDIOS DE DERECHO COMPARADO Y NACIONAL)

"Opinio Juris in Comparatione Vol. 1/2010" Free Download


Opinio Juris in Comparatione, Vol. 1/2010

OPINIO JURIS COMPARATIONE SUBMITTER, LIDER-Lab, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
Email:

Contents/Sommaire/Sumario


Articles/Articles/Art�culos

Paper n. 1, pp. 1 - 46

Alessandra Arcuri and Sara Poli
What price for the community enforcement of WTO dispute settlement
body’s rulings?



Essays/Essais/Ensayos

Paper n. 2, pp. 1 - 20

Cristina Amato
Financial Contracts And ‘Junk Bonds’ Purchases in the Italian Legal System:
A Matter of (In)Correct Disclosure


Conference Proceedings/Rapports des conf�rences/Reportes des conferencias

Paper n. 3, pp. 1 - 16

Vittoria Barsotti and Vincenzo Varano
Legal Education In Italy

Paper n. 4, pp. 1 - 35

Onofrio Troiano, Diana Cerini, Giovanni Comand� and Maria Gagliardi
Italian report on Insurance law between business law and consumer law


News/Annonces /Noticias
Comparative Health Care Liability and Regulation:
A Technology-Based Approach – International Summer School
Pisa, Italy 24th – 4th June 2010

New Frontiers of Pharmaceutical Law - Young Researchers Workshop
Lecce, Italy, 6th and 7th of May 2010

"What Price for the Community Enforcement of WTO Dispute Settlement Body’s Rulings?" Free Download


Opinio Juris in Comparatione, Vol.1/2010, Paper No. 1

SARA POLI, University of Southampton
Email:
ALESSANDRA ARCURI, Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Law
Email:

Under the World Trade Organization (WTO) legal framework, when a violation is deemed to occur, Members have recourse to a quasi-automatic dispute settlement system. If the breach persists after the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) has adopted a ruling, Members hurt by the illegal measures can be authorized to retaliate against the scofflaw Member. Rights and obligations are, thus, centrally enforced within the WTO. The object of this article is the decentralized enforcement of WTO law, and more precisely of DSB rulings through the ECJ. The aim is to explore whether it is in the Community (EC) as well as in the WTO’s interests to ensure that these acts are enforced before the Luxembourg Courts. Notoriously, the European Courts have been resistant to Community enforcement of DSB’ rulings. Unlike many legal commentators that have criticized the European Courts, we conclude that the approach of the Courts is justified both from a purely legal standpoint and from a Law and Economics perspective. In relation to the latter, we develop a theoretical framework, building on Calabresi and Melamed’s ‘Cathedral’, and show that the Community enforcement of DSB’s decisions bears costs that outweigh the benefits.

"Financial Contracts and ‘Junk Bonds’ Purchases in the Italian Legal System: A Matter of (In)Correct Disclosure" Free Download


Opinio Juris in Comparatione, Vol.1/2010, Paper No. 2

CRISTINA AMATO, University of Brescia
Email:

The essay is concerned with the protection of investors against purchases of ‘junk bonds’. As financial transactions are characterized by inherent risk, contractual unconscionability is not the relevant legal issue to be dealt with. The argument submitted by the author is therefore that protection of purchasers of financial products should focus of the nature and consequences deriving from liability triggered by reliance on negligent misstatements concerning economic information which induces investors to purchase ‘junk bonds’. Moreover, as the complex process underlying the issue and placement of financial securities involves the contribution of different professionals, their different roles should be reflected in a gradated liability scale covering each player contributing to the provision of these financial products. The conclusion is that civil liability remedies do not necessarily provide the only possible answer for the protection of investors: in addition, alternative remedies subsequent to the occurrence of damages (i.e., stricter criminal penalties), or preventive measures (such as applicable rules of conduct), as well as collateral sanctions (reputational risks), or new powerful procedural tools (class actions) may be able to support and protect investors more effectively than simple civil liability rules.

