Between Sovereignty and Solidarity: The Pursuit of Humanity’s Common Interests through International Law
(In-person, Faculty of Law of the University of Cambridge, 22-23 April 2027)
About the Conference
The Cambridge International Law Journal (CILJ) is pleased to invite submissions of abstracts of papers on international and European Union (EU) law to be considered for presentations at the 16th Annual Conference of the CILJ. The Conference will take place at the Faculty of Law of the University of Cambridge on 22 and 23 April 2027. The theme of the Conference is ‘Between Sovereignty and Solidarity: The Pursuit of Humanity's Common Interests through International Law’.
International law has historically been constituted through sovereign equality, State consent, and jurisdiction over territory, peoples and resources. Yet it also reflects commitments of solidarity extending beyond individual States, including international peace and security, human rights and environmental protection. In an era marked by risk and rupture, these commitments increasingly invoke interests said to be common to humanity – interests whose identification, protection, and enforcement remain contested amidst geopolitical fragmentation, armed conflict and mounting challenges to international institutions.
The 16th Annual Conference welcomes perspectives across international and EU law to explore the relationship between sovereignty and solidarity in the protection and pursuit of humanity’s common interests. Contributions may consider definitions of sovereignty, solidarity and humanity’s common interests, and assess whether existing international rules and institutions are adequate to advance the common interests of humanity, including in the realms of climate change, technology and other cross-border challenges. Contributions may also examine how institutional mechanisms and dispute settlement procedures can be strengthened to promote cooperation and common interests. Finally, the Conference invites reflection on whether international law can withstand present and emerging challenges while effectively safeguarding humanity’s common interests.
Call for Abstracts
We invite all interested scholars to submit an abstract between 250 and 300 words via the link below by 23:59 GMT, 31 December 2026. We welcome submissions from PhD students, early career researchers and established academics. The selected papers will be presented at the Conference, and all conference presenters will have the opportunity to submit their papers for consideration for publication in Volume 16(2) of the CILJ.
Additional details on our policies on ethics and the treatment of content generated through the use of artificial intelligence are available on our website.
For further information, please contact the Conference Conveners at conference@cilj.co.uk.
Thank you for your interest in writing for the CILJ Blog. Please complete the form below and upload your article as a Word document (.docx).
Blog Posts may be submitted at any time and are considered on a rolling basis. Submissions should not exceed 1,500 words and can be on any issues of international law, including EU law. Please do not submit unrevised university projects, or pieces under consideration elsewhere to the Blog directly. Please include hyperlinks to all sources in your submissions, without footnotes, unless crediting research support.
In 2025/26 we will be working on a turnaround time of 14 days from submission to taking a decision on whether to publish. However, over the holiday seasons the turnaround time will be longer and we will endeavour to get back to authors as soon as possible.
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