I. CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
It is our pleasure to announce the fourth edition of the Summer School of the International Association of Procedural Law (IAPL), which will take place in Madrid (Complutense University) from the 19 to the 21 of June 2023.
Up to 15 places will be available for applicants having procedural law and/or dispute resolution mechanisms as their main field of academic interest and meeting the conditions explained below.
II. BACKGROUND
Under the direction of Professor Eduardo Oteiza (La Plata University, President of the IAPL) and Professor Fernando Gascón Inchausti (Complutense University of Madrid, Executive Secretary General of the IAPL), the IAPL Post-Doctoral Summer School aims at bringing together outstanding young post-doc researchers from all geographical origin, dealing with international and comparative procedural law as well as with other relevant dispute mechanisms for civil controversies. By way of exception researchers at the very final stage of their PhD project may also be admitted. The School will give them the opportunity to meet and to openly share and discuss their current projects of research with other young colleagues and experienced law professors and practitioners.
Three previous editions of the Summer School have already taken place, organised together with the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law: the first one in July 2014, the second in July 2016 and the third in July 2018. The success of the experience, crowned by the publication of the collective books Procedural Science at the Crossroads of Different Generations, Approaches to Procedural Law and Privatizing Dispute Resolution, has encouraged the organization of a fourth edition in June 2023, once the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic has allowed to return to face-to-face activities. This time the IAPL is the only organiser of the Summer School. It has chosen a new venue, Madrid; it is foreseen, indeed, that the seat of the IAPL Summer School will be varying in subsequent editions.
The foundation of the International Association of Procedural Law goes back to the 1950’s. Its purpose is to promote the development of the study of procedural law by encouraging the collaboration among lawyers and academics in different countries, the exchange of information on sources, publications, practice and adjudication, and the cooperation with juridical experts in national and international research institutions. To achieve these goals the Association engages in various activities: it regularly organizes conferences and congresses everywhere in the world; from 2011, it supports the publication of an international journal (the International Journal of Procedural Law, published twice a year with contributions in five languages). Next to the awarding of a Cappelletti Prize for the best book written by young scholars in the procedural field and the Marcel Storme Prize for the best article, the initiative of a post-doc Summer School to be held every two years in cooperation implements the wish of the Association to diversify its activities towards worldwide young proceduralists.
III. HOW THE SUMMER SCHOOL WORKS
The main actors of the school are the students, who are invited both to present their current topic of research and to actively discuss them with the rest of the participants. The role of the professors is to accompany and encourage them in the endeavour.
The Summer School is building a reputation of outstanding quality, which is mirrored both in the professors invited and the students admitted to participate. With this aim a pre-selection is made among the applications received in due time. The final decision lies with the IAPL Presidium.
The organisation of the Summer School is an objective and a success on its own, further reflected in the final collection and publication of the presentations in a collective book. In principle all attendants are asked to contribute to the book; their commitment to comply is a condition to be admitted to the School.
The Summer School runs for three days and combines the scientific program with some leisure activities. The academic program takes place in morning and afternoon sessions, divided into sequenced panels grouping together related topics.
Each participant will be requested to explain his/her research orally for a time not exceeding 20 minutes, with the aid of a PPT if wished.
A participant of the school will be appointed as a respondent (discussant) for each paper, thus he/she will be in charge of discussing the main points for 3 to 5 minutes. In order to facilitate the task of the discussant and for the sake of a consistent debate, papers of maximum 15000 words (including footnotes) must be sent to the Summer School organization in advance, i.e., three weeks before the school starts at the latest. They will be circulated among all the participants.
An open discussion of 15 to 20 minutes will follow. All the participants are expected to take part actively in it, with interventions of 2-3 minutes each.
Each session of the School will be chaired by one Professor.
Emeriti professors as well as active ones, coming from Universities all around the world, are invited to attend the Summer School with the purpose of guiding the young researchers, commenting on their projects and advising them on the way forward. In each edition of the Summer School two main lectures are included on the specific topic of the School. Moreover, all professors are invited to comment on some major works of procedural and comparative law - selected books, authors or even grounding events that they consider worth to be read and discussed.
V. RESEARCH FOCUS
The 4th edition of the Summer School has chosen to explore the topic of “Challenges for Procedural Law”. The School is interested in discussing the challenges that procedural law must face in order to fulfil its functions effectively, both for the resolution of disputes and for the enforcement of the law and the prevalence of the rule of law. Somewhat more particularly, the School is interested in fostering academic discussion on four different fronts.
On the one hand, challenges of a more political nature, in particular the democratic challenges to which the activity of the courts is being subjected. Secondly, technological challenges, with digitalisation and the use of artificial intelligence in the field of justice. Thirdly, challenges of an economic, social and/or cultural nature can be taken into consideration, including analyses from the perspective of post-colonialism and neo-colonialism, but also contributions that address the relationship between procedural law and vulnerability. Finally, challenges of a generational nature are of interest, expressing how procedural law can contribute to sustaining the engagement of the current generation with future generations (litigation in relation to climate change is a good example, but not necessarily the only one). Although in the abstract, they can also be seen as challenges for procedural law, this edition of the school does not seek to address alternative dispute resolution mechanisms or collective redress, which have already been dealt with in previous editions.
All papers submitted to the 2023 Summer School should delve into one or several of these issues.
VI. ADMISSION CRITERIA
As in the previous editions, the 2023 MPI Summer School is looking for highly qualified candidates, both with respect to their experience and their area of research. A good level of English, both orally and in writing, is of the essence. All nationalities are welcome to apply.
The School is mainly addressed to post-doc students at the beginning of their academic career; PhD candidates may nonetheless be admitted in case their dissertation is already at an advanced stage, and provided the candidate shows a degree of academic maturity guaranteeing that his/her attendance to the school will be fruitful both for him/her and the School itself.
The selection process entails a two-stage process, based on the written materials submitted by the applicants. A pre-selection is made among the applications correctly completed and received in due time on the basis of the candidate’s CV, his/her topic of research and his/her explanation of it (interest, methodological approach, novelty). The final decision lies with the IAPL Presidium.
VII. HOW TO APPLY
1) An application form therein provided for must be filled up (click here to access the form).
2) At the same time, the following documents in pdf format shall be sent to the address Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. È necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo.
i) A short CV, including recent publications, grants and awards, stays abroad and your current position (please, name the file: Yourname_CV)
ii) A short description of the project of research to be discussed at the School (no more than 1000 words) (please, name the file: Yourname_Project)
iii) A letter of recommendation from a renowned Law Professor or Practitioner (please, name the file: Yourname_Letter)
VII. SCHEDULE
Applications shall be submitted no later than 24 February 2023 (CET) (expanded deadline)
The selection of the participants will be made available not later than 25 March 2023.
The celebration of the Summer School will take place from 19 to 21 June 2023
VIII. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
The Summer School takes place at the premises of the Complutense University of Madrid.
A limited number of grants covering travel and accommodation expenses while in Madrid will be made available for candidates who do not benefit from any other source of funding.
Successful applicants shall take care by themselves of eventual administrative requirements such as visa and similar.
Prof. Fernando Gascón Inchausti, email: Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. È necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo.
The next Conference of the International Association of Procedural Law will be hosted by Juridicum, Örebro University. The theme of the Congress is "Procedural Law in Multicultural Context". More detailed information about the date will be provided as soon as possible.
The conference will addres, on the one hand, the way justice systems deal with civil and criminal cases involving persons stemming from different regional cultures, and, on the other hand, the impact of multiculturalism on judicial proceedings and judicial systems.
More information is available at the conference's webpage.
