- Sorbonne Abu Dhabi to host 7th ASSELLMU Conference on 9–10 February 2026 under the theme 'Environmental Law in the Digital Age' a first for the UAE.
- Call for papers open until 15 July 2025, inviting research on digital tech’s impact on environmental law teaching, policy, and regulation in the MENA region.
- Conference aims to reshape legal education for sustainability, with selected papers considered for a journal special issue or edited volume.
Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (SUAD) has confirmed it will be hosting the 7th Scientific Conference of the Association of Environmental Law Lecturers in the Middle East and North African Universities (ASSELLMU) on 9th and 10th February 2026.
Organized under the theme 'Environmental Law in the Digital Age', the conference will delve into how digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and new technologies are transforming the teaching, research, practice, and enforcement of environmental law and policy in the MENA region.
This is the first time the conference will be held in the UAE, offering a critical platform for scholars, university lecturers, researchers and practitioners with expertise in environmental law and policy and computer and data science to engage in collaboration on legal education strengthening and sustainability development.
SUAD encouraged scholars, practitioners and teachers to submit abstracts that examine the nexus of environmental law and digital innovation, and fit within one or more of the conference themes, which are: Teaching and practicing environmental law in the MENA region in the context of the digital shift; the promise of digital technologies to increase the mainstreaming of environmental considerations into business practices; legal means to leverage the potential of digital technology for sustainability; regulation of new technological risks; and the legal regime and status of environmental data.
15th July 2025 is the abstract submission deadline. Final authors will be contacted by 15th September 2025 and asked to submit full drafts of their papers by 15th December 2025. Revised papers will be delivered at the conference, and final papers can be included in a journal special issue or edited volume for publication.
Dr. Beatriz Garcia, Associate Professor of Law, Economics, and Management, and Spokesperson for Sustainability at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, stated, "We are truly honored to be hosting the 7th ASSELLMU Conference at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, its first in the UAE. This achievement underlines our commitment to promoting sustainability-oriented legal education and reinforces the relevance of the region's contribution to global environmental thought".
She went on to say that the conference will also be a platform for top scholars, practitioners, and institutions to reshape the future of environmental law in a manner that is locally grounded but globally informed.
