Call for Panels and Papers
European Law Unbound Society Inaugural Conference
“European Law Unbound: What Kind of Europe Can We Reach For?”
Faculty of Law, Charles University, Prague · September 25-27, 2025
CONFERENCE THEME
The Annual Conference is the central activity of ELU-S. Anyone working in the field of European law broadly conceived can submit individual papers or fully formed panels on any theme or perspective related to law in Europe. The programme of the ELU-S Inaugural Conference will centre on the theme “European Law Unbound: What Kind of Europe Can We Reach For?”. Europe is currently undergoing monumental changes and facing massive challenges: from threats to democracy and the rule of law to major geopolitical ruptures and from rapid technological developments to the ongoing quest for sustainability and social justice. This conference seeks to stimulate debate on the role that law can play in addressing the challenges that Europe faces. We aspire to do so by creating an ‘unbound’ exchange about the future of European law, both organizationally and thematically: everyone who wishes can participate and approach any area of European law from any desired perspective. As in the Stone Soup folktale, it is up to the participants to bring their ingredients of choice and their favourite flavours, hoping that this will make debate on the future of European law more intergenerational and inclusive and more academically and methodologically diverse.
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
All submissions will be processed through Oxford Abstracts; please refer to our website for the relevant links and guidance. Five types of submissions are possible: fully formed panels, roundtable discussions, author meets reader sessions, innovative formats sessions, and individual papers. We welcome individual paper submissions but strongly recommend the submission of fully formed panels. The submissions need not be related to the conference theme.
General rules and requirements
● Participation as a presenter of papers or books, intervener in roundtable discussions, or contributor to innovative format sessions is restricted to two sessions.
● Being chair or (paper or book) discussant does not count toward the maximum.
● The Inaugural Conference will be an in-person event. Anyone wishing to participate, in any capacity, should be prepared to travel to Prague.
● The default language for the Conference will be English.
A. Fully formed panels
Fully formed panels are sessions composed of multiple individual papers organised around a common theme. A session lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes. A fully formed panel must meet the following requirements:
● Three to five papers
● One Chair (who may be a paper presenter)
● One Discussant (optional)
● A panel title and abstract of 150-250 words
● Paper titles for each paper
Additional presenters can be added to a fully formed panel at a later stage, provided that the number of papers does not exceed the maximum of five. You do not need to submit full papers either at this stage or by the time of the conference
B. Roundtable discussions
Roundtable discussions are sessions that centre around the discussion of a common theme or topic – academic or non-academic – and that do not have papers presented. A session lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes. A roundtable discussion must meet the following requirements:
● Four to Seven Participants
● One Chair
● A roundtable title and abstract of 150-250 words
C. Author Meets Reader Sessions
Author Meets Reader Sessions foster conversation and debate about one to three recently published academic books. A session lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes. An Author Meets Reader Session must meet the following requirements:
● The author(s) of the book(s) must be present
● Two to three discussants per book
● One chair (who may be one of the discussants)
● Books must have been published after 1 January 2023
● Textbooks and Commentaries are ineligible
● An abstract of 150-250 words
D. Innovative Format Sessions
Innovative Format Sessions enable creative and out-of-the box interventions involving, for example, artistic work, poster sessions, or something similar. A session lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes. An Innovative Format Session must meet the following requirements:
● A title and abstract of 150-250 words
E. Individual Papers
We also welcome individual submissions on any subject related to law in Europe. After the paper submission is confirmed, it will become part of one of the panels assembled by ELUS. Individual paper submissions must meet the following requirements:
● A title and abstract of 150-250 words
● Three to five keywords
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
Everyone is welcome, regardless of career stage, academic interests, or perspective on European law. The only requirement is an interest in law in Europe, be it private law, constitutional law, economic law, criminal law, social law or any other field of law. Participation is not restricted to legal scholars or practitioners. We welcome submissions from scholars from all disciplines (political science, sociology, history, philosophy, etc.) with an interest in law in Europe. We especially welcome submissions from scholars at the early stages of their career and/or belonging to under-represented communities.
Participation is possible only for those who have paid their conference fees. Two types of fees are available: the regular conference fee of €150,- and a discounted fee of €90,- for PhD candidates and participants from non-OECD countries.
TIMELINE AND DEADLINES
15 February: Call for submissions opens
15 March: Call for submissions closes
30 April: Notifications of acceptance sent
1 May: Registration period opens
31 May: Registration period closes
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