Recent economic and financial crises, the emergence of powerful “developing” economies, as well as massive migration waves, have changed the traditional paradigms of Law and Development. As a result, the traditional, geographically circumscribed focus should be re-formulated to prioritize the study of the needs of vulnerable groups.

The 2017 Law and Development Research Conference, hosted by the Law and Development Research Group, University of Antwerp, will focus on perspectives from the Global South on the field of Law and Development. It is a first attempt to establish a North-South dialogue around three topics: sustainable development, the protection of vulnerable groups, and the need to use innovation and technology transfer for the benefit of vulnerable groups.

The objectives are:

1) to create synergies and assess undetected connections in research on marginalized communities

2) to organize an exchange of expertise (South-North and South-South)

3) to establish a shared research agenda in the longer term

As part of the Human Rights & Development Conference Days, the Law and Development Research Conference will be held back-to-back with the Localizing Human Rights Roundtables.