Call for Papers: Money: Private Law and Regulation at HKU, Hong Kong [offline; 17-18 June 2027]

The Asian Institute of International Financial Law (AIIFL) and the Centre for Private Law (CPL), with the support of the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong (HKU Law), are launching Law in the Interstices, a conference series on core legal questions that require legal analyses beyond disciplinary boundaries. Each edition takes up one theme and aims to produce an edited volume. The first, Money: Private Law and Regulation, will be held on 17 – 18 June 2027.

Money is one of the oldest objects of legal thought, and its legal nature, functions and treatment continue to evolve. New forms of private money, public digital currencies and the infrastructures that carry them raise foundational questions about what money is, who may create it, and how it is held and transferred. The conference brings private law and regulatory analyses together to examine how legal systems have addressed the evolution of money, and how commercial practices, policy changes and innovations, past, present and prospective, shape its nature, holding and transfer.

The conference is conceived as an international debate across jurisdictions and legal traditions. Hong Kong, an international financial centre and common-law jurisdiction where a currency board, bank-issued banknotes and newly licensed stablecoins rest side by side, is the setting.

Papers using any method (doctrinal, historical, comparative, theoretical or empirical) are invited on topics that may include the following. The list is indicative, and proposals that cross these lines are welcome.

• The legal nature and forms of money, as property, claim or institution, across common law and civil law traditions
• The historical evolution of money and the law’s responses, from commodity and paper money to digital forms
• Cross-border money and payment systems, including private international law and settlement infrastructure
• Central bank money and monetary sovereignty, including CBDC design, legal nature, the public/private divide, and the role of central banks
• Private money and digital innovation, including stablecoins and tokenised deposits
• Regulatory design, market integrity, and financial stability, including licensing, conduct of business, consumer protection, and prudential regulation
• Money, public policy and the future of the monetary system, covering the role of legal institutions in shaping inclusion, sovereignty and what money should become

Proposals are welcome from scholars at every career stage, including doctoral researchers, as well as from practitioners and policymakers. Papers must be original and unpublished, and speakers are expected to attend in person.

Submit through the call for papers submission form by 15 January 2027:

• A descriptive title
• A short abstract of up to 200 words
• An extended abstract of up to 1,000 words
• A short biographical note of up to 300 words
• The other details requested in the form

The abstract should set out clearly the topic and the contribution, covering the research question, the argument, the methods, and the theme (or themes) it addresses.

Selection will consider fit with the theme, originality and balance across traditions, jurisdictions and career stages. Decisions will be communicated by 15 February 2027.

Authors of selected abstracts must submit a full draft paper of no more than 8,000 words by 30 April 2027. The drafts will be circulated in advance so that sessions run as discussions rather than presentations.

• Abstracts due: 15 January 2027
• Decisions communicated by: 15 February 2027
• Full draft paper (no more than 8,000 words) due: 30 April 2027
• Conference: 17 – 18 June 2027

Selected papers will be considered for publication in an edited volume with a leading academic press. Submission signals willingness to contribute to the volume; inclusion is subject to editorial approval and review.

Speakers will not be charged a registration fee for this inaugural conference, but are expected to cover their own travel and accommodation.

The conference falls in the week before the Global Meeting on Law and Society in Hong Kong (22–25 June, also hosted by the University of Hong Kong), offering an opportunity to attend both events with one trip.

• Professor Wolfgang Ernst, University of Oxford
• Professor David Fox, Edinburgh Law School, The University of Edinburgh
• Professor Benjamin Geva, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University (Canada)
• Prof. Dr. Katja Langenbucher, Goethe University Frankfurt
• Professor Steven L. Schwarcz, Duke University School of Law (United States)
• Professor Yesha Yadav, Law School, Vanderbilt University

Co-organisers: Professor Giuliano Castellano, Director of AIIFL, and Professor Kelvin Low, Director of the Centre for Private Law, both of the Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong. Enquiries: Ms Candy Ip.