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CALL FOR PAPERS: 2026 Conference

CALL FOR PAPERS: 2026 Conference

The SECOLA Annual Conference 2026 will be held on 19–20 June 2026 at Galatasaray University in Istanbul. The theme of this year’s conference is:

“Competitiveness, Innovation and Contract.”

The theme reflects current debates within European contract law concerning its role in a rapidly changing economic and regulatory environment. Recent developments in digital markets, sustainability regulation and EU consumer and business law have raised questions about the role that contract law plays in innovation, competitiveness and market integration within the European internal market. The conference aims to bring critical discussions on how European contract law responds to these developments while still pursuing regulatory objectives and fundamental values such as consumer protection and sustainability. In this context, the growing significance of the so-called Brussels effect forms an important point of reference for these debates.

Papers engaging with (but not limited to) the following themes will be particularly welcome:

  • The relationship between European contract law and the competitiveness of the internal market, including possible simplification.
  •  The impact of digitalization on contractual relationships, including the interaction between contract law and recent EU regulatory frameworks (such as data protection, the Digital Services Act and the AI Act).
  •  The role of contract law as a tool to implement broader regulatory objectives, including sustainability policies, responsible business conduct, ESG-related obligations, supply-chain responsibilities and sustainability-driven disclosure requirements as well as the implications of these developments for contractual practice and competitiveness.
  • The future of European contract law, including debates on the 28th regime of European contract law, codification, or alternative forms of legal integration.
  • The implications of recent and potential reforms in EU consumer law, including the New Consumer Agenda and possible revisions of the Unfair Contract Terms Directive and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, particularly their impact on the competitiveness of European contract law.

If you would like to participate in this conference, please email the conference organizers Pietro Sirena (pietro.sirena@unibocconi.it) and Başak Başoğlu (basakbasoglu@gmail.com) by the 20 February 2026 with a working title and a brief description of your paper (50-100 words only). You will hear back from SECOLA organizers shortly afterwards and by March.  

Draft papers will be required prior to the conference and shared with conference participants. A selection of papers from the conference will be published, with expected deadline for final submission being early October 2026.