Liverpool John Moores University Annual Law Symposium 2026 - 10th June

Join us at LJMU Annual Law Symposium 2026: a welcoming space for researchers to share ideas, present work and connect with legal academics.
About this Event

This symposium is hosted by the School of Law and Justice Studies and the Centre for the Study of Law in Theory and Practice (LTAP) at Liverpool John Moores University, Redmonds Building, Room RB401. Lunch and refreshments will be held separately in Room RB442. The aim of this symposium is twofold. First, it aims to provide a platform for PGRs and ECRs to disseminate their research to a friendly and welcoming audience and receive constructive feedback on their work. Completed works, work-in-progress papers, and presentations of PhD thesis (or chapters of a thesis) are equally suitable for this symposium. Second, this symposium seeks to showcase the research that PGRs and ECRs at LJMU and other institutions are carrying out, although we welcome contributions from those at any stage of their research journey. Please contact Reem Abdulhakim and/or Dr Andrew Munro for further information or with any questions (please see the flyer attached for details).
Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Presentations will include work-in-progress papers, and doctoral research projects from contributors at different stages of their academic journey.
Please see below the programme for the day:

Welcome:
9:00 - 10:15

· Registration/Breakfast - 9:00- 10:00

· Introduction by Reem Abdulhakim - 10:00 - 10:15

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Panel 1:
10:15 - 11:30

· Tonika Stephenson

PhD Researcher, Edge Hill University

10:15 – 10:40

Cryptoassets and the Limits of Existing Legal Frameworks: Legislative Reform and Judicial Innovation in the UK

· Dr Eric Shahzar

Lecturer in Law, Hertfordshire Law School, University of Hertfordshire

10:40 – 11:05

Forced Displacement and Climate Change: National Legal Responses Beyond the Refugee Convention 1951

· Anna Monnereau

Lecturer in Law, Liverpool Hope University

11:05 – 11:30

Defining the Musical Work: Towards a Component-Based Framework for Copyright Law

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Break:
11:30 - 12:00

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Panel 2:
12:00 - 12:50

· Dr Andrew Munro

Lecturer in Law, School of Law andJustice Studies, Liverpool John Moores University

12:00 – 12:25

Juridical forms and hegemonic regimes: a materialist theory of human rights

· Reem Abdulhakim

PhD Researcher and Associate Lecturer, School of Law and Justice Studies, Liverpool John Moores University

12:25 – 12:50

Lost in the Civil Justice System? Language Barriers and Access to Justice in England and Wales

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Lunch:
12:50 -14:00

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Panel 3:
14:00 -15:15

· Jonathan Willoughby

PhD Researcher, School of Law and Justice Studies, Liverpool John Moores University

14:00 -14:25

Cybernetic Law and Adaptive Finance: Regulating Private Credit through the Viable System Model and Evolutionary Game Theory

· Dr Cynthia C. Umezulike

Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Northampton

14:25 -14:50

Bridging International Human Rights Law and Global Governance Through Policy Implementation

· Dr Lynn Kennedy

Lecturer in Law, University of Hertfordshire

14:50 -15:15

The Mental Health Act 2025: Do the legislative changes do enough to assuage concerns?

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Break:
15:15-15:30

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Panel 4:
15:30 - 16:20

· Chijioke Njemanze

PhD Researcher, School of Law and Justice Studies, Liverpool John Moores University

15:30-15:55

Directors’ Duty of Care in Nigerian Company Law: The Challenge of Artificial Intelligence

· Yiheng Lu

CSC Doctoral Researcher (AI and Copyright), Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London

15:55-16:20

Predictability and Control: Rethinking Authorship in Generative AI

· Sarah Klingberg

PhD Researcher, School of Law and Justice Studies, Liverpool John Moores University

16:20 – 16:45

Unaccompanied migrant children going missing in the UK: Pathways to prevention

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Closing:
16:45 – 17:00

We are pleased to welcome presenters and attendees from LJMU and external institutions, and we look forward to a day of engaging discussion, networking, and collaboration.