TEGL research day

The researchers from the participating institutions of the sectorplan group ‘Transformative Effects of Globalisation in Law’ will come together for the 2026 TEGL research day, where they will discuss their work in progress and establish potential synergies. The event will also feature a PhD session for early-career researchers who would like to present their research and receive feedback from senior colleagues.

Please find below an overview of the thematic sessions.

22 June 2026

15:30-16:00 Welcome and registration

16:00-17:00 Keynote ‘Transformative Law and Globalisation’ (Poul Kjær, Copenhagen business School) (discussant Laura Mai, University of Amsterdam)

17:00–18:30 Reception and interactive session: the future of TEGL and the interaction of TEGL with Dutch society (Moderator: Mark Kawakami, Maastricht University)

During the reception, we encourage participants to reflect on the branding our research group (including the acronym) and share any wishes for the coming years. Additionally, we will discuss how TEGL interacts with Dutch society (if at all). The keyword here is “transdisciplinary”. In other words, how does the academic research that we are conducting through TEGL “transcend” the boundaries of academia and synthesise with the interests of non-academic stakeholders (e.g. practitioners, your local community, or society at large). If one cannot find areas where your research meaningfully interacts with Dutch society, please note what the obstacles are and what can be done to remove such barriers.

19:30 Dinner for participants

23 June 2026

9.00 - 10.30 | Panel 1 – Regional Integration in a Globalising Legal Order: Comparative Perspectives and Theoretical Debates from the Literature  (Rónán Riordan and Fulvia Ristuccia, Maastricht University)

The panel will examine the interaction between globalisation and regional integration by considering some of the literature on this topic. In particular, the discussion will consider several dimensions of these interactions  by reflecting on how globalisation and transnational interdependence are (re)shaping regional integration and vice versa. Those dimensions are in particular: (1) the role of regional integration in preserving or challenging state structures (and democratic structures), (2) the protection of fundamental rights in regional contexts, (3) the relationship between regional integration and the international legal order, (4) and whether regional integration is driven by globalisation or vice versa. The common thread between across these various dimension concerns the shared or divergent challenges, opportunities, and gaps that emerge across different regional organisations.

I. Foundations of Regional Integration 

Examines: The features of regionalism; can integration be only achieved within regional spaces? The role of regional integration in preserving or challenging state structures and democratic structures 

Paper: Chalmers D, ‘The Distinctiveness of Regional International Organization Law’ (2024) 21 International Organizations Law Review 43

II. The protection of fundamental rights in regional contexts 

Examines: Universal fundamental rights vs regional protection of rights

Paper: Sandholtz W, ‘Integration, Supranational Authority, and Human Rights’ (2024) 31 Journal of European Public Policy 3465

III. Normative and Ideological Tensions: Regional Legal Order and International Legal Order  

Examines: European exceptionalism, Universalism vs regionalism 

Paper: Rehling Larsen S, ‘European Public Law after Empires’ (2022) 1 European Law Open 6, 24–25

IV. Regionalism in the Global Order 

Examines: Regional integration vs state sovereignty (in a globalised world), Regionalism vs multilateralism 

Paper: Fiti Sinclair G, ‘Between Functionalism and Hegemony: Regional International Organizations in the History of International Law’ (2024) 21 International Organizations Law Review 65

11.00 - 12.30 | Panel 2 - Climate Litigation and Climate Democracy in a Global Crisis (Marijn van der Sluis and André Nunes Chaib, Maastricht University)

Across jurisdictions, climate litigation has become one of the most dynamic fields of contemporary legal scholarship and practice. Courts are increasingly asked to review the adequacy of climate legislation, assess governmental (in)action, interpret human rights obligations in light of environmental risks, and scrutinise the responsibilities of private actors. The rise of climate litigation raises constitutional and democratic questions concerning institutional legitimacy, participation, effectiveness, and the appropriate distribution of authority in responding to the climate crisis.

