ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2027

LAW, ECONOMICS, TRADE AND JUSTICE

19-20 February 2027
Organised by the Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP) and the Economic Policy Center, Mahindra University

About the Conference

Legal systems shape markets, governance, trade and access to justice. This conference brings together scholars, practitioners, policy-makers, trade experts and early-career researchers to examine how law and economics interact. It looks at how legal institutions affect economic and trade outcomes, how inequality limits access to justice, and how trade disputes, climate commitments and new technologies are reshaping legal and economic governance. The conference is jointly organised by the Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP) and the Economic Policy Center, Mahindra University.

Sub-Themes

• Access to Justice and Inequality
• Criminal Justice and Vulnerable Populations
• Economic Impact of Judicial Inefficiencies
• Labour Law and Economic Outcomes
• Competition and Regulatory Policy
• Trade Governance and Economic Law
• Trade Agreements and Dispute Settlement
• Anti-Dumping and Trade Remedies
• Intellectual Property and International Trade
• Climate Change and Trade Policy
• Legal Aid and Representation
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Legal Technology and Digital Justice

Submissions

Abstract submissions are now closed. Only selected authors will be notified, by 15 October 2026. No further action is required from other applicants.

Timeline

Paper Categories and Word Limits

• Academic Research Papers: 6,000-8,000 words
• Policy Papers: 3,000-5,000 words
• Empirical and Field Studies: 4,000-6,000 words
• Comparative Legal and Trade Studies: 4,000-6,000 words

Full Paper Guidelines (Selected Authors Only)

Selected authors must submit their full papers by 15 November 2026. Papers that do not follow the instructions below may be rejected.

• Style: Follow the APA 7th Edition style guide. Download the two guides below for details:
  • APA7 Style Referencing (in-text citations and reference list) [ download link ]
  • APA 7 Paper Setup Guide [ download link ]
• Key points:
  • Layout: Use 1-inch margins on all sides. Use a legible font (12-pt Times New Roman, 11-pt Calibri or Arial, or 12-pt Aptos). Double-space the entire paper, including headings, block quotations and references. Align text to the left (no justification) and indent the first line of each paragraph 0.5 inch.
  • Page numbers: Place them in the top right corner of every page, with the title page as page 1.
  • Title page: Include the paper title (bold), author name(s) and affiliation.
  • Headings: Level 1 is centred, bold and in title case. Level 2 is left-aligned, bold and in title case.
  • In-text citations: Cite author and year for every source (for example, Sendak, 2015). Give page numbers for direct quotations. Use "et al." for three or more authors. Set quotations of 40 or more words as an indented block without quotation marks.
  • References: Start the reference list on a new page under a centred, bold "References" heading. List entries alphabetically with a 0.5-inch hanging indent. Include the DOI (as a https://doi.org/ link) wherever one exists.
  • Tables and figures: Mention each in the text before it appears. Give each a bold number (Table 1, Figure 1) and an italic title.
• File format: Upload Word files only. PDF files will not be accepted.
• Figures and images: If your paper has figures or images, submit a second Word document listing each one with its title, figure or image number, and the page number in the main document where it appears.
• Use of AI tools: If you used any AI tool, cite it as per APA guidelines: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/ai-references
• Plagiarism: The similarity index must not exceed 15%.