PROGRAMME: "The Making of Law: Perspectives and Methods of Comparative Legal History" [Sixth ESCLH Postgraduate Conference in Comparative Legal History] (Valencia: Valencia University, 3-5 MAY 2026)

   

 

Sixth Postgraduate Conference in Comparative Legal History:

“The Making of Law: Perspectives and Methods of Comparative Legal History”

3–5 May 2026, Valencia University, Spain
Call for Papers

The European Society for Comparative Legal History (ESCLH) is pleased to announce its Sixth Postgraduate Conference. The conference will be held from 3 to 5 May 2026 at Valencia University, Spain. The ESCLH wants to overcome the narrow nationalism and geographical segregation of legal history in contemporary European scholarship and professional organisations. The society, thus, aims to promote comparative legal history, the explicit comparison of legal ideas and institutions in two or more legal traditions. The Postgraduate Conferences of the ESCLH give advanced PhD students and post-doctoral-researchers who work in the field of comparative legal history the opportunity to present their research to a panel of experts. Furthermore, the conference will give all participants the opportunity to build academic networks.

This conference is organized by Aniceto Masferrer on behalf of the European Society for Comparative Legal History (ESCLH), with the support of the The Alan Watson Group: The Making of the Western Law, the Institute for Social, Political and Legal Studies, and the research project entitled “Tradición e influencias extranjeras en la Codificación penal española: contribución de la jurisprudencia en la evolución de la Parte General (1870-1995)” (PID2023-148177NB-I00) (funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Sunday Dinner, at 20:45: Restaurante Santa Rita, c/ Zurradores 10 46001 Valencia

Monday 4 May 2026

9:00 Opening of the conference Prof. Dr. Matthew Dyson (Univ. Oxford, England; European Society for Comparative Legal History, Former President)

Chair: Prof. Dr. Matthew Dyson (Univ. Oxford, England)

9:10 Julia (Weiyao Han) (Univ. Cambridge) A Constitution for the Oceans? Prize Courts and the Divided Origins of Maritime Legal Order 

9:50 Wojciech Wydmański (Univ. Varsaw – Silesia) The codification of arbitration law in Poland during the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939): A Comparative Approach 

10:30 Emmanuel Leroux (Univ. Paris Panthéon-Assas) How did the Congress of Vienna establish a new European legal order? (1814-1815) 

11:10 Coffee break

Chair: Prof. Dr. Alessia Di Stefano (Univ. Catania, Italy)

11:30 Inés García Barrachina (Univ. Valencia) University as a Forum or an Ideological Actor? A Historical-Comparative Study of Political Struggles over University Autonomy (France, the United States and Spain) 

12:10 Matthew Parish (Univ. Cambridge) The European and Civilian Influence on English Law’s Turn to Systematisation in the Eighteenth Century 

12:50 Helene Hu (Univ. Lille) The legal aspects of the French concession in Shanghai

13:30 Lunch break (Restaurante Galileo Club Gastronómico, Avda. de los Naranjos s/n, Valencia)

Chair: Prof. Dr. Janwillem (Pim) Oosterhuis (Univ. Maastricht, The Netherlands) 

15:30 Giulio Biaggini (Univ. Zurich) Redefining Normativity: The Making of International Law in the Swiss-Allied Washington Accord of 1946 

16:10 Francesco Fonte (Univ. Macerata) Uncovering Hidden Vectors in Science and Practice. A Bibliometric analysis of ‘La Rivista del diritto commerciale e del diritto generale delle obbligazioni’ and its transnational influences in Liberal Italy (1903-1922) 

16:50 Umberto De Luca (Univ. Macerata) Who Makes the Court? Legal Transfer and the Contested Making of Juvenile Justice in Italy (1890 - 1922)

20:15 Dinner (Restaurante Casa Eulogio, c/ Cerrajeros 3, 46001 Valencia

Tuesday 5 May 2026

Chair: Prof. Dr. Aniceto Masferrer (Univ. Valencia) 

9:00 Marie De Beul (Univ. Ghent) The Justice of the Peace as a Proximity Judge: Past, Present and Future 

9:40 Benedek Varga (Univ. Szeged) From Market Freedom to State Intervention: A Comparative Doctrinal and Case-Law Analysis of Overpricing Misdemeanors 

10:20 Pawel Kazmierski (Univ. Krakow – Jena) Anti-religiosity in the first instance? Religious issues in the divorce jurisprudence in the German Democratic Republic and People’s Poland on the example of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (1945-1958) and Pomorze Zachodnie (1945-1956) 

11:00 Coffee break

Chair: Prof. Dr. Varga Norbert (Univ. Szeged, Hungary) 

