Call for Papers and Panels: BILETA 2027 Annual Conference on ‘Law, Technology and Education in Uncertain Times’, Glasgow (Hybrid)
Strathclyde Law School, University of Strathclyde.About the conference
The University of Strathclyde will host the 2027 edition of the Annual Conference of the British and Irish Law, Education and Technology Association (BILETA), described by the host as the leading law and technology conference in the UK and Ireland. The conference runs on the Strathclyde campus in Glasgow city centre from Wednesday 7 to Friday 9 April 2027 and will be held in a hybrid format, so papers can be presented either in person or online.
BILETA was formed in April 1986 to promote, develop and communicate high-quality research and knowledge on technology law and policy, and to promote the use of and research into technology at all stages of education. Its annual conference is hosted each year by a different law school. Professor Guido Noto La Diega of the University of Strathclyde chairs the 2027 organising committee.
Theme: Law, Technology and Education in Uncertain Times
BILETA 2027 will explore the evolving relationship between law and technology through the lens of uncertainty. At a time when rapid technological developments challenge established legal categories, institutions and values, the conference invites participants to reflect critically on how law and legal education anticipate, respond to and shape uncertain futures.
The programme will bring together scholars, practitioners and policymakers from across the UK, Ireland and beyond through keynote lectures, parallel sessions, thematic panels and roundtables, with particular attention to interdisciplinary and policy-oriented approaches and to questions of inclusion, responsibility and justice in technological societies.
Sub-themes for submissions
The organisers would be particularly pleased to receive papers engaging with the conference theme, including but not limited to:
- Artificial intelligence and algorithmic uncertainty
- Regulation of emerging technologies
- Data governance, sharing and cloud infrastructures
- Digital markets, competition and platform regulation
- Privacy, surveillance and data protection
- Cybersecurity and cybercrime
- Intellectual property in digital and AI contexts
- Product safety, product liability and high-tech consumer law
- Internet governance and digital constitutionalism
- Human rights, discrimination and technological change
- Legal education, technology-enhanced teaching and the future of the legal professions
- Digital inclusion, inequalities and access to justice
- Algorithmic state and socially progressive technologies
- Interdisciplinary, empirical and policy-oriented approaches to law and technology
- Future technologies and the law, for example quantum, AI of Things, robot companions and hybrid intelligence
- Sustainability, climate technologies and the law
- The future of work and labour in the digital era
- Ireland’s role in the regulation of technology and governance of innovation
- Small nations and big tech: challenges and opportunities
- Decolonising, feminist, queer and other critical approaches to law, technology and innovation
- Legal design, RegTech, legal tech and computational approaches to the law
Who may submit
Contributions are welcome from academics, researchers, practitioners, postgraduate students, policymakers, industry professionals, activists and anyone with an interest in technology and the law, broadly construed. The call states expressly that participants from all countries are warmly invited, so Indian academics and research students may submit.
Anyone who is not a British or Irish citizen will need either a visa or an Electronic Travel Authorisation to enter the UK for in-person attendance. The organisers note that the ETA costs GBP 16 and allows multiple visits of up to six months each; applicants who need a full visa should not apply for an ETA. Online attendance is available for those who prefer not to travel.
Submission process
BILETA invites abstracts of up to 500 words, submitted through the conference’s Microsoft Forms portal. Abstracts may address the overall theme of uncertainty or present original research in any area related to law, technology and legal education. A separate form is provided for those proposing a full thematic panel rather than an individual paper.
Reviewers will assess the originality of the contribution, its significance and timeliness, the clarity of the argument, and its relevance to the conference themes. Authors who wish to be considered for one of the conference prizes should indicate the chosen prize at the point of submission; the same paper cannot be entered for two prizes.
Registration fees
Registration fees for in-person attendance include afternoon tea and coffee on Wednesday, morning and afternoon refreshments and lunch on Thursday and Friday, an invitation to the Civic Reception, and attendance at the Conference Dinner on Thursday evening.
- Full conference, BILETA member: GBP 310 early bird until 4 January 2027, GBP 350 standard
- Full conference, non-member: GBP 380 standard, with no early bird rate
- Full conference, postgraduate or early career: GBP 190 early bird, GBP 210 standard
- Online attendance, member: GBP 190
- Online attendance, non-member: GBP 220
- Online attendance, postgraduate or early career: GBP 120
The registration link is not yet open; the organisers state it is coming soon. There is no fee to submit an abstract.
Fee waivers
To widen participation, the organisers will offer two conference fee waivers for postgraduate research students, for example PhD students, and early career researchers who are care experienced, from a background of socio-economic disadvantage, or from other underrepresented groups. Those interested should email bileta2027-conf@strath.ac.uk to register interest by Monday 23 November 2026, and beneficiaries will be notified by the same date.
Keynote speakers and venue
The announced keynote speakers are the Rt. Hon. Lady Carmichael, a judge of the Inner House of the Court of Session and President of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, and Professor Richard Susskind CBE KC (Hon) FRSE, President of the Society for Computers and Law and for 25 years Technology Adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.
Sessions will take place in the Learning & Teaching Building on the Strathclyde campus, a five to ten minute walk from Glasgow Queen Street and Glasgow Central stations, the airport buses and the underground.
Publication opportunity
Selected papers will be published after the conference in BILETA supported journals. Winning and shortlisted prize papers are put forward for the conference special issue of the European Journal of Law and Technology, subject in each case to the journal’s normal peer review process.