2026 YCC Conference Call for Papers (and Student Awards Call)

June 11, 2026

The Younger Comparativists Committee (YCC) of the American Society of Comparative Law (ASCL) and the Center for International & Comparative Law of Duke Law School are pleased to invite submissions for YCC’s Fifteenth Annual Conference, to be held in person on November 7, 2026, at Durham, North Carolina, at Duke University.  

The purpose of the conference is to highlight, develop, and promote the scholarship of younger scholars of comparative law.

Conference Subject-Matter and Eligibility

Abstract submissions will be accepted from younger scholars on any subject in public or private comparative law.  

For the purposes of the YCC conference, “younger scholars” are defined as graduate students, law teachers, lecturers, fellows, and other scholars, provided that they have not held a full-time academic position since before July 1, 2016 (i.e., less than 10 years as of June 30, 2026).  Submissions from full-time faculty, research fellows, and graduate students are equally welcome.

Submission Instructions

Abstracts should reflect original research that will not yet have been published but may have been accepted for publication. To submit, scholars should include:

1) a 250-word abstract in the body of an email, as well as in an attachment (Microsoft Word or PDF), to ycc@ascl.org;

2) the author’s name, title of the paper, institutional affiliation, contact information, and three to five keywords;

3) certification that they qualify as a younger scholar or are a graduate student; and

4) a statement concerning whether they will be requesting a travel stipend.

Proposals for fully formed panels are accepted.  Panels must center around a common theme and include a confirmed list of panel members, abstracts for each presenter, and other required information.  Please include the words “Panel Proposal” in the subject line of your email.

Each scholar may make only one submission.  Both individual and co-authored submissions will be accepted.  For co-authored submissions, both authors must qualify as younger comparativists.  The conference’s Program Subcommittee will assign individual and co-authored submissions to thematic panels according to subject area.

The deadline for submission is July 15, 2026. Abstracts received thereafter will not be considered. 

Notification

Authors of the submissions selected for the conference will be notified no later than August 10, 2026.

There will be no registration fee for YCC participants to attend the YCC program, but participants are responsible for securing their own funding for travel, lodging, and other incidental expenses.  Partial travel stipends may be awarded to those who indicate financial need. Priority will be given to faculty and students of ASCL Member Institutions, and thereafter to authors from non-Member institutions. If you would like to be considered for a travel stipend, please make that request in your submission and indicate your institution’s status. Priority for stipends will also be given to those who identify the need for funding in their initial submission.

Paper Prizes

Colin B. Picker Graduate Student Prize

The YCC will award the Colin B. Picker Prize for the best paper submitted by a graduate student.  To be considered for the award, in addition to submitting an abstract by the above deadline, graduate students whose abstracts are accepted for the conference must also submit their papers in their final form by September 7, 2026, to ycc@ascl.org with the following subject line: “Submission for Graduate Student Prize.”

Phanor J. Eder Prize in Comparative Law

The YCC will award the Phanor J. Eder Prize for the best paper submitted by a J.D., B.A., or LL.B. or other student who has not yet completed their first law degree as of September 1, 2026.  The author(s) of the winning paper will receive a modest stipend to help defray the costs of attending the conference and presenting the paper there.  

Those wishing to participate for this prize should also submit their paper by September 7, 2026, via email to ycc@ascl.org with the subject line: “Submission for Phanor J. Eder Prize”. The email should state each author’s name and law school contact information, the title of the paper, and a certification that each author satisfies the eligibility criteria set out above. The paper should be attached to this email in Microsoft Word or PDF format. Papers must be no more than 15,000 words (excluding footnotes). Submissions should reflect original research that will not yet have been published by the time of the conference, although it may have been accepted for publication. Applicants to the prize do not have to apply to the 2026 YCC conference to be considered.

Acknowledgments and Questions

The Younger Comparativists Committee gratefully acknowledges the support of Duke Law School and the American Society of Comparative Law.  Please direct all inquiries to the YCC Committee by email to ycc@ascl.org.

The Program Committee:

Shitong Qiao, Ken Young-Gak Yun and Jinah Park Yun Distinguished Professor, Duke Law School (Chair)

Yueh-Ping (Alex) Yang, Associate Professor, National Taiwan University College of Law

Zehra G Kavame Eroglu, Senior Lecturer, Deakin Law School

Alan K. Koh, Assistant Professor of Business Law, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Business School

Akshat Agarwal, Drinan Visiting Assistant Professor, Boston College Law School

Guanchi Zhang, Associate Professor, Vermont Law and Graduate School

Tamar Groswald Ozery, Associate Professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Asian Studies

Toshiaki Yamanaka, Associate Professor, University of Tsukuba Institute of Business Sciences

YCC Committee:

Yueh-Ping (Alex) Yang, Associate Professor, National Taiwan University College of Law (Co-Chair)

Zehra G Kavame Eroglu, Senior Lecturer, Deakin Law School (Co-Chair)

Alan K. Koh, Assistant Professor of Business Law, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Business School (Vice-Chair)

Akshat Agarwal, Drinan Visiting Assistant Professor, Boston College Law School (Treasurer)

Guanchi Zhang, Associate Professor, Vermont Law and Graduate School (Committee Member)