Call for papers: International Law Workshop in honour of Sir Ian Brownlie QC

The University of Oxford's Faculty of Law, All Souls College, and Wadham College will host a one-day, in-person, workshop on 18 June 2026 in honour of Sir Ian Brownlie CBE, QC, FBA. Sir Ian was a Fellow in Law at Wadham College from 1963-1976, Chichele Professor of Public International Law from 1980-1999, and Emeritus and then Distinguished Fellow of All Souls from 1999-2010, as well as being a pre-eminent practitioner of international law. We are able to run the workshop owing to the generous support of Lady Christine Brownlie.

The workshop will mark Sir Ian’s pre-eminent contributions to scholarship and practice in international law. We invite applications from researchers working on topics within three areas, on each of which Sir Ian made an enduring mark on the law. These are (a) the law of State responsibility; (b) the use of force in international law; and (c) territorial boundaries. 

The workshop is for early-career researchers, including doctoral students and independent scholars. The idea is to create a space where researchers working on these topics enjoy close, substantive engagement with their work in progress. Six presenters will be selected, each of whom will be paired with a respondent for the workshop. We encourage submissions from researchers with identities and from backgrounds under-represented in international law.

Abstracts of no more than 400 words together with a short résumé should be submitted by 12 March 2026 to Declan King – declan.king@law.ox.ac.uk – (please indicate ‘Brownlie workshop abstract’ in the subject line). If selected, participants will then be asked to circulate a draft of the paper by 15 May 2026. We are able to assist with reasonable travel and accommodation costs.