Conference Themes

Modern societal challenges, including economic, political, technological, and environmental issues, increasingly defy traditional doctrines, requiring interdisciplinary insight and deeper reflection. Simultaneously, global legal dynamics demand a perspective that transcends local jurisdictions. To meaningfully engage with today’s world, we must venture beyond our familiar frontiers—both geographical and disciplinary.


What this moment calls for is engagement with Law Beyond Borders: legal scholarship willing to cross jurisdictions, disciplines, and traditional legal boundaries in pursuit of new ideas and meaningful solutions.


The 18th Cornell Law School Inter-University Graduate Conference was born out of this spirit. We invite all emerging junior scholars to reimagine the defined contours of law, especially the three dimensions of cross-boundary between different legal domains (e.g., between private and public law), between different jurisdictions (e.g., comparative or international), and between legal and other disciplines (e.g., law and sociology). Specifically, we welcome submissions from the following areas:

Public International Law

In light of recent developments in International Law, we invite scholars to engage with the current legal landscape and to offer insights on issues including, but not limited to, the laws of the use of force, the laws of armed conflict (IHL), international human rights law, the laws of the occupation, genocide, self-determination, jus cogens, arms exports and state responsibility, as well as other questions falling within the broader theme of the conference.

Private International Law in a Digital World

This stream welcomes papers examining how private international law responds to an increasingly interconnected and technologically driven world. Emerging technologies—including artificial intelligence, social media platforms, blockchain, smart contracts, and digital assets—continue to challenge traditional approaches to jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of judgments, and cross-border dispute resolution. Papers may explore jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of judgments, digital identity, online dispute resolution, cross-border data flows, smart contracts, international commercial arbitration, privacy, platform governance, agentic AI, open-source AI models, and other questions at the intersection of technology and private international law.

Comparative Law and Society

As Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. famously observed: “The life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience.” While Holmes was speaking within the American law context, we believe this insight applies equally well to other countries. This stream aims to move beyond traditional comparative studies focused on black-letter law by incorporating a “law and society” approach, including sociological, economic, historical, feminist, and political perspectives. Specifically, we strongly welcome research that expands geographic horizons by devoting greater attention to Asian law and society. We invite research from all domains of law, including public law, private law, and their intersection.

Crime, Justice, and Society

This stream seeks papers on how justice systems and communities address harm, promote accountability, effectively involve victims, and consider alternatives to punitive responses. Topics may include restorative justice, victim participation, diversion, mediation, reparations, youth justice, transitional justice, indigenous practices, prosecutorial reform practices, and alternatives to carceral and punitive responses. Papers may also examine institutional limits, unequal power, implementation policies, and the use of these approaches across different legal, jurisdictional, and social settings. It also welcomes work on the use of technologies in restorative processes, victim involvement, parties’ participation, access to justice, and algorithmic bias. Submissions using interdisciplinary or comparative approaches and methods are welcome.

Eligibility

Graduate students (JD, LLM, JSD), post-doctoral researchers, teaching fellows, and recent graduates who are not tenure-track faculty members are eligible to apply.

Applications and Submissions

Applicants are invited to submit their paper proposals here by December 1, 2026. Submissions must be in English and must meet the following requirements to be included:

The submission should use the following naming convention: (Last Name)_(First Name)_JSDA 2027_Paper Proposal.

Proposals will be selected based on quality and connection with the conference themes. All applicants will be informed of the decision by December 21, 2026. All selected participants must submit their final paper by February 15, 2027, so that it can be shared with the other members of their panel and their discussant for feedback.

The final paper should be no longer than 10,000 words including footnotes. Each paper should be an unpublished work. We will consider papers accepted for publication so long as they have not been published, and the author may still have an opportunity to incorporate feedback from the conference.

Events

In addition to the paper panels, the conference will feature keynote lectures, professional development workshops, and seminars. Further details will be announced later in the year.

Traveling Expenses

The conference will be held in person at Cornell Law School in Ithaca, New York, on March 25– 26, 2027, and will cover meals and social events. The participants should seek independent funding for traveling and accommodation. We strongly suggest contacting your university, research institutes, etc., for funding.

Conference Co-chairs

Cornell Law School, JSD students and candidates:

Contact

Please feel free to send any questions or comments to: jsda.law@cornell.edu