Between June 17th and 20th, 2026, the Institute of Advanced Studies will host the international academic colloquium “Advanced Faculty Colloquium – Law in a Changing World,” organised jointly by the Institute for Global Law & Policy at Harvard Law School, the Center for Global Law and Justice at Northeastern University School of Law, and the EF Center for Global & Multi-level Governance at Nicolaus Copernicus University.
Advanced Faculty Colloquium – Law in a Changing World
17
June
EVENT
The colloquium provides an opportunity for international debate on the role of law in a world of shifting power dynamics, economic interdependencies, geopolitical tensions, and new technologies.
The event will focus on the most significant challenges facing contemporary law in the context of dynamic political, social, economic, and technological changes. Participants will discuss, among other topics, global hierarchies and the changing architecture of the world order, contemporary understandings of development, the relationship between law and politics, post-Soviet spaces, authoritarianism, and the role of identity in the analysis of contemporary socio-political processes.
The event will feature researchers representing renowned academic institutions from Europe, the United States, and other parts of the world, including Harvard Law School, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Northeastern University School of Law, SOAS University of London, University of Cambridge, Sciences Po Law School, New York University, University of Texas at Austin, Queen Mary University of London, and the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.
One of the highlights of the programme will be the public lecture “Subjects of Change: Technology, Law and Culture”, to be delivered by Prof. Sheila Jasanoff of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. The lecture will take place on June 18th 2026 from 5.00 pm to 6.00 pm in the Darwin Hall at the Faculty of Biological and Veterinary Sciences.
The colloquium will culminate in an open panel discussion entitled “Law, Power and Politics in a Rapidly Shifting Global Architecture”, scheduled for June 20th 2026 from 5.00 pm to 6.30 pm at the Collegium Maximum. The panel will feature, among others, Prof. Günter Frankenberg, Prof. David Kennedy, Prof. Marcin Kilanowski and Prof. Vasuki Nesiah, with Prof. Michał Balcerzak moderating the discussion.
The colloquium is funded by the IDUB programme.
Practical information
- Date:
- 17 Jun 2026 – 20 Jun 2026
- Location:
- Darwin Hall at the Faculty of Biological and Veterinary Sciences, IAS@NCU
Speaker
Sheila Jasanoff
Bio:
Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School. A pioneer in the social sciences, she explores the role of science and technology in the law, politics, and policy of modern democracies. Her books include The Fifth Branch, Science at the Bar, Designs on Nature, The Ethics of Invention, and Can Science Make Sense of Life? She founded and directs the STS Program at Harvard, where she also formed the Science and Democracy Network.
Speaker
David Kennedy
Bio:
Manley O. Hudson Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Institute for Global Law and Policy at Harvard Law School where he teaches international law, international economic policy, legal theory, law and development, and European law. His research uses interdisciplinary materials from sociology and social theory, economics, and history to explore issues of global governance, development policy, and the nature of professional expertise. He has been particularly committed to developing new voices from the third world and among women in international affairs.
Speaker
Günter Frankenberg
Bio:
Emeritus Professor of Public Law, Legal Philosophy, and Comparative Law at the Faculty of Law of Goethe University Frankfurt. A leading scholar in constitutional theory and comparative constitutionalism, his work examines the relationship between law, politics, and society, with particular attention to constitutionalism, authoritarianism, democracy, migration, and the role of law in shaping social and political order. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including Authoritarianism: Constitutional Perspectives (2020), which explores the constitutional dimensions of contemporary authoritarian regimes.
Speaker
Vasuki Nesiah
Bio:
Teaches human rights, legal and social theory at NYU Gallatin where she is also faculty director of the Gallatin Global Fellowship in Human Rights. She has published on the history and politics of human rights, humanitarianism, international criminal law, reparations, global feminisms, and decolonization. Nesiah was awarded the Gallatin Distinguished Teacher Award in 2021 and the NYU Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Faculty Award in 2020. Her current book projects include International Conflict Feminism (forthcoming from University of Pennsylvania Press) and Reading the Ruins: Colonialism, Slavery, and International Law.
A founding member of Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), she is co-editing TWAIL: A Handbook with Anthony Anghie, Bhupinder Chimni, Michael Fakhri, and Karin Mickelson (forthcoming from Elgar).
