Call for Papers! 2025 ESIL Research Forum | University of Catania, 20-21 March 2025! Submission Deadline-30 September 2024!

INTERNATIONAL LAW IN THE AGE OF PERMACRISIS

The 2025 ESIL Research Forum will take place on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 March 2025 and will be hosted by the Department of Law of the University of Catania.

The ESIL Research Forum is a scholarly conference that promotes engagement with research in progress by members of the Society in the early stages of their careers. It has a small and intensive format: no more than 25-30 paper submissions will be selected. During the Forum, selected speakers will receive comments on their presentations from members of the ESIL Board and invited experts.

The 2025 Research Forum addresses the following topic: “International Law in the Age of Permacrisis” Crisis-centred languages are traditionally an inherent part of international law discourses. They offer an alternative vocabulary to explore the deconstruction and rebuilding of legal systems and may have transformative effects on their constituent elements and interactions.

The organizers of the 2025 ESIL Research Forum invite submission of papers on aspects of “International Law in the Age of Permacrisis”, including the following themes:

1. The impact of the semantics of permacrisis on the sources of international law, including on the hierarchy of its norms.

2. The ‘normalisation’ of crisis response mechanisms in practice and in international legal discourse.

3. The adequacy of existing crisis-response mechanisms within particular institutions (eg, the institution of ‘derogations’ in the human rights context).

4. The impact of permacrises on the interpretation of international instruments, by States and international institutions.

5. The impact of permanent states of crisis on the traditional models of governance of international organizations, including the European Union.

6. Implications and normative challenges for specific policy areas related to constant exposure to crisis phenomena. To apply, please submit an abstract of no more than 650 words to [email protected] by 30 September 2024 (13.00 CEST). The following information should be included with your abstract: your name, affiliation, email address, whether you are an ESIL member, plus a one-page curriculum vitae.