@LabourLawRN Labour Law Research Network

Conference

8th LLRN Conference - Cagliari

28-30 June 2027 University of Cagliari

LLRN8 Cagliari welcomes scholars from all over the world in a friendly and open atmosphere. The University of Cagliari has a strong tradition in labour law research, with a dedicated team of academics deeply engaged in the field at national, European and international level.

The ambition

Strategically situated in the Mediterranean, Cagliari offers an ideal setting to connect European and African labour law traditions, fostering deeper knowledge of diverse systems to uncover and foster common legal and cultural foundations. With this aim in mind, the labour lawyers of the Law Department of Cagliari University, together with the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan and the University of Bari, have already established a network with African and especially North African universities.

We aim to ensure that this initiative serves as an incentive for African scholars to participate in and contribute to the LLRN8 Conference. Giving serious consideration to African and Global South perspectives on labour law issues could be a decisive step toward achieving greater social justice in both the North and the South.

Venue

The Opening Ceremony and the LLRN8 Conference will take place at the Teatro Massimo (Via De Magistris 12, Cagliari). The panel sessions will take place at the Law Department of the University of Cagliari, Campus Sant'Ignazio, Via Sant'Ignazio da Laconi 17, Cagliari.

Cagliari is the political, administrative, economic and cultural centre of Sardinia. Built on seven hills, the city has its original nucleus in the Castello district, overlooking the surrounding area and the sea. The area is surrounded by some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and a largely unspoilt natural environment.

The city is well connected, with an international airport offering numerous direct flights to major European cities - especially in summer, including low-cost carriers - and good connections with Milan and Rome. Public transport (buses and trains) makes it easy for delegates to move around.

The University of Cagliari is a state public university of about 25,000 students, founded in 1626. The Law Faculty was established the same year and has been awarded Department of Excellence status by the Ministry of University and Research (2023-2027). SERI-Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini (FGB), Rome, joins as co-organiser.

Substance and main tracks

In keeping with previous LLRN conferences, we expect to structure panels and presentations on a wide variety of topics related to the law of work. LLRN8 is open to any contribution to labour law, broadly conceived. Submissions focusing on one legal system should be framed so as to highlight their significance to scholars from other jurisdictions.

We encourage interdisciplinary papers - in methodology and in drawing on other disciplines - as well as doctrinal, theoretical, quantitative and qualitative research. Papers from and about all parts of the world are welcome, and we particularly invite work on regions historically under-represented in labour law scholarship, including Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America, as well as papers on the decolonisation of labour law.

There is no strict category of tracks to which papers must be aligned, but contributions addressing the following themes are especially encouraged:

Solidarity

Traditional institutions of solidarity and new forms of it: worker representation and participation; social security models for atypical and self-employed workers; mutualisation beyond employer-employee contributions; active and passive employment policies; collective action across categories and territories; migrant and vulnerable workers; the impact of digital technology and AI; working time; and solidarity in informal labour markets.

Equality

How the principle of equality is being jeopardised as old and new inequalities emerge through global value chains and algorithmic systems: the direct/indirect discrimination distinction under algorithmic discrimination; closed versus open lists of prohibited factors; the appropriate regulatory level and sources; remedial, deterrent and preventative techniques; and effectiveness in the informal economy.

Accountability

Corporate accountability for labour rights, workplace safety and fair employment practices, including the risk-management perspective and its relation to traditional liability; ex ante versus ex post approaches; the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive; AI risks at work; involving worker representatives in risk assessment; and the role of trade unions in facing environmental and social risks.

Transparency

Reporting duties on workers' rights, collective bargaining, equal pay and training; transparency and managerial control in algorithmic management; information and consultation rights; sanctions; tensions with data protection; and building the data capacity and AI literacy of workers' representatives - with reference to the EU AI Act, the African Union Continental AI Strategy 2024 and the Brazil AI Act 2025.

Security

The many meanings of security: legal certainty and enforcement of labour law; welfare-state security and dignity at work as states retreat; job security and models of protection; wage security, minimum wage adequacy and algorithmic management; professional skill security, lifelong learning and certification of competencies; and health and safety, including new occupational illnesses linked to AI and digitalisation.

Format

LLRN8 maintains the diversity of formats introduced at previous conferences. Each panel lasts 90 minutes including discussion. The language of the conference is English, so only proposals, papers and panels in English will be accepted. Each speaker can present only one paper; beyond that a participant may chair one panel and act as discussant or book presenter in one more - a maximum of three panels in total.

  • Paper abstract - up to 500 words, with title, name, affiliation, contact details, the intended track and up to 6 keywords. One paper abstract per participant.
  • Panel session - 4 papers, or 3 papers with a discussant, plus a chair. Please avoid panels where all participants come from the same country. Include all abstracts and a short (up to 100 words) description of the panel.
  • Book presentation - a panel with 4-5 speakers (authors, discussants or both); no abstracts needed, just a short explanation of the book's importance and brief biographies.
  • Alternative formats - roundtables, fishbowls, labour law labs, TED-style talks, hot-seat encounters, films with discussion, art exhibits and music. Papers by presenters in alternative formats will still be made available on the conference website.
  • Poster presentation - new at LLRN: posters presenting future research, with title, research questions, methodology and participants. Conference participants vote online for the best posters and a prize is awarded.

Proposals from early career scholars and PhD students are warmly welcomed. Application forms will be available on the conference website; details of the submission method will follow closer to the deadline.

Key dates

  • 16 October 2026 - last day to submit abstracts and panel proposals
  • 18 December 2026 - decisions on acceptance of papers and panels
  • 28 May 2027 - last day to submit full papers
  • 28-30 June 2027 - the conference

Logistics

Participants are expected to pay for their own travel and accommodation. As at previous LLRN conferences there will only be a bare conference fee, covering coffee and tea breaks and lunches; it is expected to be not much higher than at LLRN7 Bangkok. Information about recommended hotels and special rates will follow on the conference website.

Scholars from developing countries

As with previous conferences, the organisers intend to raise funds to provide financial assistance to as many participants from developing countries as possible. While such funding cannot be guaranteed, it is vital to the LLRN's ambitions for this conference: scholars from developing countries are encouraged to submit abstracts or panel proposals and to note their need for support.

Organising committees

International organising committee (LLRN Steering Committee)

Tamás Gyulavári (Chair), Ruth Dukes, Valentina Franca, Sergio Gamonal, Tess Hardy, Piera Loi, Panthip Pruksacholavit, César F. Rosado Marzán, Stefan van Eck.

International scientific committee

  • Janice Bellace - Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
  • Jean Louis Correa - Université Cheikh Hamidou Kane, Senegal
  • Valerio De Stefano - Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto
  • Wenwen Ding - China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing
  • Kübra Dogan Yenisey - Bilgi University, Istanbul
  • José María Miranda Boto - University of Santiago de Compostela
  • Matías Rodríguez - Universidad de Valparaíso
  • Kamala Sankaran - National Law School of India University, Bengaluru

Local organising committee

Local steering committee: Piera Loi, Michele Faioli. Advisory board: Manuelita Mancini, Barbara De Micheli.

Local team: Enrico Mastinu, Ombretta Dessì, Sonia Fernández Sánchez, Massimo Corrias, Simone Auriemma, Alessandro Murru, Michela Pinna, Matteo Luccisano, Leonardo Manfredi, Camila Rivadossi, Alessandro Smilari, Niccolò Cappellazzo, Elena Caselli.

Contact

All questions and suggestions should be addressed to the conference email address: llrn8cagliari@unica.it. The conference website is at www.llrn8cagliari.it.