The Lighthouse Function of Social Law

In cooperation with BEGASOZ and ISLSSL, the LIISA social law research unit of Ghent University organises the XIV the European congress of ISLSSL dedicated to the interaction between social law and other areas of law. Social law is not an isolated domain but rather interacts and exchanges with other fields, often even functioning as a guide or giving direction to those lost at sea. In other words: a lighthouse. This conference will shed light on a broad range of subjects, the key question being the existence of a connection between social law sensu stricto (labour law and social security law) and other areas of law.

In recent times, labour law and social security law have been subject to many reforms. Some even say that this area of law is in a crisis. To get an overall picture of the current evolutions in relation to other areas of law, LIISA | Lab for International & Interdisciplinary Social Affairs dedicates a three-day congress to this theme. Can we, by looking at these evolutions, draw certain conclusions at an innovative scientific level? For instance, what is the role of basic legal principles in those interactions? Are there any recurring similar basic principles or legal mechanisms?

We invite you to embark on our journey to discover, together, how social law constitutes a lighthouse to other areas of law. We encourage proposals that address topical and challenging issues around four broad topics. We in particular encourage an inter- and multidisciplinary approach. The conference aims to give young researchers the opportunity to exchange their ideas. In order to enable a global discussion, papers can be presented in four languages: English, French, German or Spanish.

Read more on our conference website

The four points of our compass

The Lighthouse Function of Social Law Congress will be oriented towards four broad topics:

• Basic and fundamental principles in European social law
• Enforcement in social law
• The future in the light of the past
• The impact of regionalisation

Read our programme

Submission

Interested participants should mail the following information to conferencebooksociallaw2023@ugent.be:

• title of the paper
• language of the paper: one of the four conference languages (English, German, French, Spanish)
• an abstract of no more than 500 words
• the name of the author, affiliation and biographical details
• your contact details

Deadlines

• Abstracts should be sent in by 13 March 2022.
• Decision on acceptation abstracts by 27 March 2022.
• Contributions should be sent in by 1 December 2022.

Publication

• Accepted authors will receive the author’s instructions.
• After a positive peer review, accepted papers will be published in the conference book, which will be available at the conference itself (publication by an international high-standing publisher in English), or will be published in international journals (all conference languages).
• All abstracts are reviewed by the Scientific Board of the conference (and other international experts).

Scientific Board

• Yves Jorens - Professor of (European) Social Law and Social Criminal Law at Ghent University (Belgium)
• Alexander De Becker - Professor of Labour Law at Ghent University (Belgium)
• Ana Belén Muñoz Ruiz - Professor of Labour Law and Social Security Law at the Charles III University of Madrid (Spain)
• Stefano Giubboni - Professor of Labour Law at the University of Perugia (Italy)
• Fabienne Kéfer - Professor of Labour Law at the University of Liège (Belgium)
• Kristina Koldinská - Professor of Labour Law and Social Security Law at the Charles University of Prague (Czech Republic)
• Jens Kristiansen - Professor of Labour Law at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
• Claire La Hovary - senior legal specialist at the International Labour Organisation
• Kurt Pärli - Professor of Social Private Law at the University of Basel (Switzerland)
• Grega Strban - Professor of Social Security Law at the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia)