Conferences
Conferences, Symposia, Workshops
- Law and the Challenges to Democracy
March 4-6, 2025, Cornell Law School, NY
Co-sponsored with the Cornell Law School, the Buchmann Faculty of Law at Tel Aviv University
The nature, challenges, and future of democracy have taken center stage in the face of global democratic erosion, and developments in both the United States and Israel provide particularly rich material for analysis. Public institutions in liberal democracies—such as courts, the executive branch, elected representatives, constitutional and human rights, criminal and civil law, pathways for enforcing individual and collective claims of right, and participation in international legal institutions—are under increasing pressure from both progressive and conservative forces. Academics, social movements, and political groups are newly appraising the United States and Israel as bastions of democratic values. Legal scholars are among those leading these appraisals in popular and academic work. Yet, paradoxically, legal scholarship often proceeds without engaging in discussions about democracy. Moreover, when these discussions do take place, they often lack explicit clarity regarding the underlying conceptions of democracy upon which they rely. As such, “democracy” tends to serve a rhetorical role, or to remain an abstract concept that conceals the assumptions of scholars, courts, and legislatures. It is time for legal scholars to unpack the various meanings of “democracy” that inform their work, and to examine more profoundly the current and possible roles of law in democratic institutions.
- To Die and to Kill for a (Multicultural) State (2023), Menachem Mautner – Book Event
November 21, 2024, Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
This book deals with two central questions: under what circumstances a state is entitled to demand its citizens to risk their lives and to sacrifice their lives in war; under what circumstances a state is entitled to demand its citizens to kill enemy soldiers in war. The book argues that under liberal political theory, as developed by Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant and Rawls, the only circumstances in which a state is entitled to expect its citizens to sacrifice their lives are those of a war of self-defense, as distinct from a war of choice. As to the question under what circumstances a state is entitled to demand its citizens to kill enemy soldiers, the book shows that one can find in the literature a range of approaches, starting with the view that this demand may be invoked by a state only in wars of self-defense up to the view that this claim may be invoked by the state in any war. The book discusses the duty to obey the law and shows that it is not an absolute duty: in situations in which the state promotes a policy or legislation that are blatantly immoral or undermine the fundamentals of the state’s regime, citizens are entitled to disobey the law and resort to the doctrines of civil disobedience and conscientious objection. The book claims that the conduct of Israel in the Occupied Territories amounts to a war of choice, and therefore citizens demanded to serve in the OT are entitled to invoke the doctrines of civil disobedience and conscientious objection.
December 4, 2024, Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Is academic freedom a First Amendment right? Many think so, yet its relationship to free speech as guaranteed by the Constitution is anything but straightforward. David Rabban examines the extensive case law addressing academic freedom and free speech at American universities, developing a robust theory of academic freedom as a distinctive subset of First Amendment law.
In subsuming academic freedom under the First Amendment, Rabban emphasizes the societal value of the contribution to knowledge made by the expert speech of professors, the classic justification for academic freedom in the influential 1915 Declaration of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). Any indication that professors might be disciplined because people without academic training disagree with their scholarly views would undermine confidence in the integrity of their work and therefore their ability to perform this vital function on behalf of the public. Rabban argues that academic freedom fosters two central First Amendment values recognized by courts in a wide range of contexts: the production and dissemination of knowledge and the contribution of free expression to democratic citizenship.
The First Amendment right of academic freedom applies most directly to professors, but it also plausibly extends to the educational decisions of universities and to students’ learning interests. More broadly, this vision of academic freedom can guide in developing additional distinctive First Amendment rights to protect the expert expression of journalists, librarians, museum curators, and other professionals. At a time when academic freedom is under attack from many directions, Academic Freedom proposes a theoretically satisfying and practically useful guide to its meaning as a First Amendment right.
