Call for Abstracts: TU-CALS Symposium 2027 on Legal Certainty in Asian Contexts, Thammasat University, Bangkok (No Fee, Accommodation Provided)
Thammasat University Faculty of Law & NUS Centre for Asian Legal Studies.About the symposium
The Faculty of Law at Thammasat University and the Centre for Asian Legal Studies (CALS) at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore are co-organising the second edition of the Thammasat University Faculty of Law – Centre for Asian Legal Studies (TU-CALS) Symposium. The 2027 Symposium will be held in person on 10 and 11 June 2027 at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand.
The theme this year is Legal Certainty in Asian Contexts. Asian legal systems carry indigenous, customary, religious, socialist and Western legal traditions, and long interaction between them has produced plural legal landscapes across the region. The Symposium asks how legal certainty is understood, experienced and negotiated across Asian jurisdictions, and what that diversity means for the certainty, predictability and reliability of law.
Suggested topics
Submissions are invited across all areas of law. Papers taking a comparative view across common law and civil law jurisdictions are particularly welcome. Authors may consider:
- Conceptions of legal certainty, predictability and reliability in Asian legal systems
- Legal pluralism and the interaction between different legal traditions
- Judicial interpretation, precedent and the role of courts in shaping legal certainty
- Administrative discretion, regulatory flexibility and the rule of law
- Legal change, regulatory innovation and the management of uncertainty
The list is not exhaustive. Papers on other dimensions of legal certainty relevant to Asian jurisdictions are also welcome.
Who may submit
The Symposium is open to senior academics as well as PhD candidates and other early career researchers. The call places no nationality or jurisdiction restriction, so researchers based in India may submit on the same terms as anyone else.
The organisers state plainly that the Symposium is not intended for LLM candidates or undergraduate students.
What to submit
Submit the following through the online abstract form:
- Name, affiliation and contact details of all authors and co-authors
- The title of the proposed paper
- An abstract of no more than 500 words outlining the proposed paper
Successful participants must then submit a working paper of at least 5,000 words (excluding footnotes) by 10 May 2027, a month before the Symposium, so that participants can read and engage with each other's papers in advance.
Fee, food and accommodation
There is no conference fee. Attendees will be provided with food and accommodation at Thammasat University for the duration of the Symposium, but must meet their own travel and other expenses.
Deadline note
Abstracts close at 2359H Singapore Time (GMT+8) on 18 October 2026, which is 9:29 pm IST on 18 October. Outcomes will be communicated by 15 November 2026.
Organising committee
- Thammasat University Faculty of Law: Assistant Professor Amnart Tangkiriphimarn and Assistant Professor Lasse Schuldt
- Centre for Asian Legal Studies, NUS: Associate Professor Jaclyn Neo, Toh Ding Jun, Lee Jo Yee, Claire Chang and Anny Shan