Rule of Law Conference 2027

Rule of Law Conference 2027

11-12 May 2027 | Brussels

re:connecting Democracy and the Rule of Law

 

Call for Participation 

We are excited to announce the next European Rule of Law Conference, organised by re:constitution – Exchange and Analysis on Democracy and the Rule of Law in Europe, on 11–12 May 2027 in Brussels. The conference will bring together politicians, regulators, judges, lawyers, businesses, cultural practitioners, journalists, academics and civil society to engage with the most pressing rule-of-law challenges, developments and solutions across Europe.

Familiar pressures on democratic institutions are being joined by new challenges: geopolitical instability, technological change, shifting public expectations, attacks on institutional independence, changing information environments, and growing questions about legitimacy, trust and democratic resilience.

At the same time, the field is evolving. Courts, governments, civil society, journalists, researchers and cultural actors are developing new strategies, testing new forms of cooperation and rethinking how the rule of law can be protected, renewed and made meaningful in changing societies.

With this conference, we want to strengthen a robust, impact-oriented and critical community working on the rule of law across disciplines and Europe. For this, we also welcome comparative perspectives from other regions, as well as views on European developments from outside of Europe. We want to provide a space for strategic exchange, solution design and serious debate about what comes next. It will also have real discussions of people who disagree, encouraging critical dialogue between differing political and professional perspectives.

We warmly invite proposals for parallel sessions within the five thematic clusters below. The clusters are starting points for conversations that cut across disciplines, professions and regions – not rigid silos.

Please submit your proposal here

 

Thematic Clusters

Cluster 1

Back to Basics: Foundations of the Rule of Law

Please find further details on Cluster 1 here. 

Cluster 2

Institutional Approaches to Rule of Law Resilience

Please find further details on Cluster 2 here.

Cluster 3

Rule of Law Culture: People, Trust, Communication and Pluralism

Please find further details on Cluster 3 here.

Cluster 4

Rule of Law as a Renewed Commitment: Comparative Trajectories of Undoing and Redoing

Please find further details on Cluster 4 here.

Cluster 5

Rule of Law Beyond Borders

Please find further details on Cluster 5 here.

Contributions do not need to fit neatly within a single cluster. We welcome cross-cutting proposals that connect several clusters, as well as proposals on important dimensions of the rule of law not covered above.

 

We particularly encourage proposals that combine different disciplines, professional perspectives, geographical contexts and forms of expertise, and that challenge established assumptions about the rule of law.

 

Parallel sessions will:

  • last 90 minutes;

  • use participatory and/or interactive formats to engage participants;

  • address a topic connected to the overall conference theme and/or one or more of the thematic clusters;

We welcome formats such as:

  • Workshop formats: e.g. fishbowl, Oxford-style debate, world café, hackathon/ideathon, design sprint, bar camp, scenario walks, open space/unconference, lightning talks / Ignite, Samoan circle, red team / blue team (one group stress-tests a proposal while another defends it), legislative or forum theatre, constellation / systemic mapping, speed-consulting / "human library", games and quizzes;

  • Training or skills sessions;

  • Panel discussionswith a maximum of three panellists, opening statements of no more than three minutes, and strong audience interaction;

  • Roundtables without set speeches, working towards a shared outcome such as findings or recommendations (e.g. ten recommendations to improve the EU Rule of Law Report;

  • Closed door conversations;

  • Networking and community-building activities;

  • Cultural interventions (e.g. film or shorts screenings, rule of law related art or music);

 

Diversity and participation

We value proposals that bring together a diversity of professional and disciplinary backgrounds, geographical and cultural perspectives, social origins, genders, ages, religions, political and intellectual perspectives, abilities and sexual orientations. In discussion and debate formats, we expect participants to hold significantly different views.

 

Proposal submission

In the form for proposal submissions on the platform you will be asked to provide the following:

  • session title;

  • proposer name(s) and affiliation(s);

  • 2–3 keywords on the session;

  • proposed session format, including audience engagement and visualisation approach;

  • session objectives;

  • a short abstract of 2–5 sentences.

It is not necessary to have confirmation from all proposed speakers or facilitators at the time of submission.

Please submit your proposal via the submission platform until 18 October 2026.

Proposals will be assessed by the re:constitution team (Democracy Reporting International and Forum Transregionale Studien) and members of the re:constitution Alumni network.

 

Please submit your proposal here

 

Dates and deadlines

25 October 2026 — Deadline for submission

17 November 2026 — Acceptance notification

11–12 May 2027 — European Rule of Law Conference, Brussels

 

We look forward to bringing together a diverse community of rule of law protagonists for two days of critical, open and constructive debate about the present and future of the rule of law.

 

If you would like to reach us, please don't hesitate to send an email to reconstitution(at)trafo-berlin.de.