1.8.09

24th IVR World Congress: Global Harmony and Rule of Law

September 15-20, 2009

Beijing, China


The deadline for registration online is August 15, 2009. Please register before that date so that we could include your information in the Congress documents.

1. Brief Introduction
XXIV World Congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy will be held in Beijing on September 15-20, 2009. The main theme of the 24th IVR World Congress is "global harmony and rule of law". The concept of harmony has figured prominently in both eastern and western philosophical traditions, and can be interpreted to describe the developmental goals of many societies. Unlike the more often invoked concept of "globalization", "global harmony" captures many of our shared ideals concerning the relationships among countries, cultures, and legal systems, as well as between human kind and nature.By proposing to examine the role of the rule of law in promoting global harmony, the hosts of the 24th IVR World Congress hope not only to give greater voice to traditions and contemporary thinking in non-western cultures, but also to suggest new dimensions of collaboration among eastern and western scholars.

Although we particularly welcome papers related to the above main theme for the plenary sessions and special workshops, a majority of workshops and working groups will be formed to provide forum for discussion concerning other crucial topics in legal theory and social philosophy. We recognize that methodological inquiries and sustained discussion of standard scholarly topics are important to philosophical progress, and suggest the above theme only to expand, not to supplant, the usual scope of discussion in legal and social philosophy. (see suggested topics for workshops and working groups)

Besides Plenary Sessions, we will arrange Special Workshops and Working Groups similar to IVR congresses in th past. We hereby extend our invitation to IVR members in every country to submit proposals for Special Workshops. Following previous format for Special Workshops, we will apply the following criteria in reviewing proposals for acceptance:** The proposal should contain at the minimum some background relating to the proposed topic, including, for example, whether previous workshops have been held on the same topic (and by whom they were organized); **The proposal should also state which other scholars the person making the proposal intends to invite to participate in the workshop; **The person making the proposal must be prepared to act as a coordinator for the workshop; as the coordinator, he or she must be able to procure high-quality contributions on the workshop topic, supervise the exchange of draft papers for comments among participants prior to the workshop, and otherwise ensure the quality of the workshop papers and discussion. Please send your proposal for special workshops and papers to both the following two persons:
Prof. Zhang Qi:
ivrcongress24@gmail.com
Mr. Gu Zhaomin: papers@chinalawsociety.com

2
. Call for Papers
We hereby extend our invitation to scholars and experts in jurisdiction to submit papers for the Special Workshops and Working Groups.

The deadline for sending the abstracts of papers in English is June 15, 2009. Each abstract is proposed to have about 800 to 1,000 English words, which will be translated and printed in both Chinese and English as Congress documents. The deadline for submitting full papers in English is July 15, 2009.

All abstracts and papers for the Special Workshops and Working Groups will be published on the Congress website at
www.ivr2009.com so that more time could be devoted to discussions rather than presentation at the Congress sessions of Special Workshops and Working Groups. If you disagree to publish your abstract and/or full paper on the website, please clarify this point when you make your submission.

The Congress language is English and Chinese. Simultaneous interpretation between Chinese and English will be provided for the plenary sessions.

Please send your papers and abstracts to the above-mentioned two persons of Prof. Zhang and Mr. Gu.

3. Confirmed Speakers for the Plenary Sessions
1). Rights in the World Order
Prof. Joseph Raz
University of Columbia, U.S.A.

2). The Dual Nature of Law
Prof. Robert Alexy
Kiel University, Germany

3). Diversity, Democracy, and Dialogue in a Human Rights Framework
Prof. Carol Gould
Temple University, U.S.A.

4). Globalization and Cultural Prosperity
Prof. Morimura Susumu
Hitotsubashi University, Japan

5). The Early Chinese Legal Thought
Prof. Chang Wejen
Institute of History and Philology of the Academia Sinica, Taiwan,China

6). The Function of Law in Building a Harmonious Society
Prof. Xin Chunying
Deputy Chairman of Legal Affairs Committee of National People's Congress, China
Research Fellow of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

7). Prof. Upendra Baxi
University of Warwick, UK

8). Rethinking the Philosophy of Law in the Beginning of the 21st Century
Prof. Ioanna Kucuradi
Maltepe University, Turkey

9). Judges and the Creation of Global Law
Mr. Antoine Garapon
Secretary- General of the Institute of High Studies on Justice of France

10). Cultural Diversity, Intercivilizational Dialogue, and Harmony: A Confucian Perspective
Prof. TU Weiming
Harvard University and Peking University

11). The Rule of Law as the Rule of Reasons
Ms. Mathilde Cohen
Columbia University, U.S.A.
2009 IVR Young Scholar Prize Winner

4. Secretariat of Congress
Please visit the website regularly for the latest news and updates.
Contact the Secretariat of Congress by the following details: Mr. Gu Zhaomin, Director-General / Mr. Yin Baohu, Deputy Director-General Overseas Liaison Department, China Law SocietyNo.63, Bing Ma Si Hutong, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100034, P.R.ChinaTel/Fax: 8610-66510410Email:
ivr2009@chinalawsociety.com