2026 Conference of the French Academy of Legal Studies in Business (AFD&M)
December 14 and 15, 2026
The Frontiers of Law: Taxation, Governance, Artificial Intelligence. Redistribution of Powers and Emerging Normative Paradigms.
The French Academy of Legal Studies in Business (AFD&M) invites submissions for its annual conference, to be held on December 14-15, 2026, at HEC Paris.
Law and management are being transformed by the emergence of new technological standards, new regulations, new business practices, new economic and financial requirements, and demographic shifts, all of which are redefining established balances. This conference aims to analyze the extent to which the evolution of certain norms is pushing beyond the traditional boundaries of law, which are increasingly ill-suited to contemporary realities.
All proposed papers linking taxation, new technologies, or governance with legal issues will be considered.
I. Call for Research Papers (Theoretical and Practical)
We encourage the submission of papers offering insight into these changes, whether through theoretical analyses, case studies, or comparative approaches, in order to shed light on the interactions between law and management, in particular through the following themes:
1. The Tax Frontier: Transformation and Redistribution of Taxing Power
- Prospects for European and international taxation: analysis of Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 reforms; implications of the BEFIT project (Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation) for simplifying the tax base within the EU and tensions arising from revenue-sharing rules.
- The Future of Transfer Pricing: assessing the practical effectiveness of the arm’s-length principle in the context of increasing digitalization; impact of the shifting of taxing rights to jurisdictions where consumption occurs (Pillar 1) and challenges of multilateral implementation.
- The Burden of Compliance: analysis of the exponential increase in reporting obligations and litigation risks within an increasingly fragmented tax landscape, despite harmonization efforts.
- Sovereignty and Resistance: examination of divergent national positions (notably those of the United States) vis-à-vis OECD standards and initiatives toward unitary taxation.
- Taxation and CSR: tax transparency as an indicator of non-financial performance and a lever for corporate social responsibility.
- Corporate mobility: tax and legal implications of cross-border transfers of registered offices within the European Union and their impact on territorial tax bases.
2. The Technological Frontier: Artificial Intelligence as a Cross-Cutting and Normative Force
- Extraterritorial scope of the AI Act: impact of the European regulation on foreign entities marketing systems within the EU and global redistribution of innovation.
- Liability and new legal contexts: reconfiguration of civil, criminal, and contractual liability concepts in response to autonomous systems.
- Intellectual property and generative AI: protection of training data, legal status of AI-generated works, and countering disinformation.
- AI and business ethics: embedding non-discrimination and transparency standards into algorithmic managerial decision-making algorithms.
- Algorithmic governance: role of AI within boards of directors and oversight of technological risks by governing bodies.
- AI, cybersecurity and cyber-insurance: towards a reconfiguration of risk governance.
- AI and the understanding and application of legal norms: what are the implications for legal professionals’ practice?
3. The Governance Frontier: Reconfiguration of Governance, CSR, and Sustainability
- Space law (New Space): commercial regulation, exploitation of space resources, and sustainable management of orbital infrastructures.
- State aid and sovereignty: regulation of foreign subsidies (FSR) and protection of European strategic assets.
- Tax mobility and legal structures: implications of transferring registered offices within the EU and balancing freedom of establishment against abuse of law.
- Regulatory developments in CSR: implementation of CSRD and CS3D directives; contractualization of due diligence obligations across the whole value chain.
- State aid and the green transition: role of public funding (subsidies, IPCEIs) in supporting corporate decarbonization strategies.
- Integration and monitoring of ESG criteria: new tools for measuring environmental and social impact in corporate governance.
- Non-financial reporting and accounting standards: challenges relating to the assessment and auditing of sustainable performance for enhanced transparency.
- Emergence of hybrid normativities: role of non-traditional actors (NGOs, activists) in shaping binding sustainability standards.
II. Call for Teaching Papers
How should knowledge transmission be adapted to a constantly-changing regulatory environment and practices, in order to meet the evolving needs of organizations?
- Teaching borderless regulation: training future lawyers and managers in the cross-cutting nature of global regulations (AI Act, Pillar 2, CSRD).
- Artificial intelligence as an educational lever: ethical and strategic integration of generative AI into learning processes.
- Cross-cutting nature of crises: how can issues of economic sovereignty (state aid) and climate transition be integrated into business law curricula?
III. Schedule and Submission Guidelines
- Abstract: September 1, 2026
- Format: Proposed papers should take the form of an abstract of approximately 8,000 characters, including the research question and the main methodological tools employed. Submissions may be written in French or English.
The first page will contain the names and affiliation(s) of the author(s), and the title of the paper. Subsequent pages will only include the title, the abstract – if possible, in French and English – and 4 to 5 keywords.
The text must be submitted as a text file, Times New Roman 12 font, A4 format, with 2.5 cm margins, single spacing, to be sent via email to the following address: secretariat-general@afdm-droit.com
IV. Publication Opportunities and Awards
Papers presented at the conference may be submitted for publication in academic journals or collective works, including the AFD&M partner journals (RIDO and VSE). In collaboration with the CDACI of the University de Montréal, the Junior Researcher Prize will reward the best contribution by a young PhD holder or doctoral candidate, offering the opportunity to publish in the Revue juridique Thémis.
All publications remain subject to the editorial policies of the relevant journals, which are independent from the conference selection criteria.
The 2026 AFD&M conference will serve as a high-level forum for scholarly discourse and a unique opportunity for collegial exchange, aimed at analyzing the legal and societal frameworks of the future.