11:20 Giorgia Bucaria (Univ. Cambridge) The Toolbox of English Lawyers: Res Corporales and Res Incorporales in Late Medieval Land Law

 2:00 Błażej Bawolik (Univ. Varsaw) The Doctrine of Statism in the Practice of Law-Making and Law Application in Central and Eastern Europe (1935–1939): The Case of the Second Polish Republic and the Kingdom of Romania 

12:40 Mathias Boussemart (Univ. Paris-Nanterre) Printed Knowledge and the Making of Law: Parliamentary Libraries in Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary Europe

13:20 Closure of the conference
13:30 Lunch (Restaurant, Faculty of Law)

CALL FOR PAPERS: "The Making of Law: Perspectives and Methods of Comparative Legal History" [Sixth ESCLH Postgraduate Conference in Comparative Legal History] (Valencia: Valencia University, 3-5 MAY 2026); DEADLINE 28 FEB 2026

 

 

Sixth Postgraduate Conference in Comparative Legal History:

“The Making of Law: Perspectives and Methods of Comparative Legal History”

3–5 May 2026, Valencia University, Spain
Call for Papers

The European Society for Comparative Legal History (ESCLH) is pleased to announce its Sixth Postgraduate Conference. The ESCLH invites PhD-students and post-doctoral researchers who work in the field of comparative legal history to participate in the conference. The conference will be held from 3 to 5 May 2026 at Valencia University, Spain.

The ESCHL wants to overcome the narrow nationalism and geographical segregation of legal history in contemporary European scholarship and professional organisations. The society, thus, aims to promote comparative legal history, the explicit comparison of legal ideas and institutions in two or more legal traditions. The conference will somehow focus on the making of laws, exploring their creation and application by judges.

The Sixth Postgraduate Conference of the ESCLH will give PhD-students and post-doctoral researchers the opportunity to present their research in the field of comparative legal history to a panel of six leading experts. Furthermore, the conference will give all participants the opportunity to build academic networks. The experts on the panel cover a broad range of subjects: Alessia Maria Di Stefano (Catania), Janwillem (Pim) Oosterhuis (Maastricht), Matt Dyson (Oxford), Norbert Varga (Szeged).

The ESCLH invites doctoral candidates and post-doctoral researchers to submit abstracts of their planned presentation. Please submit one document, as a PDF or Word file with an abstract and a CV, of no more than 5 pages. The abstract should be of no more than 300 words. It should give the title of the research project, the field of research, and personal information (full name, email address, affiliated university). The application should be sent to:

aniceto dot masferrer at uv dot es

The conference language is English and abstracts must be submitted in English. The closing date for receipt of abstracts is 28 February 2026. Up to twelve applicants will be selected and invited to participate in the conference. Successful applicants will be informed by 20 March 2026.

Participants are expected to cover their own travel expenses (arriving on the 3^rd May and departing on the 5^th afternoon or evening, or on the 6^th if there are no returning flights on the 5^th). Accommodation and catering will be provided without charge. With enough notice, accommodation for the night of Saturday May 2 can also be provided, at cost (approximately 50 Euros per person).

CALL FOR PAPERS: Fifth Postgraduate Conference in Comparative Legal History: “The Making of Law in Comparative perspective: Legislators and Judges” (Valencia: Valencia University, 2-4 MAY 2024); DEADLINE 25 MARCH 2024

 

The European Society for Comparative Legal History (ESCLH) is pleased to announce its Fifth Postgraduate Conference. The ESCLH invites PhD-students and post-doctoral researchers who work in the field of comparative legal history to participate in the conference. The conference will be held from 2 to 4 May 2024 at Valencia University, Spain.

The ESCHL wants to overcome the narrow nationalism and geographical segregation of legal history in contemporary European scholarship and professional organisations. The society, thus, aims to promote comparative legal history, the explicit comparison of legal ideas and institutions in two or more legal traditions. The conference will somehow focus on the making of laws, exploring their creation and application by judges.

The Fifth Postgraduate Conference of the ESCLH will give PhD-students and post-doctoral researchers the opportunity to present their research in the field of comparative legal history to a panel of six leading experts. Furthermore, the conference will give all participants the opportunity to build academic networks. The experts on the panel cover a broad range of subjects: Luisa Brunori (Paris), Stefano Vinci (Bari), Matt Dyson (Oxford), Phillip Hellwege (Augsburg) and Judit Beke-Martos (Bochum).

