Theme: International Economic Law: Governing Markets in Context

Convenors: Celine Tan, Giuliano Castellano and Stephen Connelly
Centre for the Law, Regulation and Governance of the Global Economy (GLOBE)

School of Law, University of Warwick

International economic law – defined broadly to encompass areas such as international investment law, international trade law (including WTO law), international financial law and regulation, international development law, international environmental and energy law and global intellectually property law – represents a rapidly developing field of study with an emerging diversity of theoretical, methodological and substantive perspectives and specialisms. In an evolving global economic and geopolitical environment, the rules and institutions of international economic law and global economic governance have been facing a multiplicity of global challenges, including financial crises, structural imbalances, cross-border trade disputes, energy security, natural resource and environmental conflicts, as well as new health and social threats. The complexity and scope of these challenges has led to questioning of the efficacy of the contemporary framework of international economic law as a governing mechanism for international economic, social and political affairs.

In recent years, the governance of the global economy through law and policy interventions in a diversity of economic and non-economic markets has been a central concern for researchers and policymakers. Governments around the world have sought to balance drives for liberalisation and integration with the demands for greater control over market autonomy for a variety of national, foreign policy and public interest rationales. New challenges and the social cost of externalities generated by market processes transcend national borders as well as the perimeters of specific disciplines. New theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches and substantive contributions are required to consider economic governance in a broader intellectual and societal context.

The convenors of this theme welcome proposals addressing these and other key challenges from a socio-legal, contextual, or governance perspective. Proposals may include topics from the following non-exhaustive list:

• What are the theoretical and methodological assumptions defining the role of markets in a globalized economy? How are these assumptions reflected in identified policies or governance approaches?

• How are cross-border markets structured? And what are the implications of these structures for international economic law and governance?

• Are policies, regulation and supervision, and legal interventions in markets effective in dealing with the new global challenges?

• What are alternatives to and the possible developments for the framework of international economic law and governance in the face of contemporary challenges?

We hope to stimulate discussion and further collaboration on these and other questions among participants of the theme. Further information about the conference can be found here: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/research/events/conferences/slsa/

Submission of abstracts must be made via the Easy Chair system: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=slsa2015. The convenors welcome preliminary enquiries or expressions of interest, which should be addressed to globe@warwick.ac.uk

The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 19 January 2015. Abstracts submitted by this deadline will receive a decision to enable early registration by 13 February 2015.