We are pleased to invit e you to the first ACMRL Conference on Migration Law, hosted at the V rije Universiteit Amsterdam on 17–19 June 2026.
The confere nce will open on 17 June with the final of the International Moot Cou rt Competition and a subsequent social event at the Hortus Botanicus of the VU. The streams and panels will take place on 18-19 June, see the full program here. Particip ation to the conference is free (including social event and lunches). The conference dinner will take place on 18 June, for those who have registered (fee 30 euro).
R egistration and payment conference dinner
The Amsterdam Centre for Migration and Refugee Law (ACMRL) at VU Amsterdam is a leading hub for doctrinal, critical, and interdisciplinary research on migration and refugee law.
ACMRL scholars work across asylum, family and labour migration, mobility, human rights, and the rule of law, and the broader political, societal and historical forc es shaping the field. Combining legal analysis with socio-legal and e mpirical approaches, the Centre is deeply engaged in public debate an d policy advice, informing discussions at national, European, and glo bal levels.
Keynotes
We are delighted th at the conference will be opened with an excellent keynotes:
Th ursday 18 June, 9:30. Catherine Dauvergne ‘What if Refugees Mattered? The Challenge to International Law’, N U Theater 3
Streams
The conference will exp
lore six major themes that capture current directions in migration la
w research:
1. Human Rights Litigation and Migratio n Policy
Courts and treaty bodies are sites where migration governance is contested through human rights claims. This stream invites papers examining how human rights–based litigation s hapes, challenges, and reframes migration policy. We welcome contribu tions analysing (strategic) litigation practices by migrants, NGOs, g overnments, and other actors. We particularly encourage legal-doctrin al and empirical work that explores how different actors develop and deploy litigation practices and strategies, how courts or treaty bodi es respond to them, and case studies that illuminate these dynamics i n specific jurisdictions, institutions, or areas of migration law.
2. Asylum and the New Pact
At the time of the conference, the EU-Pact on Asylum and Migration will hav e just entered into force, introducing ten new instruments to the Com mon European Asylum System (CEAS). We invite submissions addressing a ny asylum-related aspect of the new Pact. For example, we welcome pap ers examining the overarching goals and guiding principles of the Pac t, in-dept analyses of any of the instruments, thematic studies on ar eas of asylum undergoing reform, fundamental rights implications of t he Pact, including how human rights safeguards are integrated into it s mechanisms, or national perspectives and challenges related to the implementation in specific Member States.
3. Rule o f Law and Migration
The rule of law—however con tested in meaning—serves as a core constraint on state power, and i s therefore of particular relevance to migrants, who depend heavily o n state decisions, while general constitutional law doctrines are oft en considered not to apply (‘exceptionalism’). This stream invite s papers that theorise the relevance of the rule of law in migration contexts; interrogate exceptionalism in specific jurisdictions or leg al fields; evaluate state practices in light of rule-of-law principle s; or relate migration law to concepts such as autocratic legalism, d omination, or arbitrariness.
4. From Migratio n Law to the Law of Mobility
This stream draws on mobilities studies to broaden legal analysis beyond the traditional figure of the migrant. We invite papers examining how law regulates a diverse range of mobile subjects—tourists, business travellers, � �expats’, digital nomads, athletes, seasonal workers, diplomats, mi litary personnel, and others—and the rationales underpinning their legal differentiation. We encourage contributions analysing how time, categorisation, and state logics shape which mobilities become visib le or invisible within legal frameworks. We welcome work that explore s the value of the ‘mobilities turn’ for rethinking migration law .
5. Family and Migration law
T his stream invites papers examining how family relationships shape, c onstrain, and are reshaped by migration law and governance. We welcom e contributions analysing the regulation of family reunification, mar riage migration, children’s rights, and transnational family life, as well as the evolving legal standards that govern these areas at na tional, regional, and international levels. Submissions may explore d octrinal developments, empirical studies of administrative and judici al decision-making, or the political and social forces influencing fa mily-related migration policies. We particularly encourage work that highlights how legal norms, bureaucratic practices, and lived experie nces intersect in the production of family migration law.
6.
Labour migration is a central dimension of the Glo bal Compact for Migration, which will undergo its second review at th e International Migration Review Forum in May 2026. This stream invit es submissions examining national or regional approaches to labour-re lated aspects of the Compact. Contributions may analyse the Compact� �s influence on labour migration legislation, jurisprudence, and poli cy; evaluate the implementation of its objectives on migration pathwa ys, ethical recruitment, and decent work; or explore the role of key stakeholders—including international organisations, civil society, trade unions, the private sector, and national human rights instituti ons—in the implementation of these objectives.
DESCRIPTION: The conference will open on 17 June with the final of the International Moot Court Competition and a subsequent social event a t the Hortus Botanicus of the VU. The streams and panels will take pl ace on 18-19 June, see the full program here. Participation to the conference is free (including soc ial event and lunches). The conference dinner will take place on 18 J une, for those who have registered (fee 30 euro). Registration and payment conference dinner Th e Amsterdam Centre for Migration and Refugee Law (ACMRL) at VU Am sterdam is a leading hub for doctrinal, critical, and interdisciplina ry research on migration and refugee law. ACMRL scholars work a cross asylum, family and labour migration, mobility, human rights, an d the rule of law, and the broader political, societal and historical forces shaping the field. Combining legal analysis with socio-legal and empirical approaches, the Centre is deeply engaged in public deba te and policy advice, informing discussions at national, European, an d global levels. Keynotes We are delighted that the conference will be opened with an excellent keynotes: Thursday 18 Jun e, 9:30. Catherine Dauvergne ‘What if Refugees Mattered? Th e Challenge to International Law’, NU Theater 3 < strong>Streams