ICON·S | The International Society of Public Law invites expressions of interest to host the ICON·S Annual Conference in future years.
HOSTING GUIDELINES
About ICON·S
Launched in June 2014 at its Inaugural Conference held in Florence (Italy), at the European University Institute, and at the University of Florence, ICON·S has become the leading learned global society for the study of public law, broadly defined to include administrative, constitutional and international law from a rich diversity of perspectives including but not limited to comparative, empirical, historical, political, sociological and theoretical.
ICON·S is committed to working with scholars worldwide to continue to expand the Society, and to advance our mission to foster scholarship, community and dialogue across the entire range of public law issues.
The Annual Meeting of ICON·S provides a forum for public law experts, practitioners, students, and enthusiasts of all levels to exchange ideas in a rigorous, respectful, open and affirming environment where all are expected to respect the ICON·S mission, which is available here.
Future hosts of the Annual Conference will join a distinguished list of institutions whose faculty, students, staff, and the entire community have benefited from welcoming the world of public law to their campus, including New York University (2015), Humboldt University (2016), the University of Copenhagen and iCourts – the Danish National Research Foundation’s Center for Excellence on International Courts (2017), the University of Hong Kong (2018), the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (2019), the University of Wrocław (2022), the Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington (2023), the IE University (2024), and the University of Brasilia (2025). Information on previous Annual Conferences is available here.
What to Include in an Expression of Interest
Expressions of interest should be no longer than one (1) single-spaced page, with attention to the reasons for wanting to host the Annual Conference, financial and administrative support available to host the Annual Conference, the proposed leadership group in the host institution, possible themes around which to build the Annual Conference
- Prospective hosts are asked to identify the year and tentative dates in which they propose to hold the program, recognizing that ICON·S has traditionally held its Annual Conference in June or July.
- All hosts must commit to ensuring there is the capacity to host a certain number of hybrid and fully virtual panels, as part of the Conference. Priority will be given in allocating such panels to those unable to attend in person for visa, cost, or family reasons, but all members can apply to form or be part of such a panel – including in order to promote compliance with the Society’s Carbon Neutral policy.
- The Executive Committee and General Council of ICON·S take this occasion to note that ultimately a number of factors must be weighted in deciding where to locate a particular conference, including questions of geography, institutional capacity, substantive focus, and alignment with broader ICON·S strategic priorities.
Expressions of interest and any other queries may be submitted by email to icons@icon-society.org.
Following an initial evaluation of expressions of interest, prospective hosts may be invited by the Executive Committee of ICON·S to submit a more formal proposal. Details about what should appear in the formal proposal will be made available at that time.
Wherever possible, institutions that submit an expression of interest but are unsuccessful in their application may be assisted in hosting a national or regional meeting of ICON·S (via modest financial and organizational support, as well as publicity on the I·CONnect Blog).
