CCIL - CCDI 2026

Name: CCIL - CCDI 2026
Start: 2026-10-29T12:00:00Z
End: 2026-10-30T22:00:00Z

October 29-30, 2026

The CCIL Conference Organizing Committee welcomes proposals in relation to specific fields of international law, including (but not limited to) health, human rights, trade and investment, environment, climate justice, sustainable development, Indigenous rights, security, humanitarian law, criminal justice, accountability and dispute resolution.

THEME
Bend, Not Break: Resilience and Evolution of International Law

The past decade has witnessed multiple attempts to undermine or revisit international law’s foundational norms, structures, and processes. International law is increasingly called into question, leaving actors within the international legal order, as well as practitioners and scholars, to try to reclaim and restructure the system. The seriousness of the moment we find ourselves in has been precipitated by a series of crises that demand greater international, regional, and bilateral collaboration and cooperation, including the proliferation of armed conflicts, climate emergency, trade wars, cyber-attacks, and AI regulation. Whether this moment is an opportunity, an obituary, or a mixture of both remains to be seen.

The theme of this year’s conference is Bend, Not Break: Resilience and Evolution of International Law. It seeks to challenge both the supposed post-mortem of the international legal order since 1945 and the notion that it no longer resonates with certain states and peoples worldwide. The conference will test the extent to which the international legal order can adapt to new challenges without sacrificing its foundations. We will gather subject-matter experts - including practitioners, scholars, diplomats, and government officials - to discuss the significant shifts at play, their impacts, and how those effects might be mitigated, exploited, or resisted. The menu for this year’s conference will undoubtedly include the rules restraining the use of force and conduct during armed conflicts, agreements on climate change management, norms on trade and tariffs, and traditional international alliances and power balances.

CCIL is committed to including voices from communities and spaces that are not always heard, as well as to facilitating participation in both of Canada’s official languages. Presentations may be delivered in English or in French. Efforts will be made to include racialized and Indigenous voices, as well as early-career researchers, in the conference.

Complete the application by Monday, May 18, 2026, 11:30 PM (ET).

Each year, we receive many more proposals than could be presented over the two days of the conference. The committee will use the following criteria when reviewing proposals:

Proposals that showcase a broad spectrum of perspectives, including but not limited to gender, ethnicity, and expertise.
Proposals that have, among other things, a balanced perspective on panels as warranted.
Consistency with theme: Priority will be given to those proposals that are consistent with and directly address the conference theme.
Originality of topic or approach: Does the proposal consider the theme from a novel perspective?
Extra consideration will be given to proposals which aim to engage the live audience in original ways.
Speaker notability, diversity and confirmation status: Are the session speakers identified? Are they noted or original voices in their field? Do they represent a suitable cross-section of international legal professionals or academics? Are they confirmed and committed to participating, subject to precise scheduling?
Overall diversity of session topics: With the intent of ensuring that the Conference addresses the professional and academic interests and needs of as broad a range of international lawyers as possible, attention will be paid to ensuring overall diversity of topics discussed at the Conference.
Extra consideration will be given to proposals that satisfy the criteria for eligibility for EDI accreditation by the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) and convey the willingness of the panel to work with the LSO to get the panel accredited. Equal consideration will be given to proposals that satisfy the criteria for accreditation in other provinces, provided that the proposal clearly lays out the basis for that accreditation and stipulates that the necessary administrative steps will be undertaken by the panel.
Each session may have a maximum of 5 (five) participants - comprised of a chair (moderator) plus 4 speakers.
Panels with confirmed speakers will be prioritized for acceptance.
Please note that this is not a call for individual presentations.