CALL FOR PAPERS: Professions and Methods in Comparative Legal History [6th Biennal Conference of the European Society for Comparative Legal History] (Lisbon: University of Lisbon, Portugal, 1-3 JUL 2020); DEADLINE 15 NOV 2019

Professions and Methods in Comparative Legal History

1-3 July 2020, University of Lisbon, Portugal

The Organising Committee of the 6^th Biennal Conference and the Executive Council of the ESCLH are pleased to call for papers for the upcoming conference to be held. The main theme picks up threads of thought from the earlier ESCLH conferences in Valencia (2010), Amsterdam (2012), Macerata (2014), Gdansk (2016), Paris (2018) to explore what roles Professions and Methods have played, and continue to play, within comparative legal history. Offers of papers should be submitted by 15 November 2019 (details below).

          The conference will focus on legal professions and method, especially the methods of legal professionals across Europe and the world. Judges, lawyers and other legal professions have developed differently from country to country and even now, we can find substantial differences in training, method, role and work. Legal methodology, including the motivation of judicial decisions, lawyerly style and method of arguing cases needs to be studied in historical and comparative perspective to understand where we are now, and where we might be heading.

          Papers could probe the process of emergence and evolution of legal professions, from their institutional aspects and their understanding of their jobs, through to technical matters of method. They could also study the effects of structure of legal professions on the on the way law functions, most obviously through case law. Papers which also look through the lens of the historical context of the countries in which the legal professions operated are welcome.

          Papers should be novel, properly researched and referenced. They should address the conference theme, exploring doctrinal, theoretical, cultural or methodological aspects of comparative legal history. They must also be comparative, addressing more than one system of laws. The organisers particularly welcome addressing multiple legal systems or cultures. This includes where a similar legal system functions in different cultural circles.

Practical details:

1. To offer a paper, please send the title of their paper, a short abstract (of 200-400 words, no more, and a short CV (no more than 1 page) by 15 November 2019 to the organizing committee, c/o esclhinlisbon2020@fd.ulisboa.pt

2. The presentations should be in English.

3. It is also possible to submit a complete proposal for one or more panels (3 papers normally).

4. The list of accepted papers will be announced by early December 2019.

Shortly, a conference website will be launched with fuller details of the conference. For the moment, some transport and accommodation information follows.

Lisbon offers many accommodation possibilities ranging from five-star hotels, through smaller hotels and private rooms to beds in youth and student hostels. For some postgraduates the University of Lisbon, might be able to offer cheaper accommodation in student dormitories, and anything available will be advertised in due course.

Organising Committee:

Pedro Barbas Homem

Susana Antas Videira

Ana Fouto

Jorge Silva Santos