Overview
From 9-12 July 2022, the Commission on Legal Pluralism in collaboration with the University of Lisbon Law School will organize a course on Legal Pluralism in Lisbon, Portugal about theories, knowledge and methodologies of legal pluralism. The purpose of the 4-day course is to familiarize the participants with the current international debates and insights on socio-legal studies and legal pluralism and to offer a comparative perspective that allows them to rethink their own research
and practical work.
Participation is limited to 25 persons to allow for maximum discussion. The participants will include academics and practitioners, e.g., NGO activists or government officials, who deal with issues related to legal pluralism, informal justice systems and social justice in their academic or professional work. During this intensive training, the participants will be given an opportunity to discuss their work and to build long-lasting intellectual connections with both other participants and the instructors consisting of leading scholars in their fields, allowing participants to become part of a growing international network.
Topics to be covered in the course include:
- Theoretical and conceptual aspects of legal pluralism
- Tribal / customary law and traditional authorities
- Human-nature relations: legal pluralism, property and rights of nature
- Legal pluralism and ‘Science and Technology Studies’
- Governance, administration, and bureaucracy
- Epistemologies of the south and legal pluralism
The course will include a half-day excursion and a participants’ research forum.
Selection, Tuition, and Funding
The course is open to students enrolled in a PhD programme, recent PhD graduates, more senior scholars who are relatively new to the field of legal pluralism, and practitioners working directly on one or more of the topics to be covered in the course. Participants must demonstrate a level of proficiency in English that allows them to read and actively discuss relevant academic literature. Selection will be based on students’ motivation to join the course.
The course fee is 250 EURO.
Participants will be responsible for the cost of their airfare, accommodation, meals, and local transportation. A limited number of tuition waivers will be awarded to participants who demonstrate extreme financial need. In the allocation of tuition waivers,
priority will be given to students coming from low- and middle-income countries. Depending on pending grant applications, some of the participants may be provided with free accommodation, local transportation, and hospitality during the course.
Application, Contact and More Information
Individuals interested in participating in the course are invited to apply by March 15, 2022. The application should include a cover letter, brief curriculum vitae and evidence of English proficiency.
Applications should be emailed to Bertram Turner at [email protected]. Decisions will be made by April 15, 2022. Applicants who have a need to know whether they are admitted earlier than April 15, for instance, to apply for funding, are encouraged to submit early and indicate their need for an earlier answer on acceptance.
The course will precede the Global Meeting on Law & Society which will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, from July 13-16, 2022.
For more information on the Commission on Legal Pluralism and its past courses and conferences, which have been held in venues including Wellington (New Zealand), Accra (Ghana), Williamsburg (USA), Moscow (Russia), Chiang Mai (Thailand), Fredericton (Canada), Jakarta (Indonesia), Zurich (Switzerland), Cape Town (South Africa), Manchester (UK), Mumbai (India) and Ottawa (Canada)), please visit: https://commission-on-legal-pluralism.com.
