Marco Mazzocca and Miriam Ferraro organize a workshop on “Law Observed – Sociological Methods and Empirical Research on Law,” which will take place at the IVR World Congress in Istanbul from June 28 to July 3, 2026.
Abstracts can be submitted until May 30, 2026. The call reads:
We invite abstracts for the Special Workshop SW42 “Law Observed: Sociological Methods and Empirical Research on Law,” to be held at the IVR World Congress 2026 in Istanbul.
The workshop addresses the relationship between legal theory and empirical inquiry, with particular attention to the methodological and epistemological implications of studying law as a socially embedded practice. It seeks to foster dialogue between legal philosophy, socio-legal studies, and empirical legal research.
Key questions include how empirical approaches to law can inform, challenge, or complement conceptual and normative accounts of legal systems, authority, and decision-making. Rather than presupposing a strict separation between normative and empirical perspectives, the workshop explores their points of interaction and tension.
We welcome abstracts engaging with, among others:
- methodological and epistemological issues in socio-legal research
- the concept of law as a social practice
- legal reasoning, decision-making, and institutional practice
- law, inequality, migration, and citizenship
- biolaw and sociology of health
- technology, AI, and the transformation of legal practices
Abstracts (300–400 words), together with affiliation and short bio, should be sent to miriam.ferraro@unife.it by 30 May 2026.
Selected contributors will be invited to present their work at the workshop. Contributions may be considered for publication in a collective volume or special issue.
Further information: https://coin-project.org