The ESCLH invites doctoral candidates and post-doctoral researchers to submit abstracts of their planned presentation. Please submit one document, as a PDF or Word file with an abstract and a CV, of no more than 5 pages. The abstract should be of no more than 300 words. It should give the title of the research project, the field of research, and personal information (full name, email address, affiliated university). The application should be sent to:

aniceto.masferrer@uv.es

The conference language is English and abstracts must be submitted in English. The closing date for receipt of abstracts is 25 February 2024. Up to twelve applicants will be selected and invited to participate in the conference. Successful applicants will be informed by 25 March 2024.

Participants are expected to cover their own travel expenses (arriving on the 2^nd May and departing on the 4^th afternoon or evening). Accommodation and catering will be provided without charge. With enough notice, accommodation for the night of Saturday May 4 can also be provided, at cost (approximately 50 Euros per person).

CALL FOR PAPERS: Fifth Postgraduate Conference in Comparative Legal History: “The Making of Law in Comparative perspective: Legislators and Judges” (Valencia: Valencia University, 2-4 MAY 2024); DEADLINE 25 MAR 2024

 

The European Society for Comparative Legal History (ESCLH) is pleased to announce its Fifth Postgraduate Conference. The ESCLH invites PhD-students and post-doctoral researchers who work in the field of comparative legal history to participate in the conference. The conference will be held from 2 to 4 May 2024 at Valencia University, Spain.

The ESCLH wants to overcome the narrow nationalism and geographical segregation of legal history in contemporary European scholarship and professional organisations. The society, thus, aims to promote comparative legal history, the explicit comparison of legal ideas and institutions in two or more legal traditions. The conference will somehow focus on the making of laws, exploring their creation and application by judges.

The Fifth Postgraduate Conference of the ESCLH will give PhD-students and post-doctoral researchers the opportunity to present their research in the field of comparative legal history to a panel of six leading experts. Furthermore, the conference will give all participants the opportunity to build academic networks. The experts on the panel cover a broad range of subjects: Luisa Brunori (Paris), Stefano Vinci (Bari), Matt Dyson (Oxford), Phillip Hellwege (Augsburg) and Judit Beke-Martos (Bochum).

The ESCLH invites doctoral candidates and post-doctoral researchers to submit abstracts of their planned presentation. Please submit one document, as a PDF or Word file with an abstract and a CV, of no more than 5 pages. The abstract should be of no more than 300 words. It should give the title of the research project, the field of research, and personal information (full name, email address, affiliated university). The application should be sent to:

aniceto.masferrer@uv.es

The conference language is English and abstracts must be submitted in English. The closing date for receipt of abstracts is 25 February 2024. Up to twelve applicants will be selected and invited to participate in the conference. Successful applicants will be informed by 25 March 2024.

Participants are expected to cover their own travel expenses (arriving on the 2^nd May and departing on the 4^th afternoon or evening). Accommodation and catering will be provided without charge. With enough notice, accommodation for the night of Saturday May 4 can also be provided, at cost (approximately 50 Euros per person).

4TH ESCLH POSTGRADUATE CONFERENCE: The Making of Law. Its Creation and Application (Valencia, 5-6 MAY 2023)

 (image: La Llotja de la Seda; source: Wikimedia Commons)

The European Society for Comparative Legal History (ESCLH) is pleased to announce its Fourth Postgraduate Conference. The conference will be held online on 5 and 6 May 2023. The ESCLH wants to overcome the narrow nationalism and geographical segregation of legal history in contemporary European scholarship and professional organisations. The society, thus, aims to promote comparative legal history, the explicit comparison of legal ideas and institutions in two or more legal traditions. The Postgraduate Conferences of the ESCLH give advanced PhD students and post-doctoral-researchers who work in the fi eld of comparative legal history the opportunity to present their research to a panel of experts. Furthermore, the conference will give all participants the opportunity to build academic networks. 

This conference is organized by Aniceto Masferrer on behalf of the European Society for Comparative Legal History (ESCLH), with the support of the The Alan Watson Group: The Making of the Western Law, the Institute for Social, Political and Legal Studies, and the research project entitled “Tradición e influencias extranjeras en la Codificación penal española: contribución de la jurisprudencia en la evolución de la Parte Especial (1870-1995)” (PID2019-105871GB-I00) (funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation)

Programme:

Friday 5 May 2023

Faculty of Law, Univ. Valencia

Av. dels Tarongers s/n, 46022 Valencia

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/WHc97vrWwQ6i1KGE6

 

 

9:00     Opening of the conference

Prof. Dr. Matthew Dyson (Oxford University, England)

 

 

Chair: Prof. Dr. Emanuele Conte (Roma Tre University, Italy)

 

9.15     Jasper Van de Woestijne (Ghent University, Belgium)

Wise men beyond borders. The transplantation of the French conseil de prud’hommes throughout Europe

