Postgraduate Law Conference 2026: Critical Legal Thinking in an Evolving World
The Queen Mary Annual PhD Law Conference 2026, organised in collaboration with the Queen Mary Law Journal, invites submissions for papers engaging with critical legal thinking in a rapidly evolving world.
- Date: 11-12 June 2026
- Venue: Graduate Centre, Queen Mary, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS
This year’s conference is particularly significant. Queen Mary University of London continues to mark the 60th anniversary of its School of Law, the 45th anniversary of the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, and the 40th anniversary of the School of International Arbitration. In this context, the conference theme welcomes critical legal thinking across all areas of law.
Legal thinking involves reflection both on and within the field of law. Yet the contours of law have long been contested. These questions arise from the blurring of disciplinary boundaries and from the challenges of relating legal practice and empirical realities to legal norms. Legal thinking may therefore seek to construct coherent legal narratives, or, alternatively, to reveal the inconsistencies and tensions within legal norms and legal systems.
Critical legal thinking may be understood as questioning the nature of law as a self-contained discipline. It may involve shifting the perspectives through which law is approached, examining who creates law and who has the authority to define or interpret it, and opening space for diverse methodological approaches to legal inquiry.
In this sense, critical legal thinking may be less about what law is and more about how it is examined. It may be understood as a method rather than an object. The conference therefore welcomes contributions that reflect on, apply, or challenge this methodological approach.
Conference theme and scope:
The conference welcomes submissions on all areas of legal research, including but not limited to:
- Legal theory and philosophy, including prospective and speculative approaches;
- Feminist, gender studies and theories of the law;
- Socio-legal studies, research methods and interdisciplinary works;
- Public law, constitutional law (comparative or not), and administrative law;
- International and national human rights law, immigration law, humanitarian law;
- Legal anthropology, cultural studies and indigenous studies;
- Commercial, tax, corporate, and financial law;
- Law and technology (AI, data protection regulations);
- Criminal law and criminal justice system;
- Environmental, climate, animal and/or energy law;
- Comparative and international dispute resolution, including ADR.
Keynote Speakers
- Norah Gallagher, Academic Director, Energy & Climate Change Law Institute, Former Jean Monnet Chair in Energy Law & Policy; Director of the School of International Arbitration, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London.
- Dr Sarah Keenan, Senior Lecturer in Land Law, School of Law, Queen Mary University of London.
Submission guidelines:
If you are interested in presenting a paper at the conference, please submit an abstract to PG-Law-Conf@qmul.ac.uk by the 6 April 2026.
Notification of acceptance will be sent by 20 April 2026.
The proposal should contain:
- The title of the presentation;
- Five keywords;
- An abstract (300 words max);
- Author biography (100 words max);
- A brief contextual explanation of the critical component (100 words max).
If you wish to be considered for publication in a special issue of the Queen Mary Law Journal, please send the full article to qmlj-submissions@qmul.ac.uk by 30 April 2026.
Submission for artistic expressions:
If you are interested in displaying your research during the conference, including posters and artwork, please submit it together with your application. Suggested formats include, but are not limited to:
- Posters;
- Paintings;
- Sculptures;
- Short films.
How to submit
Abstracts should be submitted to PG-Law-Conf@qmul.ac.uk by the deadline stated above. Please include your name and university. If you are interested in showcasing your work through art, please submit your work to PG-Law-Conf@qmul.ac.uk by 6 April 2026. Selected work will be exhibited at the conference. Please note that academic papers and artistic submissions are evaluated separately, and acceptance of one does not guarantee acceptance of the other.
We look forward to reading your contributions. It is not necessary to submit a paper. If you have any queries, please contact PG-Law-Conf@qmul.ac.uk.
*Outstanding work by LLM students might be considered.