Symposium ‘Apologies & Law: Intersections, Tensions, and Transformation’
(04-05-2026) On Thursday, 23 April 2026, the International Network for Law and Apology Research (INLAR) organized an international multidisciplinary symposium in Ghent.
The symposium ‘Apologies & Law: Intersections, Tensions, and Transformation’ took place at the Faculty of Law and Criminology of Ghent University. It was organized by Wannes Vandenbussche and Sébastien De Rey and marked the first in person meeting of the International Network for Law and Apology Research (INLAR) since the Padua symposium in 2019.
INLAR brings together scholars and practitioners exploring the interplay between Law and Apology. This field is rapidly emerging within the broader, multidisciplinary domain of research, addressing how apologies function in legal contexts, their role in alternative dispute resolution, and their broader impact on justice and reconciliation.
During the symposium, speakers from multiple continents and diverse backgrounds came together, offering perspectives from a wide range of disciplines, not only within the law (ranging from private law to international law), but also psychology, victimology, neuroscience, and communication sciences. More precisely, the following papers were presented:
- Robyn Carroll (University of Western Australia) - Reflections on Law and Apology Research and INLAR: 2013-2026
- Prue Vines (University of New South Wales) - Intersections, tensions and transformation: creating metacognition about apologies
- Nadja Delbarre (Ghent University) - The Weight of Apology: Law, Neuroscience, and the Fractals of Repair
- Christopher P. Reinders Folmer et al (University of Amsterdam) - Repairing Trust Between Individuals and Groups: The Effectiveness of Apologies in Interpersonal and Intergroup Contexts
- An-Sofie Claeys & Laurence Balliu (Ghent University) - The role of apologies in corporate crisis communication: Towards alignment between legal and reputational concerns
- Nicola Brutti (University of Padua) - Apologies as Judicial Remedies: A Layered and Relational Approach
- Albert Ruda (University of Girona) - Apologies as Justice. The Spanish Perspective
- Christian Michael Schmidt (Friedrich Alexander University) - Constitutional Limits of Court-Ordered Apologies: Between Restitution and Truthfulness
- Lesley Wexler & Jennifer K. Robbennolt (University of Illinois) - Non-State Armed Group Apologies and Reparations for Civilian Casualties
- Gema Varona (University of the Basque Country) - The role of apologies to respond to institutional/organizational harm
- George Forji Amin (York St John University) - Colonial Apologies in International Law: Symbolism, Silence, and the Struggle for Reparative Justice
- Majedeh Bozorgi (University of Salamanca) - From Denial to Redress: State Apologies, Judicial Recognition, and Transitional Justice in Iran
- Peter Mascini (Erasmus University Rotterdam) & Femke Ruitenbeek-Bart (Free University of Amsterdam) - Using moral luck theory for an integrated explanation of apology mismatch after personal injury
- Rianka Rijnhout (Utrecht University) & Kiliaan van Wees (Free University of Amsterdam - Recognition for relatives in personal injury cases: does the strict Dutch civil law Affection Damage Compensation Act work?