Georgia Law Review Vol. 61 Symposium on Emergency Powers and Modern Governance (Athens, USA)

Established in 1966, Georgia Law Review is the flagship publication of the University of Georgia School of Law and the school's only general subject-matter publication. It is staffed entirely by second- and third-year law students, who choose, edit, write and publish the works that appear in each volume. The journal publishes one volume annually across four quarterly issues and has carried the work of law professors, judges and practitioners for close to sixty years. Alongside its regular issues it hosts an annual symposium and publishes an issue devoted to an important, developing area of the law.

The Executive Symposium Editors for Volume 61 have announced the annual symposium for Spring 2027 on the theme Emergency Powers and Modern Governance. Observing that the use of emergency authority has been shifting in recent years, the Volume 61 symposium will focus on the adequacy of existing statutory frameworks, the allocation of power among the branches of government, and the role of courts in constraining executive action. Proposals are being accepted now.

Submissions addressing any aspect of emergency powers are welcome, including but not limited to:

• Statutory regimes such as the National Emergencies Act and related frameworks;
• The role of Congress in authorizing, structuring and overseeing emergency action;
• Judicial review of emergency measures, including deference doctrines and the major questions doctrine;
• The constitutional foundations of emergency authority, for example Article II powers, congressional delegations and separation of powers concerns; and
• The use of emergency authority in specific contexts such as war powers, public health, environment and immigration.

The editors add that they may accept proposals which do not fit any of the categories above, so long as the proposal analyses a related topic.

The call sets no restriction on an author's nationality, institution or jurisdiction. The editors simply invite anyone with a relevant article thesis to write in, and expressly welcome submissions on any aspect of emergency powers, so authors based outside the United States are able to propose. Applicants should weigh the fit realistically: the sub-themes are grounded in United States constitutional and administrative law, and the symposium itself is an in-person event in Georgia.

Authors whose proposals are accepted will take part in expert panels and moderated discussions at the symposium, held in person at the University of Georgia School of Law in Athens, Georgia on 19 March 2027. Their selected articles will be published in the symposium issue of Volume 61 of the Georgia Law Review. Georgia Law Review states that it will reimburse all reasonable travel and lodging expenses associated with participation in the symposium.

Email an abstract or a short description of your article's thesis, together with a brief biographic statement and any questions about your potential participation, to galrev@uga.edu. There is no submission portal and no separate form for the symposium call; the email address is the whole of the application route.

Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis until the symposium issue is filled, so the call carries no fixed closing date. The editors began reviewing submissions on 21 July 2026, which means the earlier a proposal arrives the more of the issue remains open. An author whose proposal is accepted must supply an editable draft by 1 January 2027. The editors prefer articles of between 10,000 and 20,000 words but will consider articles outside that range.

No submission fee is charged for the symposium call. Applicants should note that this is a distinct route from the journal's general submissions: Georgia Law Review states that general submissions for Volume 61 are currently closed, with updates on their reopening to be posted in Fall 2026, while Georgia Law Review Online, which primarily features shorter, Georgia-focused legal scholarship, remains open to submissions.