The 2016 IGLRC takes place on 4th and 5th April and is the 10th Anniversary of the conference! To mark the occasion this year’s conference will centre around the theme The Transnational Legal Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities which is inspired by the research focus of the Transnational Law Institute at the Dickson Poon School of Law.

This conference is organised by and aimed at doctoral researchers, giving the attendees a chance to present their work to top scholars, network with peers and attend workshops. It will provide a forum for debate, the exchange of ideas, and the furtherance of knowledge.

All proceedings will take place in King’s Strand Campus, located in the centre of London. The campus is within walking distance of the Royal Courts of Justice, Whitehall, and the Houses of Parliament at Westminster. For further details (location, transport, accommodation) see venue information .

Sponsorship

We also welcome interest from corporate sponsors and publishing partners. Those interested in associating themselves with leading legal research should contact us at iglrc@iglrc.com .

International graduate legal research conferences offer emerging scholars a valuable forum for presenting work-in-progress to experienced academics and peers. By gathering doctoral researchers from varied jurisdictions, these events encourage the exchange of ideas across borders and help participants refine their arguments through critical discussion. The collaborative atmosphere often fosters long-lasting professional relationships and interdisciplinary reading habits that strengthen subsequent research outputs and career trajectories in legal scholarship.

Many such conferences adopt an annual theme that reflects broader scholarly debates. A focus on transnational legal issues allows participants to examine how law operates across borders, addressing questions of harmonisation, regulatory competition, and jurisdictional overlap. By framing discussions around these contemporary challenges and opportunities, the event situates individual doctoral projects within wider conversations about globalisation, comparative methods, and the evolving nature of legal authority in an interconnected world.

Workshops and panel sessions are central to the format of graduate research conferences. Small-group settings permit detailed feedback on methodology, sources, and analytical structure, while larger plenary discussions highlight recurring themes across different legal traditions. Participants frequently report that the opportunity to test ideas before submitting chapters or articles significantly strengthens confidence, sharpens research questions, and clarifies the contribution their work makes to ongoing debates in the discipline.

Anniversary editions of recurring academic events hold symbolic importance for scholarly communities. A milestone occasion invites reflection on how the conference itself has evolved, what topics have shaped successive programmes, and how the surrounding academic landscape has changed. Marking such moments with themed programming acknowledges the contributions of past organisers and participants while signalling continued relevance to new generations of graduate researchers entering the field.

Institutes dedicated to transnational law provide an intellectual anchor for conferences addressing global legal questions. Such institutes often emphasise comparative approaches, the study of multiple legal systems, and engagement with non-state normative orders. Aligning a conference theme with the research priorities of a host institute signals coherence and ensures that proceedings contribute meaningfully to established scholarly agendas, while drawing attention to emerging areas worthy of further investigation.

Social media and digital platforms have become integral to the contemporary conference experience. Hashtags, live updates, and shared photographs allow discussions to extend beyond physical sessions, reaching practitioners, and interested observers worldwide. This digital dimension complements traditional networking by making presentations accessible to a broader audience, encouraging public engagement with graduate legal research, and fostering connections that might otherwise remain confined to the immediate academic community.