Ars Iuris Legal Potentials Conference

The law constructs entities that define our world, and is thereby a powerful force in shaping our reality. While we primarily understand ourselves as human beings, the law rather sees us as subjects of law. And while an extraterrestrial would probably see the USA and Mexico as a connected landmass, we view these as two different legal entities (States) – with a deadly border in between. And who has ever seen a company? Nonetheless, we do not doubt that there are companies as legal actors.

The well-known distinction of personae and res in Roman law is a fundamental part of civil law. While personae are subjects with rights and obligations, res are mere objects, even if they are enslaved humans. There will be no legal claims if there are no legal subjects claiming them against each other. Civil law construes human beings as legal subjects and constitutes groups of people as corporate bodies. International law relies on the assumption of different States as subjects of the law of nations. International and constitutional law play a crucial role in constructing the State as the single most important political body of modernity.

This conference aims to bring together different perspectives on the construction of legal entities, inviting papers exploring this constructive role from doctrinal, comparative, theoretical, or methodological perspectives. Doctrinal contributions may analyse legal norms of subjectivity in areas such as public, private, corporate, or criminal law. Topics of interest also include the making of the State through constitutional identity, the pouvoir constituant, and the reliance on a national “we the people.” Furthermore, subjectivity in international law, including the State as the most important subject, can be discussed.

Click the blue box below to see the Call for Papers!

Submission Guidelines (abstract)

We invite the submission of anonymised abstracts of up to 500 words (PDF format). Please additionally include the following documents:

• A short academic CV (maximum 1 page, PDF format)

• An optional writing sample (e.g. a recent publication or seminar paper)

• Deadline for submissions: 4 July 2025
• Submission address: ars.iuris@univie.ac.at
• Notification of acceptance: Beginning of August 2025

Presentation & Publication

Selected speakers will be invited to present their work at the conference in Vienna on 3 November 2025. Presentations should be 20–30 minutes in length.

All speakers will have the opportunity to publish a corresponding paper (30,000–50,000 characters, including spaces) in a special issue of the University of Vienna Law Review.

Important dates:

• Deadline for written submissions: 10 October 2025
• Final revisions possible until: 17 November 2025

Please note: Following the conference, participants will have the opportunity to revise their paper before final publication.

Travel Funding

Participants whose home institution is unable to cover travel expenses may apply for financial support through the Ars Iuris Doctoral School. Further details will be communicated upon acceptance.

About Us

• Learn more about Ars Iuris Vienna: arsiuris.univie.ac.at/en/about-us
• Visit the Vienna Law Review: viennalawreview.com

Questions?

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at ars.iuris@univie.ac.at.

We look forward to receiving your abstracts – and to welcoming you to Vienna in November 2025.

Organising Team:
Mary Barrett, Ellen Hagedorn, Lorenz Handstanger, Celina Saci & Cornelia Tscheppe
on behalf of the Ars Iuris Vienna Doctoral School

3 November 2025, 9:00 a.m.

Location

Aula am Campus – University of Vienna

Registration

Please register by 15 October 2025 via email ars.iuris@univie.ac.at