Aims and scope
The year 2026 will mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which was passed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 13, 2006. Over the last two decades, important progress was made in advancing the rights of persons with disabilities on the basis of the CRPD in countries all around the world. At the same time, many challenges in its implementation are yet to be overcome.
We cordially invite academics and policymakers to submit their papers that address key achievements and challenges related to the implementation of the CRPD, especially over the past years, from different perspectives: legal, social, economic, psychological etc.
Submissions may address the following thematic areas of the CRPD:
- Equality and non-discrimination (Article 5), including Equal recognition before the law (Article 12) and Access to justice (Article 13)
- Women with disabilities (Article 6) and Children with disabilities (Article 7)
- Accessibility (Article 9)
- Education (Article 24)
- Health (Article 25)
- Work and employment (Article 27)
- Living independently and being included in the community (Article 19) and Adequate standard of living and social protection (Article 28)
- Participation in political and public life (Article 29) and Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport (Article 30).
Important information
Working language of the Conference is English.
The conference will be organised in the hybrid format, so that the participants can join in person or via zoom platform.
Travel costs are borne by participants and shall not be reimbursed.
Lunch and coffee breaks during the conference shall be organized for all participants.
Accommodation (one night) shall be arranged and borne by the organizers.
Submission Deadline for Abstracts: 15 April 2025
Notification on Acceptance of Abstract: 15 May 2025
Submission Deadline for Papers: 10 September 2025
Conference dates: 25-26 September 2025
Publication: Spring 2026
Abstracts of 300 to 500 words (maximum) should outline the research objectives, methodology, main arguments and anticipated findings or implications.
Abstracts should be submitted by 15th April 2025 to the following email address: 20UNCRPD@iup.rs.
If accepted, abstracts will be published in the Book of Abstracts that will be available to all participants before the conference. In this case, you will also be invited to deliver a full paper of no more than 8,000 words by 10th of September 2025.
Submitted papers will undergo double blind review process and may be included in the publication upon the receipt of two positive reviews. Selected papers will be published in the publication: “20 Years of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Achievements and Perspectives”.
Institute of comparative law
Faculty of Law University of Osijek
Program committee
Aleksandra Rabrenović, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Comparative Law, Belgrade, Serbia
Valentina Ranaldi, Associate Professor, Niccolo Cusano, University of Rome, Italy
Lazar Stefanović, PhD, ALL Institute, School of Law, Maynooth University, Ireland
Vesna Ćorić, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Comparative Law, Belgrade, Serbia
Ana Knežević Bojović, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Comparative Law, Belgrade, Serbia
Milica Matijević, Research Fellow, Institute of Comparative Law, Belgrade, Serbia
Jovana Rajić Ćalić, Research Fellow, Institute of Comparative Law, Belgrade, Serbia
Ljubomir Tintor, Research Assistant, Institute of Comparative Law, Belgrade, Serbia
Jovana Misailović, Research Assistant, Faculty of Law, University of Kragujevac, Serbia
Đorđe Timotijević, Junior Research Assistant, Institute of Comparative Law, Belgrade, Serbia