Digitization is reshaping social, political, and economic relations and systems. Data-driven services and solutions have become essential to production, consumption and infrastructures. Central to these changes are digitized and digital value chains built around digital products and the extraction of data from multiple sources, including individuals. They operate in a field characterized by multiple actors (states, organizations, companies, individuals) embedded in multiple areas of law (including, but not only, contract, property, company, competition, IP, data, trade, environmental, human rights and international law) at different levels (regional, national, supranational, international). Law brings about and shapes these value chains.
For its 2nd Transnational Junior Faculty Forum, the German Law Journal and Max Planck Law invite extended abstracts (ca. 500 words) by early-career scholars investigating the law of digital value chains from across different fields of law. We especially invite contributions from the perspective of critical approaches, as well as research that works with methods from other disciplines. The extended abstracts should contain the research problem, theoretical or conceptual framework, description of perspective, outline of methods, and a prospective bibliography.
Please submit your abstract by 15 April 2026. Successful applicants will be notified by 16 May 2026. Articles are due by 23 August 2026.
There is no registration fee. Limited funding will be available for participants based outside Europe.