VUB Contextual Research in Law

We are taking some time off with the end of the teaching Semester. Enjoy the holidays to slow down and relax. Back on 5 January 2026 .

  (image source ( ACFHAB ) The Conference of Historical and Archaeological Societies of Belgium, which held its most recent assembly in Tournai in August 2021 and started its cycle in 1889, will convene at the Palace of the Academies in Brussels from 20 to 23 August 2026 , with the support of the French-Speaking Community of Belgium, the Académie Royale de Belgique, urban.brussels, and the City of Brussels. The section for institutional and legal history (presided by Prof. em. Jean-Marie Cauchies/ARB; vice-presidents: dr. Marc Ronvaux, Prof. Frederik Dhondt ; secretary: dr. Nicolas Simon) welcomes proposals by 6 April 2026 .  Any topic in institutional and legal history may be presented, in French, Dutch or German . The call is also open to recent graduates who have completed their MA thesis. Abstracts ought to count 20 lines . Those interested in presenting can contact frederik dot dhondt at vub dot be. A website for abstract submission will be operative in January 2026.

  The Faculty of Law and Criminology of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is proud to announce the very first edition of the NextGen Legal Scholars Conference (NLSC). This doctoral conference will take place on Friday March 20 th 2026 in Brussels (BE), featuring a fully in-person programme of keynote speeches and thematic panels . NLSC 2026 invites predoctoral and early postdoctoral legal researchers (within 2 years of finishing PhD) to reflect on the evolving role of law in times of structural uncertainty. Global crises are challenging the capacity of legal systems to maintain justice and stability. Ongoing wars and occupations have raised complex international law questions, such as the legality of interventions, state sovereignty, and the protection of human rights during armed conflicts. Populist and authoritarian regimes are continuously contesting democratic values and the rule of law, both on a domestic and international level. Deepening socioeconomic inequalities ha...

  The European Research Council awarded Prof. Frederik Dhondt with a prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant for the proposal TREATYLAB (“The Labyrinth of Treaties, 1712-1763”. International Law Behind the Scenes of Early Enlightenment Diplomacy"). Proposal abstract: The past of international law (the law produced and applicable between polities) is studied from various disciplinary perspectives. Our scholarly image prior to 1870 mainly rests on accounts of philosophy and theory, or the published final product of negotiations, treaties. This image ought to be corrected. International law is continuously produced and interpreted by the actors. The advisory work of Nicolas-Louis Le Dran (1687-1774), top civil servant in the forerunner of the French Foreign Ministry (bureaux des affaires étrangères) contains hundreds of substantial works drawn up on the basis of diplomatic correspondence and treaties, but also doctrine. Le Dran composed forward-looking advice for political decision maker...

  (image source: oldbelgianlaw ) Our former voluntary associate dr. Brecht Deseure published a precious volume in 2020, containing drafts and proposals for the Belgian Constitution of 1831 with the Royal Commission for the Publication of Old Laws and Ordinances of Belgium. This work is now available in open access. More information here .

  (image source: Bloomsbury ) Dr. Raphaël Cahen contributed a chapter on "Joseph Marie Portalis (1778–1858) as Advocate of Constitutional Monarchism". On the volume: This two-volume study sees contributors from the UK, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Singapore and ten countries from across mainland Europe analyse how monarchy has been theorized and implemented in the Atlantic world from the birth of conservatism during the French Revolution to the present day. Using monarchy as a lens, it also provides an original exploration of how conservatism, often branded as reactive, can be viewed as a continual response to, and reinterpretation of, pivotal social and political events over the longue durée. The Making of Modern Atlantic Monarchies shows that 1789, the Bourbons' return, the 1848 revolutions, the US Civil War, World War I, the rise and fall of fascism and other events became catalysts that triggered conservative thought and waves of traditionalist renovations - often posing...