Call for Papers: MEDLAWCON 2027 on Medical Law, Policy and Ethics at GNLU Gandhinagar [Offline, 30-31 January 2027; Abstracts by 20 November 2026]

The GNLU Centre for Healthcare, Ethics, Legal Advocacy, and Policy Research (G-HELP) at Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, hosts MEDLAWCON 2027, a national conference on medical law, policy and ethics, on 30–31 January 2027. It is described as a national platform for examining the intersection of medicine, law, ethics and public policy.

With healthcare systems facing rapid technology integration, shifting regulatory frameworks and complex bioethical challenges, the conference brings together legal scholars, medical practitioners, policymakers, researchers, bioethicists and students. It serves as an interdisciplinary forum to analyse contemporary legal and policy reforms and to address challenges in public health and healthcare governance.

1. Intellectual Property, Medicines, and the Right to Health

• Patents, compulsory licensing, and access to affordable essential medicines
• Vaccine access, global supply chains, and TRIPS flexibilities
• Evergreening strategies, pharmaceutical patent jurisprudence, and drug price regulation
• Legal mechanisms under the WHO Pandemic Agreement and future global health emergencies

2. Environment and Public Health

• Legal dimensions of environmental disease burdens and ecological health hazards
• Urban planning, municipal finance, and sustainable waste management
• Air pollution mitigation, climate change resilience, and state liability for environmental health harm
• Protection and integration of traditional health knowledge systems

3. Women’s Health and Reproductive Rights

• Structural maternal health disparities and systemic healthcare access gaps
• Critical analysis of pro-natalist policies, abortion rights, and bodily autonomy
• Legal, ethical, and regulatory frameworks governing IVF, ART, and the Surrogacy Act, 2021
• Implementation, enforcement challenges, and compliance under the PCPNDT Act

4. Sports Medicine and Anti-Doping

• Global governance under the World Anti-Doping Code, 2027, and the National Anti-Doping Act, 2022
• Protecting athlete autonomy, rights, and mental health in high-performance sports
• Legal, ethical, and biological criteria regarding transgender athletes in female categories
• Team physicians’ legal duty of care, confidentiality, and conflict of interest

5. Disability, Medicine, and the Law

• Shifting paradigms: Social vs. medical models of disability in legal systems
• Legal capacity, supported decision-making, and informed consent in medical treatment
• Eradicating institutional discrimination in healthcare access and insurance coverage
• Application of universal design in medical facilities and technology
• Bioethical considerations in end-of-life decisions, psychiatric care, and mental health rehabilitation reforms

6. Healthcare, Markets, and the Law

• Health technology integration, telemedicine guidelines, and the rise of e-pharmacies
• Artificial Intelligence in clinical diagnostics, liability allocation, and medical malpractice
• Health data governance, patient privacy, and cybersecurity compliance
• Impact of private equity investments, hospital pricing transparency, and health insurance regulation
• Regulatory frameworks for medical tourism and cross-border healthcare delivery

7. Health Law, Ethics, and Policy

• National Health Mission implementation and public health infrastructure evaluation
• Regulatory enforcement under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954
• Legal standards of state liability for systemic public health failures and negligence
• Medical negligence jurisprudence and protective measures against violence against healthcare professionals
• Legalization and procedural safeguards for euthanasia, palliative care, and organ donation
• Gender-affirming care regulations and public health policies for sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
• Ethical duties under the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002

The organisers invite original, unpublished scholarly work, case studies and policy evaluations under three categories.

• Research Articles: comprehensive analytical papers offering original insights or empirical research on the conference themes.
• Review Articles: critical evaluations and literature reviews of existing legal frameworks, judicial precedents or healthcare policies.
• Poster Submissions: visual representations of research projects, empirical surveys or legal-ethical case analyses.

MEDLAWCON 2027 welcomes an interdisciplinary audience.

• Academicians, legal scholars and university faculty
• Medical practitioners, doctors and healthcare administrators
• Legal practitioners, judges and corporate legal counsels
• Policymakers, government officials and regulatory representatives
• Researchers, bioethicists and public health professionals
• Representatives from NGOs, patient advocacy groups and civil society organizations
• Undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students in law, medicine, public health, allied sciences and humanities

• Abstract: submit an abstract aligned with any of the conference themes through the abstract submission form on or before 20 November 2026.
• Acceptance: authors of accepted abstracts are notified by 5 December 2026.
• Full paper: final manuscripts must be submitted by 4 January 2027.
• Registration: participants and paper presenters must complete registration and payment through the official registration and payment portal between 15 October 2026 and 25 December 2026.

The notice does not state the amount of the registration fee; please check the brochure and the registration portal for the fee and payment details.

• Registration window: 15 October 2026 – 25 December 2026
• Abstract submission deadline: 20 November 2026
• Notification of abstract acceptance: 5 December 2026
• Final manuscript submission deadline: 4 January 2027
• Conference: 30–31 January 2027

The conference is held at the GNLU Campus, Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Attalika Avenue, Knowledge Corridor, Koba, Gandhinagar, Gujarat – 382426.

For administrative, submission or registration queries, write to medlawcon@gnlu.ac.in (Organising Committee, MEDLAWCON 2027). Student coordinators listed in the brochure are Ms. Bhawna Tanwar, Convenor, G-HELP (+91 89209 37300) and Ms. Parvathi Menon, Convenor, G-HELP (+91 79074 37429).