 

10.00 Vukasin Stanojlovic (University of Belgrade, Republic of Serbia) Habitatio in Serbian Law

 

Chair: Prof. Dr. Phillip Hellwege (Augsburg University, Germany) 10:45 Dr. Joó László Ádám (University of Debrecen, Hungary)

How to Exchange a Civil Code for Customary Law – Tort Law in Hungary and the ABGB in the early 1940s

 

11:30 Seyma Sagdic (Inonu University, Turkey)

Between rejection and reception: Legal Establishment in Turkey

Chair: Prof. Dr. Luisa Brunori (École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France)

 

12:15 Ida Ferrero (University of Turin, Italy)

The admission of women to the legal profession in Italy and France

 

13:00 Pieterjan Schepens (Ghent University, Belgium)

The formation of a mandatory old age pensions system in Belgium, ca. 1900- 1930

 

 

13:45 Lunch break

 

Chair: Prof. Dr. Merike Ristikivi (Tartu University, Estonia) 

15:15 Vid Žepič (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Extraordinary Criminal Law in the Age of Enlightenment – The Case of Pandemics

 

16:00 Amber Gardeyn (Ghent University, Belgium)

Taking the long way home: the Belgian practice regarding Nazi Looted Art in a comparative legal-historical perspective

 

 

Saturday 6 May 2023

Colegio Mayor Rector Peset

Pl. del Forn de Sant Nicolau, 4, 46001 València

(https://www.uv.es/uvweb/rector-peset-residence-hall/en/rector-peset-hall-residence- 1285910232936.html)

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/TEi1TF8DzaxMKdyK9

 

 

Chair: Prof. Dr. Matt Dyson (Oxford University, England)

 

9:00     Brian Buchhalter Montero (University Complutense de Madrid, Spain) Tradition and foreign influences in the Draft Law for Criminal Procedure in the Francoist Spain (1938)

 

9:45     Paulina Kamberov (University of Gdansk, Poland)

The Development of Polish Criminal Law in the Interwar Period: Legislation and Interpretation

 

10:30 José Franco-Chasán (University Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain)

Deviancy and the Legal System: Insane Offenders in the Austrian Monarchy, the Reform of German Criminal Law and the Spanish Treatment for Dementes and Locos

 

11:15 End of the conference

 More information with the organisers. 

 

CALL FOR PAPERS: Fourth Postgraduate Conference in Comparative Legal History: “The Making of Law: its Creation and Application” (Valencia: Valencia University, 4-6 MAY 2023); DEADLINE 18 FEB 2023

Fourth Postgraduate Conference in Comparative Legal History:

“The Making of Law: its Creation and Application”

4–6 May 2023, Valencia University, Spain
Call for Papers

 

The European Society for Comparative Legal History (ESCLH) is pleased to announce its Fourth Postgraduate Conference. The ESCLH invites advanced PhD-students (PhD students beyond their first year) and post-doctoral researchers who work in the field of comparative legal history to participate in the conference. The conference will be held from 4 to 6 May 2023 at Valencia University, Spain.

The ESCHL wants to overcome the narrow nationalism and geographical segregation of legal history in contemporary European scholarship and professional organisations. The society, thus, aims to promote comparative legal history, the explicit comparison of legal ideas and institutions in two or more legal traditions. The conference will somehow focus on the making of laws, exploring their creation and application by judges.

The Fourth Postgraduate Conference of the ESCLH will give advanced PhD-students and post-doctoral researchers the opportunity to present their research in the field of comparative legal history to a panel of six leading experts. Furthermore, the conference will give all participants the opportunity to build academic networks. The experts on the panel cover a broad range of subjects: Luisa Brunori (Paris), Matt Dyson (Oxford), Phillip Hellwege (Augsburg) and Merike Ristikivi (Tartu), among others.

The ESCLH invites advanced doctoral candidates and post-doctoral researchers to submit abstracts of their planned presentation. Please submit one document, as a PDF or Word file with an abstract and a CV, of no more than 5 pages. The abstract should be of no more than 300 words. It should give the title of the research project, the field of research, and personal information (full name, email address, affiliated university)). The application should be sent to:

aniceto.masferrer@uv.es

The conference language is English and abstracts must be submitted in English. The closing date for receipt of abstracts is 18 February 2023. Up to twelve applicants will be selected and invited to participate in the conference. Successful applicants will be informed by 18 March 2023.

Participants are expected to cover their own travel expenses (arriving on the 4^th May and departing on the 6^th afternoon or evening). Accommodation and catering will be provided without charge. With enough notice, accommodation for the night of Saturday May 6 can also be provided, at cost (approximately 45 Euros per person).