The 2027 Society of Legal Scholars’ annual conference will be held at the Queen’s University Belfast, from 7-9 September and will be an in-person event. There will be an opportunity to join the plenary talks and ECR session in a hybrid format.

You do not need to be a member of the SLS to participate in the annual conference in Belfast in 2027. However, we encourage anyone, who is eligible to join, to become a member of the Society.

The allocation of subject sections between the two halves of the 2027 conference is as follows: 

The theme of the conference is ‘Exploring Communities of Law and Legal Scholarship’, inspired by Walter Hallstein, the first President of the European Commission, who in 1962 linked the idea of a community of law with that of a community founded on the Rule of Law. The theme invites reflection on the role of legal scholarship in contributing to and sustaining the Rule of Law, and on the identity, meaning and importance of our disciplinary, interdisciplinary and academic communities – to us as scholars, to our students and to wider society. These are pressing issues at a time of global turmoil, unprecedented disruption within the higher education sector, and with AI changing the profession that many of our students are entering. Contributions addressing any aspect of this broad theme, as well as those focused on more specific topics, will be welcomed in the Subject Sections.

The SLS provides a positive inclusive environment for legal academics at whatever stage of their career to engage with each other and learn valuable lessons from a diverse and inclusive community of legal scholars. Doctoral students are very welcome and are encouraged to submit papers for consideration in the Subject Sections Programme.

If you are interested in delivering a paper or organising a panel, please submit your paper abstract or panel (maximum of four speakers) details by 11:59pm UK time on Thursday, 21st January 2027. All abstracts and panel details must be submitted through the Oxford Abstracts conference system which can be accessed using the button below – and following the instructions (select ‘Track’ for the relevant subject section).

The Best Paper Prize and the Best Paper Prize by Doctoral Student at the conference are open to fully-paid-up members. For more information on becoming a member visit the SLS website.

Those wishing to present a paper should submit a title and abstract of 300 words. Those wishing to propose a panel should submit a document outlining the theme and rationale for the panel and the names of the proposed speakers (who must have agreed to participate) and their abstracts. Sessions are 90 minutes in length and so we recommend panels of a maximum of four speakers, though the conference organisers reserve the right to add speakers to panels in the interests of balance and diversity.  For papers with more than three authors, the authors should consider submitting a panel. Submissions with multiple authors should clearly identify non-speaking and speaking authors.

As the SLS is keen to ensure that as many members with good quality papers as possible can present, we discourage speakers from presenting more than one paper at the conference. When you submit an abstract via Oxford Abstracts you will be asked to note if you are also responding to calls for papers or panels from other sections.

After the call for papers close, there is extensive liaison between Convenors and the Subject Sections Secretary to ensure that papers of sufficient quality can be accommodated within the programme, even if this means placing a paper in a different subject section from that to which the paper was originally submitted.

We intend to communicate decisions on papers and proposals to be included in the programme by Friday 8 March 2027.  All speakers will then need to book and pay to attend the conference and will have to register for the conference by Thursday 13 May 2027 (more information on ticket prices is available here) to secure their place within the programme.

All speakers are expected to present in person. Only in exceptional circumstances, such as serious illness or significant travel restrictions, may a request be considered for virtual presentation. If you believe such circumstances may apply, please indicate this clearly when submitting your paper.

Understanding the challenges faced by higher education, the SLS will keep ticket prices at 2026 rates for the 2027 conference. These ticket prices have not been raised for several years in an effort to keep costs down.

This year we will also continue to offer support for attendance via our additional support fund for those who have special circumstances or who are in financial hardship warranting funding. Priority for support will be given to applicants who have no other source of funding.

If you do have any queries on the call for papers, please email [email protected] or call +44 (0) 1904 702165.