"Legal Education in Italy" Free Download


Opinio Juris in Comparatione, Vol.1/2010, Paper No. 3

VITTORIA BARSOTTI, University of Florence
Email:
VINCENZO VARANO, University of Florence
Email:

This article examines the present situation of legal education in Italy. What becomes readily clear is that practical elements are almost totally absent from legal education, which remains largely theoretical. Though some attempts have been made at making legal education more practical, it is only after graduation that students, by and large, will have to become familiar with the practical side of the law.

"Italian Report on Insurance Law between Business Law and Consumer Law" Free Download


Opinio Juris in Comparatione, Vol. 1/2010, Paper No. 4

ONOFRIO TROIANO, affiliation not provided to SSRN
DIANA CERINI, Universit� degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca
Email:
MARIA GAGLIARDI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
Email:
GIOVANNI COMAND�, LIDER-Lab, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
Email:

This paper is the Italian report, sent to the 18th international congress on comparative law - Washington 2010, on the specific subject “Insurance law between business law and consumer law”. It consists of detailed answers to the questionnaire, on several topics among which economic aspects, academic perception of the field, procedural aspects, legislation, “consumer” and “commercial” risks, substantive aspects.

^top

Solicitation of Abstracts

Scope of the Series

Opinio Juris in Comparatione is a generalist electronic open platform devoted to "Studies in Comparative and National Law". It aims at enhancing the dialogue among all legal traditions in a broad sense.

The intend of diffusing contributions on national law as well and not only to focus on comparative issues, is to expand access to foreign legal materials and ideas to those who do not already have access to the traditional avenues (such as journals in the language of the explored legal system.

Authors will retain their copyrights. Authors will only mention in further publication(s) of the article/essay/case note that it has previously belonged to the Opinio Juris collection. Quotation suggested: "This article/essay/case note, was previously selected by Op.J., Vol. __/20__, Paper n. __"

Conversely, if the article/essay/case note is never published elsewhere the final citation mode will read as follow: "Title, Op.J., Vol__/20__, Paper n. ___"

All contributions will be inserted in our on-line platform to remain accessible http://www.ssrn.com/
and http://lider-lab.sssup.it/joomla/opinio-juris.

Opinio Juris in Comparatione offers the strength of a peer reviewed international publication. It has an official ISSN (2036-4423).

Opinio Juris offers the benefits of a preliminary and early diffusion of the contributions before the papers are actually published somewhere else. Indeed, accepted papers can be also published on national or international law journals: in this case it would be likely that they be removed from the Opinio Juris collection upon request of the author or the final publisher.

Opinio Juris will give preference to articles under 25,000 words in length including text and footnotes. A piece will be considered an Essay if it is 8.000 words or less in length, and its primary purpose is to advance an idea, to summarize a development, or to initiate or engage in discussion.
Case notes shall not exceed 7.000 words and will focus on an important decision.
Selected Conference Proceedings, news and book reviews, overview of conferences, new books, etc. are welcomed as well.

The three different languages of preferred submission are English, French and Spanish. The constraints set out for dealing with purely national law contributions is to give descriptions of domestic law in a language other than the language of the system itself (please see instructions for submission on http://lider-lab.sssup.it/opinio-juris for further details).

NOTE for publication purposes all contributions must have their title and abstract translated into English.

To submit your research to SSRN, log in to the SSRN User HeadQuarters, and click on the My Papers link on the left menu, and then click on Start New Submission at the top of the page.

Distribution Services

If your organization is interested in increasing readership for its research by starting a Research Paper Series, or sponsoring a Subject Matter eJournal, please email: RPS@SSRN.com

Distributed by:

Legal Scholarship Network (LSN), a division of Social Science Electronic Publishing (SSEP) and Social Science Research Network (SSRN)

Directors

LAW RESEARCH CENTERS PAPERS

A. MITCHELL POLINSKY
Stanford Law School, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Email: polinsky@stanford.edu

BERNARD S. BLACK
Northwestern University - School of Law, Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management, University of Texas at Austin - School of Law, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
Email: bblack@northwestern.edu

RONALD J. GILSON
Stanford Law School, Columbia Law School
Email: rgilson@leland.stanford.edu

Please contact us at the above addresses with your comments, questions or suggestions for LSN-RES.

