Private law and the courts in an age of disruption
The Warren Centre for Civil Justice will host a one-day conference on the theme of “Private law and the courts in an age of disruption: Bending, breaking, or restating?” on Friday 30 October 2026 at the Monash University Law Chambers in Melbourne, Victoria.
The keynote session will be given by The Honourable Justice Mark Leeming, Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, and be chaired by Professor The Honourable Marilyn Warren AC KC. A selection of peer reviewed papers will be published in a special issue of the Monash University Law Review.
Conference Theme
Private law has long presented itself as a domain of incremental development, doctrinal coherence, and principled reasoning. Yet contemporary pressures, including digital platforms and AI, climate change, mass harm events, financial innovation, and shifting conceptions of property, personhood, and responsibility, raise profound questions about the stability and adaptability of private law’s core concepts and doctrines.
We welcome papers that use diverse methodologies and/or approaches to address any topic related to the conference theme, including (but not limited to):
- Challenges to private law’s theoretical foundations.
- The role of courts, whether appellate or first instance, in doctrinal development.
- Disruptions in contract law, including digital contracting and smart contracts.
- Tort law’s role in addressing harms caused by climate change and emerging technologies.
- Property law and digital or intangible assets.
- The application of equitable and fiduciary doctrine to complex and novel settings.
- Remedies and the recalibration or restatement of private law’s responses to wrongs.
- Comparative or transnational perspectives on doctrinal change.
Visit the Monash Law event page for more information and registration details.
Event Details
- Date:
- 30 October 2026 at 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
- Venue:
- 555 Lonsdale Street Melbourne, VIC 3000
- Campus:
- Monash University Law Chambers
Description
The Warren Centre for Civil Justice will host a one-day conference on the theme of “Private law and the courts in an age of disruption: Bending, breaking, or restating?” on Friday 30 October 2026 at the Monash University Law Chambers in Melbourne, Victoria.
The keynote session will be given by The Honourable Justice Mark Leeming, Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, and be chaired by Professor The Honourable Marilyn Warren AC KC. A selection of peer reviewed papers will be published in a special issue of the Monash University Law Review.
Conference Theme
Private law has long presented itself as a domain of incremental development, doctrinal coherence, and principled reasoning. Yet contemporary pressures, including digital platforms and AI, climate change, mass harm events, financial innovation, and shifting conceptions of property, personhood, and responsibility, raise profound questions about the stability and adaptability of private law’s core concepts and doctrines.
We welcome papers that use diverse methodologies and/or approaches to address any topic related to the conference theme, including (but not limited to):
- Challenges to private law’s theoretical foundations.
- The role of courts, whether appellate or first instance, in doctrinal development.
- Disruptions in contract law, including digital contracting and smart contracts.
- Tort law’s role in addressing harms caused by climate change and emerging technologies.
- Property law and digital or intangible assets.
- The application of equitable and fiduciary doctrine to complex and novel settings.
- Remedies and the recalibration or restatement of private law’s responses to wrongs.
- Comparative or transnational perspectives on doctrinal change.
Visit the Monash Law event page for more information and registration details.