December 12-13, 2024, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Co-sponsored by the Faculty Lab on Liberalism at the Buchmann Faculty of Law at TAU, the MIT political science department, and the MISTI Global Seed Fund
Solidarity is a ubiquitous term in the literature on politics and policy, and it often invokes positive connotations, as a source of social cooperation and cohesion. Yet solidarity may also have a darker side, appealing to exclusive sentiments and supporting “us vs. them” rhetoric in the midst of economic and political upheaval. Recent years have seen growing interest in solidarity within both political philosophy and legal theory, alongside continued attention from political economists. Empirical scholarship has given us a sophisticated picture of how solidaristic coalitions shape policy and how those policies may encourage and shape solidarities in turn. Political theorists have taken steps toward integrating normative analysis and empirical research on how material conditions impact the contemporary prospects for solidarity. Legal scholars have examined some of the institutional preconditions and expressions of solidaristic action.
To date, however, there has been very little direct engagement between these three disciplines concerning the aims, enabling conditions, and institutional expressions of solidarity, as well as its distinct varieties. Such engagement is particularly urgent given conditions of rapid economic and technological change, growing inequality, and rising political extremism in both developed and developing democracies around the world. The combined effort of political theorists, political scientists, and legal scholars holds particular promise in thinking through not only how solidarity comes about, but also what purposes it serves and how our laws and institutions can support its more salutary forms. This could entail exploring the possibilities and the comparative advantages of solidarity on different scales, including both the subnational and the supranational levels, as well as solidarity based on different types of identity, from the local to the occupational to the political.
For the invitation please check here
- The law of Global Value Chains: Theory and Practice at Work
July 28-29, 2025, the Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law, Spain
Co-sponsored by the Cegla Center for Interdisciplinary Research, TAU
This workshop will focus on the role of law in Global Value Chains (GVCs) – intricate networks that organize, operate, and impact the world economy. GVCs represent the functional and geographical fragmentations of supply and production, often transferring labor-intensive tasks to emerging economies. Despite being the "central nervous system" of the world economy, scholars emphasize that GVCs don't inherently guarantee development or the distribution of value evenly across the chain, observing power and profit maldistribution, along with adverse effects on local communities, workers, and the environment.
While there are innovative attempts to regulate GVCs, the socio-legal dimension remains under-theorized, with a focus instead on private governance. This workshop aims to address this gap by bringing together scholars from various legal fields, disciplines, and national contexts to explore the theory and practice of the Law of GVCs. The workshop will engage private and public law scholars, together with GVC scholars from other disciplines, paying special attention to the challenge of labor governance in GVCs.
Labor governance in GVCs has seen experimentation and innovation. Systemic violations of workers' rights in lower tiers of GVCs have prompted action across the OECD. Modern slavery and mandatory human rights due diligence laws (MHRDD) require Multinational Corporations (MNCs) to disclose actions addressing forced labor or adopt mechanisms for duty of care and diligence. Transnational litigation attempts by advocacy groups to impose duties on MNCs, though so far, with limited success. Trade initiatives and import controls were introduced by some countries to address forced labor, but these lack remediation for workers. Amid skepticism about top-down regulatory approaches, attention has shifted to bottom-up strategies emphasizing worker participation, voice, and Worker Driven Social Responsibility (WSR). Preliminary assessments suggest positive impacts on working conditions through WSR initiatives, yet challenges of replicability and scalability exist.
The first day of the workshop will introduce a broader discussion of the interaction of different areas of law with GVCs, examining GVCs not merely an economic innovation detached from law, but as an institution that is constituted through law. Drawing on the experience of activists and practitioners, the second day will examine the proliferation of regulatory approaches and labor governance strategies ds as a crucial case study for the intersection of law and GVCs. The two days will create a unique opportunity for a multi-faceted and holistic understanding and assessment of law and GVCs both in theory and in practice.
- Acknowledgment and Global Democracy
TBD, Tel Aviv University
Co-sponsored by The International Program in Conflict Resolution and Mediation, Tel Aviv University
Democracy is more than just the process of electing a government. When we talk about defending democracy, the Liberal International Order (LIO) often comes up—a system combining democracy, capitalism, and civil rights that became dominant after the Cold War. However, this order is now facing significant challenges both from within and outside.
