Call for Papers: International Conference on Law, Language and Literature at NLIU, Bhopal [Offline; 6-7 Feb 2027]

The Centre for Law and Literature (CFLL) at the National Law Institute University (NLIU), Bhopal, is organising a two-day International Conference on Law, Language and Literature on February 6–7, 2027. The conference is dedicated to the memory of Late Prof. (Dr.) Mukesh Srivastava, who served NLIU as Professor of English.

The conference aims to bring together scholars, academicians and practitioners to explore the relationships between law, language and literature, and to address emerging challenges and innovations across these disciplines. It will feature keynote speeches, paper presentations and panel discussions.

The National Law Institute University is a law school in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, established in 1997. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate law programmes, P.G. Diploma programmes and Ph.D. programmes.

The principal themes for paper presentation are suggestive. Participants may choose their own topic under the broad area of Law and Literature.

• Legal language, legalese and plain-language law
• Law, literature and legal interpretation
• Artificial intelligence, legal reasoning and literary creativity
• Law, language, translation and multilingualism
• Literature, law and access to justice
• History, mythology, fiction and legal imagination
• Censorship, freedom of expression and artistic representation
• Law, cinema, music and popular culture
• Copyright, authorship and the legal protection of literature
• Poetic, restorative and retributive justice
• Post-truth, narrative, evidence and public belief
• Literature’s influence on law-making and social transformation

National and international scholars, faculty members, researchers, students, legal practitioners, English language professionals and writers engaged in academic or professional work in law, language, literature and allied disciplines are welcome.

Co-authorship is allowed for up to two authors only. Co-authors must register and pay for the conference separately.

• Length of abstract: 250-300 words.
• Word limit for full paper: 3000-5000 words.
• All abstracts and full papers will be checked for similarity; a similarity index of less than 10% is permissible.
• Referencing style: APA / OSCOLA 4th Edition.
• Detailed submission guidelines for the presentation and final paper will be shared after abstracts are selected.

Abstracts must be submitted through the Google Form linked in the brochure. The document should be saved with the name of the submission, the name of the participant and the title of the paper, for example: Abstract - B. Dhruva- Law, Language and Literature.

All official communication is to be addressed to cfll@nliu.ac.in.

• Paper presenters: INR 1500 for Faculty/Professional/Writers; INR 1000 for Students (Undergraduates, Masters and Research Scholars).
• Non-paper presenters: INR 1000 for Faculty/Professional/Writers; INR 500 for Students.
• Foreign presenters: USD 70 for Faculty/Professional/Writers; USD 35 for Students.

Details of the registration process and fee payment will be communicated separately to authors whose abstracts are accepted.

On-campus accommodation is limited and will be allotted on a first-come, first-served basis: Rs. 1500 per presenter (Faculty) or USD 20 (Foreign Faculty) for single occupancy, and Rs. 1000 per presenter (Students) or USD 15 (Foreign Students) for double occupancy. Accommodation is provided for the conference dates; additional nights may be arranged on payment of additional charges. Participants may also stay at nearby hotels, and transportation will be provided from these hotels to NLIU on the conference dates.

Abstracts selected for the conference will be included in the conference proceedings. A limited number of papers presented at the conference may be considered for publication in a peer-reviewed journal or in a university publication carrying an ISBN, subject to the applicable editorial and review processes.

• Last date for submission of abstracts: 15 November 2026
• Notification of abstract acceptance: 20 November 2026
• Last date for registration: 30 November 2026
• Last date for full-paper submission: 25 January 2027
• Conference: 6-7 February 2027

Email cfll@nliu.ac.in for official communication. Student convenors: Mr. Priyam Soni (+91 9695805717), Ms. Soumyya Khanna (+91 8595975743) and Ms. Ananya Gupta (+91 8791298597). Faculty convenor: Dr. Narasinga Rao Barnikana, narasingarao@nliu.ac.in.