Advisory Board

Opinio Juris in Comparatione (Studies in Comparative & National Law, Etudes de Droit Compare et National, Estudios de Derecho Comparado y Nacional) Research Paper Series

FRANCESCO DONATO BUSNELLI
LIDER-Lab, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna

GUIDO CALABRESI
Yale Law School

NICHOLAS KASIRER
McGill University - Faculty of Law

RODOLFO SACCO
Universita' di Torino

GERT BRUEGGEMEIER
University of Bremen - Faculty of Law

HUGH COLLINS
Professor of English Law, London School of Economics - Law Department

FERNANDO HINESTROSA
Universidad Externado de Colombia

EWOUD H. HONDIUS
University of Utrecht - Faculty of Law

DAVID LAMETTI
Associate Professor, McGill University - Faculty of Law

DAVID G. OWEN
University of South Carolina - School of Law

VERNON V. PALMER
Thomas Pickles Professor of Law, Tulane Law School

STEPHEN D. SUGARMAN
University of California, Berkeley - School of Law

GENEVIEVE VINEY
Universit� Paris I Panth�on-Sorbonne




06 April 2010

REMINDER: Symposium on Comparative Early Modern Legal History (23 April 2010)

'New Perspectives on Legal Pluralism', a Symposium on Comparative Early Modern Legal History held under the auspices of the Center for Renaissance Studies will take place at the Newberry Library in Chicago on Friday, 23 April 2010.

The symposium meets:

to discuss the comparative legal history of the Atlantic world in the period c1492 to 1815. Each year we offer a one-day conference that brings together law professors, historians, and social scientists to explore a particular topic in comparative legal history, broadly understood.

The site reads:

Colonialism enhanced legal pluralism. European, African, Asian, and American polities relied on layered and multi-centric systems of law, and their encounters generated new and often repeating patterns of jurisdictional politics. This widespread legal pluralism at times contributed to regional integration by making substantively different legal systems intelligible to travelers and merchants. It also posed challenges to imperial administration as subordinate authorities sought to establish, expand, or protect prerogatives to act independently of metropolitan sovereigns and courts. With recent scholarship establishing clearly the benefits of framing colonial law as jurisdictionally complex and unstable, opportunities are now in sight to push this perspective further in a number of directions.

One interesting set of problems involves questions about how conflicts over the prerogatives of delegated legal authorities to discipline and control subordinate or dependent populations related to the changing contours of imperial constitutions or ideologies of rule. Conference participants may explore the ways in which such figures as garrison commanders, plantation owners, ship captains, Company officials, missionaries, and others with some measure of legal authority positioned themselves in relation to both metropolitan and colonial law. Did they make innovative legal claims or exert influence on regional patterns? We invite investigations of the conditions under which such actors deferred to imperial authority, the sources they drew upon to defend their legal prerogatives, and the nature of their interactions with various courts. Other studies might consider the degree to which the politics of making and defending claims to semi-autonomous legal authority informed broader, even regional, political processes. As we bring such connections into sight, it may be possible to refine comparisons of the politics of legal pluralism in different parts of a colonial regime, or between the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean worlds.

A related theme focuses on the legal strategies of subordinate groups. Taking into account a framework of legal pluralism, scholars can move beyond the study of “resistance” to ask questions about the legal participation of formally subordinate groups—even some that were seemingly powerless before the law. Forum shopping, petitions for mercy, violence against magistrates, new genres of legal writing, maneuvers to escape indebtedness—these and other strategies had immediate and sometimes far-reaching institutional effects. In addition to tracing such connections, we might probe the formative influences on legal strategies. How did knowledge about law circulate? To what extent did information or stories about of the effectiveness of particular legal strategies carry across social strata, imperial divides, and oceans? How did legal actors imagine and describe plural legal orders? With attention to these and other, related topics, the conference seeks to open the study of legal pluralism to new approaches and insights.

Additional information, including the schedule, is available here. Note that attendance is free, but advance registration is required.