2024 YCC Conference Call for Papers (and Student Awards Call)

April 4, 2024

The Younger Comparativists Committee (YCC) of the American Society of Comparative Law (ASCL) is pleased to invite submissions for its Thirteenth Annual Conference, to be held in-person in conjunction with the ASCL Annual Meeting from Thursday, October 17 to Saturday, October 19, 2024, at Texas A&M University School of Law, Fort Worth, Texas.

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

Conference Subject-Matter and Eligibility

The main theme for this year’s ASCL Annual Meeting is “Innovation and Sustainability: Comparative Law for a Better World.” Information on the ASCL meeting and conference theme can be found at the following link: https://ascl.org/news/call-for-panel-and-paper-proposals-2024/. Abstract submissions will be accepted from younger scholars on any subject in public or private comparative law. Submissions to the YCC conference may engage with the ASCL’s main theme but may also be situated more broadly within 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, 2014 (i.e., less than 10 years as of June 30, 2024). 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 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.

Please note that requests for stipends do not affect whether your paper will be accepted.

Proposals for fully formed in-person panels are also encouraged. Panel proposals must:

1) center around a common theme;

2) include a confirmed list of panel members;

3) include abstracts for each presenter as well as their institutional affiliation, and contact information; and

4) include the words “Panel Proposal” in the subject line of the 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 May 31, 2024.

Abstracts received thereafter will not be considered.

Attendance Options – Virtual Panels

This year’s annual conference will continue the YCC tradition of in-person conversation. While we strongly encourage participants to join us in Fort Worth, we recognize that in-person attendance can be prohibitive. To that end, we will also accept submissions for fully formed virtual panels. Panel chairs for all virtual panels will be responsible for providing Zoom or Teams links that will be listed in the program. The YCC will not be able to provide technical support for virtual sessions, participants, or panel chairs.

Proposals for fully formed virtual panels should include the same information as in-person panel proposals described above but should also indicate the host of the panel and whether it will be hosted via Zoom or Teams.

Notification

Authors of the submissions selected for the conference will be notified no later than July 15, 2024.

There will be no registration fee for YCC participants to attend the YCC conference, but participants are strongly encouraged to register to attend the ASCL Annual Meeting, which does require a small fee. 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.

All scholars selected for the conference—other than students who wish to be considered for the Phanor J. Eder undergraduate or Colin B. Picker graduate student prizes listed below (and who each have earlier deadlines)—must submit final papers by email to ycc@ascl.org no later than September 20, 2024.

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 August 15, 2024, 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., LL.B., or other student who has not yet completed their first law degree as of May 31, 2024. 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 May 31, 2024 via an e-mail 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 2024 YCC conference to be considered.

Acknowledgements and Questions

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

YCC Committee

Michael Da Silva, Co-Chair      

Clare Ryan, Co-Chair    
Alyssa King, Treasurer
Yueh-Ping (Alex) Yang, Vice-Chair

Zehra Kavame