Joint Annual Meeting of the Law and Society Association (LSA) and the Research Committee on Sociology of Law (RCSL of ISA)  Humboldt University, Berlin, July 25-28, 2007

Theme: Law and Society in the 21st Century: Transformations, Resistances, Futures

The Law and Society Association and the Research Committee on Sociology of Law (RCSL) will hold their next joint annual meeting at Humboldt University in Berlin from July 25 to July 28, 2007. Berlin 2007 is the latest in a series of joint annual meetings that began in Amsterdam in 1991and included Glasgow (1996) and Budapest (2001)

1)      Co-sponsored by four other socio-legal associations

For the first time, LSA and RCSL will be joined by four other socio-legal associations. Other sponsors of Berlin 2007 are the Socio-Legal Studies Association of the UK (SLSA), the Japanese Association of Sociology of Law (JASL), the Vereinigung fur Rechtssoziologie (VfR), and the Sociology of Law Section of the German Sociological Association. An International Planning Committee, made up of representatives from the six sponsoring organizations, met in 2005 and agreed on goals, dates, procedures and other basic parameters for the Berlin event.

2)      Covering all socio-legal studies topics and open to all scholars

The Berlin meeting will serve the needs of the members of LSA, RCSL and the other sponsors but will be open to scholars from all over the world. Scholars are encouraged to submit individual papers and organize panels and roundtables. In addition to panels, roundtables and other sessions on all socio-legal studies topics, there will be special theme events designed to identify common issues, take account of comparative work, foster studies of transnational phenomena, and promote future international cooperation. A detailed call for papers with instructions on how to make submissions will be issued in October 2006 with a deadline of January 12, 2007.

3)      Participation by Working Groups, Collaborative Research Networks, and International Research Collaboratives

In addition to welcoming all socio-legal topics and individual scholars, the conference will be open to standing research networks including RCSL Working Groups, LSA Collaborative Research Networks and International Research Collaboratives (IRCs). IRCs, created in connection with Berlin 2007, convened this summer at the 2006 LSA meeting in Baltimore, Maryland and will present work at the Berlin conference. (For a list of IRCs, click here.) 

4)      Organized by a Joint Program Committee

The international Program Committee (PC 2007) is co-chaired by Anne Boigeol (RCSL) and David M. Trubek (LSA) and includes representatives of the sponsoring organizations and other scholars from eleven countries. (For a full list of PC2007 Members, click here). The Program Committee is responsible for selecting the theme, preparing the call for papers, commissioning all special events, developing panels and roundtables, and organizing submissions.

5)      Held in an exciting city

The site for the 2007 meeting is the “new Berlin”, a city that has been rebuilt since the fall of the Berlin Wall and has become one of the most exciting spots in Europe for visitors. A group of scholars drawn from Humboldt University and other institutions in and around Berlin serve as the Local Organizing Committee and have promised to make everyone’s visit to their city truly memorable.

6)      For further information, questions, and suggestions contact:  Program Coordinator, Elizabeth Holzer