Call for papers

CALL FOR PAPERS: Winter School - Environment, Law, and Society

December 20 

The Centre Marc Bloch (CMB) and the Integrative Research Institute Law and Society (LSI) of Humboldt University are pleased to invite PhD students to submit abstracts for the International Winter School “Environment, Law, and Society”, which they will host in partnership with the Oxford Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS).


This interdisciplinary event will take place in Berlin from March 19 to March 21, 2025.


Gathering early-career researchers from different countries and different disciplines, the Winter School will aim at investigating the complex relationship between nature, society, and law. Engaging with key concepts and contemporary academic debates, it will foster an international dialogue on the socio-legal challenges inherent in the regulation of environmental issues. In so doing, it will offer a cross-cutting approach to research questions surrounding legal systems and societies in their relationship with the environment.


Promoting an interdisciplinary approach at the crossroads of law and social sciences, we warmly welcome contributions addressing practical as well as theoretical aspects of environmental topics, including (but not limited to):

  •  Environmental commons;
  •  Evolutions of legal norms and principles;
  •  Multi-level governance of ecological matters;
  •  Legal remedies, compensatory measures, loss and damages;
  •  Animal rights and biodiversity conservation;
  •  Social movements for environmental protection;
  •  Legal questions surrounding sustainable finance;
  • Environmental ethics;
  •  Just transitions and notions of environmental / climate / energy justice;
  • Environmental constitutionalism;
  •  Geopolitics and environmental / climate / energy security.


To tackle these complex topics, the Winter School will proceed as follows:

  • All the participants will have the opportunity to present their ongoing work.
  •  Invited keynote speakers will deliver insightful lectures based on their own work.
  •  Open discussions will take place in between working sessions in order to exchange and develop new research ideas.


How to apply? Any PhD student interested to take part in the Winter School must send an abstract of their ongoing work (English, 300 words max.) and a short academic CV by December 20 at 12:00 (UTC+1), as a single pdf file to: ertug.tombus@hu-berlin.de


Partial travel grants might be allocated to applicants whose participation in the Winter School cannot be financially supported by their home institution. Please indicate in your email if this applies to you.

We are looking forward to receiving your abstracts and to welcoming you to an exciting and enriching Winter School experience!