On September 10-11, 2012 The Protection Project at The Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) will organize a regional conference titled “Harmonization of the Law: the Hague Conference, Unidroit, and UNCITRAL ” in cooperation with the three organizations and the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the Beirut Arab University in Beirut, Lebanon. The conference will examine approaches to harmonization of the law utilized by The Hague Conference, Unidroit and UNCITRAL. Issues addressed will include, among others, the place of Islamic law in the legal family, Islamic law as a source of international principles of the law, reservations made by Muslim countries to international conventions, the merging of common law and civil law principles in the areas of contract law and secured transactions law, human rights and business law, human rights and contract law, international trade law and the rule of law, incorporating the human rights perspective in standard-setting in private international law, the effects of improvements in international trade law on human rights, model laws as effective means of harmonization of the law, and related topics.

Members of the academia and experts in private law, private international law and international trade law from all countries of the world are invited to submit papers addressing methods and topics of harmonization of the law. A 1-page abstract must be submitted by Friday, June 15, 2012 at 5pm EST. The authors of the selected abstracts will be notified by Friday, June 22, 2012 and requested to submit a full paper by Friday, July 27, 2012 at 5pm EST. Abstracts and papers, together with a detailed CV and a copy of the passport should be submitted by email to Ms. Elaine Panter at epanter2@jhu.edu . Successful candidates will be notified via email by Friday, August 3, 2012 and invited to participate in the conference in Beirut on September 10-11, 2012. The papers will be published in a volume dedicated to the harmonization of the law.