This panel invites contributions examining the interaction between climate litigation and climate democracy. How do courts influence democratic climate decision-making? Under what conditions does litigation strengthen accountability, representation, and inclusion, and when might it generate tensions with legislative discretion or political contestation? How do judicial interventions affect public debate, administrative policymaking, and long-term climate planning? We are particularly interested in contributions that move beyond simplified oppositions between courts and politics and instead analyse their evolving relationship within multi-level systems of governance.

The panel therefore especially welcomes broader perspectives on climate governance, including work that explores the interaction between climate litigation and international cooperation. How do domestic and regional courts engage international climate commitments? Can litigation foster compliance with transnational obligations, policy coordination, or more ambitious collective action?

We welcome doctrinal, comparative, empirical, interdisciplinary, and theoretical approaches. The aim of the panel is to bring together scholars working on litigation, democracy, and governance in order to deepen understanding of the institutional transformations generated in response to climate change.

I. Strategic Climate Litigation against Major Corporate Emitters in Europe: Filling the Regulatory Gap?
Christina Eckes (University of Amsterdam), Phillip Paiement (Tilburg University)

II. Climate Litigation and Article 4(2) of the Paris Agreement: From “Measures” to Binding Frameworks
Liam Siry (Maastricht University)

III. Hearing the Outside Voice: Transnational Strategic Climate Litigation as Democratic Participation
Clara Kammeringer (University of Amsterdam)

IV. Allocating Climate Responsibility in multilayered legal and governance structures in Europe 
Christina Eckes (University of Amsterdam)

V. Climate obligations of EU Member States: Limits and opportunities for national courts
Marijn van der Sluis (Maastricht University)

13.30 - 15.00 | Parallel sessions:

Panel 3 – People, Market & Social Ordering (Mark Kawakami and André Nunes Chaib, Maastricht University)

This panel will highlight GLawNet’s “People, Markets & Social Ordering” cluster, which examines how law and global markets shape each other. The cluster focuses on how interconnected rules on finance, trade, investment, and supply chains govern cross-border flows of money, goods, and services. Our aim here is to better understand how these regulations can reduce inequality, expand market access, and support more equitable development. This panel will feature some of the research being conducted by Prof. Anna Becker’s CHAINLAW group, which is developing new legal frameworks for understanding Global Value Chains (GVCs). For this session in particular, we will explore how EU regulations can better account for collective dynamics and how private tools like standards, codes of conduct, and contracts influence GVCs from a socio-legal perspective.

PhD session

I. Mathilde Cohen (Tilburg University), ‘Coding the Atmosphere: The Legal Construction of Carbon Credits within the Voluntary Carbon Markets’ (VCMs) Governance’
II. Liam Siry (Maastricht University), ‘The Paris Agreement and Climate Change Litigation – Shifting from vague to concrete commitments’
III. Ana Clara Vilela dos Reis (Tilburg University), ‘International Law in the Context of Green Colonialism: A Socio‑Legal Approach’
IV. Maria Bélen Gracia (Maastricht University), ‘Rethinking the international law framework for an inclusive plural, and re-embedded circular economy in plastics’

15.30 - 17.00 | Panel 4 – Globalisation Meets Digitalisation: Connected or Fragmented? (Valentina Golunova and Sarah Tas, Maastricht University)

This session explores the complex relationship between globalisation and digitalisation. While digital technologies are often portrayed as universal drivers of connectivity and integration, they can also exacerbate the existing fragmentation and reinforce exclusion. From the rise of the “splinternet” and digital authoritarianism to unequal access to technology, the global digital landscape is far from uniform. During this reflective session, we will critically examine whether technology truly drives globalisation or whether it sometimes fragments and polarises our societies and legal systems. Departing from several theoretical perspectives, the discussion will revolve around several current real-world examples to challenge assumptions about digital connectivity, power, and inclusion.

Suggested Literature:

Sassen, S, ‘Towards a Sociology of Information Technology’ (2002) Current Sociology 365

Hendrikse, R ‘The Rise of Neo-Illiberalism’ (2021) 41 Krisis 65

Pearson, J S, ‘Defining Digital Authoritarianism’ (2024) Philosophy & Technology 37