A crucial issue is how the changing dynamics between the global south and north will influence the future. Despite decolonization, many nations in the global south have continued to rely on their former colonizers for regime stability and economic collaboration. With the rise of powers like China, the LIO and Western influence are under increasing pressure. Unlike the West, which often conditions its support on the protection of civil rights, other emerging powers offer assistance without such stipulations. At the same time, the West’s image as a champion of democracy is increasingly being called into question, particularly due to actions like illegal EU border pushbacks and alliances with autocratic regimes.
Adding to this complexity is the growing global demand for acknowledgment and reparations for historical injustices, such as slavery and land dispossession. In response, Western nations are attempting to adapt by forming new relationships with the global south. However, this raises two important questions: Will global competition drive the West to uphold liberal values, or will it lead to a scramble for alliances at any cost? And can the LIO be revived without addressing historical grievances?
This conference aims to explore whether acknowledging history and considering reparations could transform global relations and lead to a more democratic world, or if this is merely wishful thinking.
- Constitution and Procedure
TBD, Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Co-sponsored with the Buchmann Faculty of Law and the "Law, Society, and Culture" Journal
The events of the past year have sparked widespread interest in constitutional questions, including the regulation of the legislative process, the relationship between the judiciary and the legislature, and the ability of each to overturn the decisions of the other. Additional questions include the substantive content of a constitution, what topics it should address, how it should be enacted, and the doctrines that govern judicial oversight of administrative bodies and the executive branch, which define the boundaries of such oversight. However, it seems that the role of procedure and its relationship to the constitutional debates have not earned sufficient attention.
The upcoming volume of "Law, Society, and Culture" will examine the interaction between procedure and the constitution. It will address questions such as the constitutional status of procedure, what procedures should guide the court in constitutional decisions, and the appropriate process for creating constitutional norms. In the proposed conference, authors will present their contributions to the volume, and address potential critiques.
For the invitation (in Hebrew) please check here
- The Twelfth Privacy Conference
TBD, Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Co-sponsored by the Chief Justice Meir Shamgar Center for Digital Law and Innovation
Privacy studies are an emerging cross-disciplinary field of study. The annual workshop on privacy and cyber studies is a platform for presenting and discussing cutting edge studies on privacy. Participants are typically from a broad range of disciplines: computer science, information systems, engineering, law, media studies, psychology and sociology, economics and more. The workshop is based on a call for papers, and submissions are carefully selected.
Please check here for the Call in Hebrew and in Arabic
- The Annual Conference of the Israeli Association for Legislation
October 28-29, 2024, Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Co-sponsored with the Israeli Association for Legislation, Minerva Center for Human Rights and the Buchmann Faculty of Law at Tel Aviv University
The Israeli Association for Legislation will hold its annual conference this year at Tel Aviv University. The conference will focus on scholarly discussions of pre-selected papers. The panels are expected to address key legislative developments in Israel over the past year. Notably, the conference will include discussions on legislative processes during an ongoing war, the impact of the war on democratic backsliding in Israel, and an in-depth analysis of the role of the Israeli parliament as a check on executive power during times of war.
For the invitation (in Hebrew) please check here
- The Annual Conference of the Israeli Association of Public Law
12-14 December, 2024, Dan Hotel, Tel Aviv
Co-Sponsored by The Israeli Association for Public Law
The annual conference of the Israeli Association of Public Law has firmly established itself as a renowned event within the realm of public law. This gathering serves as a significant platform for judges, advocates, attorneys, and legal scholars who engage with and hold an interest in various aspects of public law. It offers an arena for deliberating critical matters, undertaking studies and investigations, fostering meaningful exchanges among participants, and advancing the field of public law in Israel.
For the invitation (in Hebrew) please check here
