Young Legal Researchers Conference 2026

7^th Young Legal Researchers Conference 2026

The aim of this conference is to bring together young researchers (primarily PhD researchers and postdocs) to share, discuss and exchange ideas on their research with one another. The 7^th Young Legal Researchers Conference will take place on Friday the 4th of December 2026 in Hasselt, Belgium under the theme of “Law under Pressure: Resilience, Resistance and Reinvention in Challenging Times”.

The conference will be hosted by young academics of the faculty of law at the University of Hasselt.

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Abstract submission – Until Wednesday 30 September 2026
Notification of acceptance/rejection –  At the latest on 12 October 2026
Registration – Between 12 October and 2 November 2026
Day of the conference – Friday 4th of December 2026

To be announced.

Each presenter will have 15 minutes to present their research. You can make use of a PowerPoint
presentation.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

The Faculty of Law of Hasselt University is pleased to announce the 7th edition of the Young Legal Researchers Conference (YLRC), which will take place on Friday 4 December 2026. The conference will take place in person at the city campus of Hasselt University (Martelarenlaan 42, 3500 Hasselt, Belgium). The aim of the conference is to bring together young researchers to share, discuss and exchange ideas on their research with one another.

Priority will be given to PhD candidates, while postdoctoral researchers are also welcome to participate.

Across the world, legal systems are increasingly placed under pressure. Democratic institutions face erosion, deregulation waves reshape legal systems, courts are politicised, migration systems are strained, and armed conflicts and geopolitical tensions challenge international legal orders and humanitarian protections. Environmental emergencies demand urgent responses, while technological surveillance challenges civil liberties, and economic instability and social inequality test the capacity of legal frameworks to protect the most vulnerable.

Pressure can expose weaknesses within legal systems, but it can also catalyse reform, innovation, and resistance. This conference invites early-career scholars to critically examine how law functions when tested by crisis, conflict, and contestation.

We invite researchers to submit an abstract from all areas of law, including interdisciplinary legal research, to present their findings, critiques, ideas and solutions related to the following theme: “Law under Pressure: Resilience, Resistance, and Reinvention in Challenging Times”.

Topics may include but are not limited to:

Monodisciplinary topics:

• Law of persons and family law: the resilience of equality frameworks under political backlash; LGBTQIA+ rights and the threat of legislative reversal; reproductive autonomy under pressure (abortion restrictions, surrogacy regulation); disability rights; family law in conflict, displacement and separation contexts.
• Environmental and climate change law: the Paris Agreement and the crisis of implementation; the EU Nature Restoration Regulation (2024) between ambition and resistance; the Sustainability Omnibus and the ‘simplification’ regulatory wave; climate and environmental litigation as a tool of last resort; pollution crises and industry pushback; environmental crime and institutional enforcement failures, environmental emergencies and ecological tipping points.
• Constitutional and human rights law: democratic backsliding and the resistance of safeguards; judicial independence and the politicisation of courts; states of emergency and the suspension of civil liberties; geopolitical conflict; sanctions, and their constitutional dimensions; the weaponisation of law in confrontation.
• Labour and social security law: structural wage inequality, social protection and the status of migrant workers; trade union resilience and collective resistance to the erosion of welfare state guarantees; the reinvention of worker protection frameworks.
• Data, technology and AI: surveillance, civil liberties, and the resilience of privacy rights; the EU AI Act (2024) and the governance of high-risk systems; GDPR enforcement in an era of data flows; intellectual property and liability in GenAI; algorithmic decision-making in public administration and justice.
• Corporate and financial law: corporate governance and corporate social responsibility; ESG frameworks under deregulatory pressure; corporate accountability in times of economic instability; trade law and sanctions; economic coercion and legal responses.

Interdisciplinary topics:

• Law and criminology: international criminal justice under political strain; terrorism, national security law and the erosion of due process; the expansion of restorative justice as a reinvention mechanism.
• Law and economics: the law and economics of the climate transition; competition and the resilience of regulatory frameworks; law and economics of innovation.
• Law and ethics: ethical dimensions of emergency legislation; the role of legal professionals in upholding integrity; privacy, dignity, and the ethics of surveillance.
• Law and social sciences: democracy, social exclusion, rule of law, transnational legal activism and civil society under pressure.

All topics that lie within the overarching theme will be considered, regardless of the field of law. Participants are welcome to submit topics outside the examples listed.

Young researchers are invited to submit an abstract in English by 30 September 2026:

1. The abstract (max. 400 words, excluding the title) should contain the aim of the presentation, the main points of the argument and a brief conclusion.
2. Please also include a short biography of the researcher (max. 150 words).
3. Acceptance of the abstract will be communicated at the latest on 12 October 2026.
4. Abstracts should be uploaded through the abstract submission form, which can be found on the website https://www.uhasselt.be/ylrc.
5. It is possible to attend the conference without presenting

Participation in the conference is free, but registration is necessary for all participants, both presenters and attendees. Registration will open on 12 October 2026 and close on 2 November 2026. Registration must be completed via the conference registration form, which can also be found on the website.

For any inquiries, please contact ylrc@uhasselt.be. For more information on the programme, please consult our university website https://www.uhasselt.be/ylrc.

Abstract submission form: https://forms.gle/EAGC95jXcNuaLdBt8

To be announced

The conference will be hosted by a team of young academics from the faculty of law at the University of Hasselt.

• Feline GEUKENS
• Rana JANSSEN
• Marie-Laure LUYKX
• Michelle MEYS
• Roel SPRENGHERS
• Ifigeneia TSAKALOGIANNI

Venue

The conference will take place at campus Hasselt of Hasselt University. The university is located close to the city center of Hasselt and only a 15-minute walk from the train station, from where you have direct connections to Brussels-Airport and also the main train stations such as Antwerpen-Centraal and Brussel-Centraal. The organizing team looks forward to welcoming you in Hasselt!

Location: Campus Hasselt 

Address: Martelarenlaan 42, 3500 Hasselt

Accessibility and maps campus Hasselt

Getting to Hasselt

Taking the train or bus instead of the plane: it does make a big difference.  The new UHasselt policy (as of May 1) calls for taking the train for destinations that can be reached in 8h by train. Are you curious which destinations you can reach in less than 8h by train? The FWO made a convenient map. And also these websites can help you further: Direkt Bahn Guru (overview of direct train connections from every station in Europe). Who knows, maybe you will leave on an adventure with the night train? Take a look at Europe's night train connections and some mood photos.

Here some more interesting links to book international train travel: 

• Nightjet: European night travel
• Maybe an interrail pass would interest you? You can explore more than 33 countries.

Accommodation

You are of course free to choose your accommodation. However, UHasselt has agreements with partnering accommodations for reduced rates. 

Holiday Inn hotels:

• Holiday Inn Express: €108
• Holiday Inn: €138

Breakfast inclusive, exclusive city tax €2,5 pp/day

Reservations can be made by emailing reservations@hihasselt.com mentioning ‘UHasselt’ or via the booking links:

• Universiteit Hasselt_Holiday Inn Express Hasselt
• Universiteit Hasselt_Holiday Inn Hasselt

Radisson Hotels:

• Radisson Blu Hotel Hasselt: 10% discount on the best available rate
• Park Inn by Radisson Hasselt: 10% discount on the best available rate

Exclusive city tax €2,5 pp/day

Reservations can be made by emailing reservations.hasselt@radissonblu.com mentioning ‘UHasselt’.

For any questions or further information, you can contact the organizing team at ylrc@uhasselt.be. 

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