Initiatives

CfP: Conference on Trust and Law in Africa

The Law and Africa Initiative of Max Planck Law and the African Law Association jointly invite scholars to participate in the interdisciplinary conference on Trust and Law, which will take place on 2 December 2024 at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg, Germany. Trust is one of the concepts explored by scholars from varied backgrounds, including but not limited to Neurologists, Psychologists, Sociologists, Political Scientists and Economists. Trust is also an essential concept in legal studies. Both Trust and Law are concerned with relations between individuals and groups. In this conference, we aim to explore the interdependence and complex relation between law and trust and examine how that relates to the notion of laws in Africa. We believe that the conference theme is open to broader groups of specialities within the study of law, and it can serve as a focal point to examine Law and Africa from different dimensions using varied methodologies. We therefore call for papers on the aforementioned aspects and, of course, are welcoming further other areas that resonate with the topic of the conference such as:

  • Political trust and constitutionalism
  • Trust dynamics in corporate governance frameworks
  • Colonialism and political trust in Africa
  • Trust and fiduciaries across national and regional spheres
  • Ethnic trust (distrust) and peacebuilding in Africa
  • Trust and land tenure frameworks
  • Trust and transitional justice
  • Trust, social capital and the informal economy in Africa
  • Trust and national building
  • Trust, emotions and courts
  • The role of trust in indigenous laws and traditional dispute resolution
  • Trust and Private International Law (enforcement of foreign judgments)

Submission Format

Abstracts must be sent in a PDF format to africainitiative@law.mpg.de and include the following: — Title of the submitted paper — Abstract of 250–500 words — Name(s) of the author(s) — Affiliation(s) of the author(s)

Nota Bene

— The language for the submitted contributions and on the conference is English — Manuscripts should be original contributions — By submitting the paper, the organisers anticipate that a corresponding article will be contributed to the conference proceedings Travel and accommodation costs can be reimbursed for accepted speakers as far as there is no other funding available.

Submission Timeline

Abstract submission deadline: 30 September 2024 Notification sent to participants: 10 October 2024

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