On the occasion of the 150^th anniversary of the Swiss Federal Tribunal, the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law (SICD) is pleased to announce its 35th Conference on Private International Law, to be held on 19–20 November 2025 in Lausanne.

The conference addresses how courts, lawyers, and litigants have shaped—and how they continue to shape—private international law. Special emphasis will be placed on how legal practice drives the development of private international law at both the national and supranational levels. Judges, through landmark rulings, have clarified conflicts of laws rules, set precedents on the recognition of foreign judgments, and adapted legal frameworks to globalization and digital commerce. Lawyers, by crafting novel arguments, have influenced judicial reasoning and contributed to evolving legal doctrines. Finally, strategic litigation, led by litigants and advocacy groups, has driven major jurisprudential shifts, particularly in fundamental rights, corporate liability, and cross-border regulation. The conference will analyse these actors’ distinct but interconnected roles in shaping contemporary private international law.

We invite scholars (both established and early-career researchers), legal practitioners, and policymakers to submit papers addressing these issues.

Possible topics include:

• The role of national and supranational courts in shaping private international law
• The impact of key judicial decisions on cross-border legal relationships
• The influence of legal practitioners in driving jurisprudential change
• Strategic litigation as a tool for legal evolution in private international law
• Comparative approaches to judicial reasoning in international private law cases
• Judicial responses to global challenges such as migration, digital commerce, corporate responsibility, and human rights protection

Paper Submission
Please submit an abstract (up to 500 words) of your proposed paper by 11 May 2025 to Ms. Marie-Laure Lauria (marie-laure.lauria@isdc-dfjp.unil.ch), with the subject line “ISDC 35th PIL Conference Submission“. Abstracts may be submitted in English, German, or French.

All submissions will undergo a double-blind peer review and decisions will be communicated by 3 June 2025. Accepted papers will be considered for publication in an edited volume or a special journal issue.

Organization
The conference will be hosted by the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law.

Funding
The Swiss Institute of Comparative Law will provide funding for the travel costs and accommodation of all presenters.

On behalf of Aleksandrs Fillers (Riga Graduate School of Law), we are happy to share the following conference announcement; more information can also be found here.

The European Union (EU) has become a central player in private international law (PIL) on the European continent. The scope of EU PIL is extensive and constantly poses challenges to scholars and courts. The objective of the Riga Private International Law Conference is to discuss the current weaknesses of EU PIL and share suggestions for improvements. The conference topics cover all areas of EU Private International Law, including private international law for divorces, maintenance, commercial contracts, torts, and more.

The conference will be held in Riga, Latvia, at the Riga Graduate School of Law on 7–8 June 2025.

Please submit abstracts of no more than 300 words to Associate Professor Dr Aleksandrs Fillers (aleksandrs.fillers@rgsl.edu.lv) by 15 April 2025.

We will notify you about the acceptance of papers by 1 May 2025. To cover the costs of lunches and administrative expenses, we foresee a moderate fee of EUR 30.

Directly after the conference, we intend to prepare a book proposal under the working title “Improving European Private International Law.” The proposal will be based on selected papers, and we aim to publish it with an international publishing house with broad distribution.