Regulations for 2026 workshops

1.    Applications to organise a workshop during 2026 must be received by the 28th of February 2025. Late applications cannot be accepted. Applications will be reviewed by the IISL’s Board members. The IISL particularly welcomes proposals from individuals and groups who are new to the Institute.

2.    Workshops can be held from April 2026 to July 2026. They are held on Thursday and Friday, with the participants arriving on Wednesday afternoon or evening. This standard set-up facilitates the organisation and coordination of the workshops, and a special conference package applies (see below). Workshops could, by arrangement, begin earlier and last longer, but in such a case additional costs will be incurred. Applications should indicate the preferred dates, but these are subject to negotiation with and final decision by the Institute.

3.    Applications must include the following:

i.    the application form;
ii.   A short, one page (and only one page) CV for each organiser;
iii.  names and full contact details of the organisers, with their professional status, affiliations, etc.; if there is more than one, the primary person for liaison with the Institute should be identified;
iv.  a list of the provisional participants, with their professional status and affiliations; they should have been contacted in advance and have agreed to participate; if the application is successful, a final list together with full contact details will be needed. The number of participants will be between 15 and 25. If the idea is to have more than 25, please contact the Institute to check the possibilities. The meeting room for the workshops can accommodate 20-25 people, not more;
v.  a provisional programme for the workshop, including working titles of presentations or papers. The timetable for sessions should bear in mind that restaurants in Oñati serve a midday meal only from 13.00 and the evening meal after 21.00. Coffee breaks would need to be at least 15 minutes long. A common timetable is: 09.15-11.00; 11.15-13.00 and 14.45-16.15; 16.30-18.00.

4.    Evaluation of proposals. Workshop proposals will be evaluated on:

a) Quality of the proposal. Applications should clearly explain the contribution of the proposed workshop to socio-legal studies or sociology of law. The conveners should be in a credible position to make this a valuable and inspiring workshop experience, as judged from their track record (considering academic age), scholarly potential and commitment. The prospects for a successful publication of papers presented at the workshop using one of the publication venues offered by the Institute (see point 6) will likewise be considered; 

b) Originality. Applications should explain the originality of the proposed workshop and its expected outcomes. We particularly appreciate new lines of research or workshops creating novel connections, if they make a convincing contribution to socio-legal research. In instances where a similar topic has been the subject of a previous workshop, applications should clearly indicate how their treatment of the topic will differ;

c) Spread of participation. Workshops participants should come from a range of geographical locations, including both international participants and participants based at Basque institutions, and different cultural perspectives. Please note that workshops do not have to be held in English, and a diversity of language is encouraged (e.g., Spanish as shared language; bilingual workshop). There should also be a spread of participants according to stage of career, including early career researchers (doctoral or postdoctoral) as well as more advanced and senior academics.  Applications should clearly indicate in the list of provisional participants who has already made a commitment to attend (to be marked with *); 

d) Relevance to the Basque Country. Workshops are welcomed on any topic that will make a significant contribution to socio-legal studies or sociology of law. However, as one of our commitments is to promote science-society transfer, we are also looking for possible connections to the Basque Country, and we aim to include at least one workshop from local collaborators each year. International applicants are invited to spell out how your workshop matters to local people.

The following topics are particularly relevant to the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country:

• Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods, Restorative Justice and Therapeutic Justice.
• Accessibility to the (Administration) of Justice for vulnerable groups due to socio-economic reasons, age, disability, gender, health, etc.
• Impact analysis and evaluation of the legislation applicable in the Basque Country with special attention to the legislative production of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country.
• Basic legal education. Initiatives to increase citizens' knowledge of the world of law with special attention to awareness of their own rights.
• Developments in the training and qualification of legal professionals and their interdisciplinary openness.

5.     The substantive and intellectual organization of the workshop will be the responsibility of the workshop’s proposers; the IISL will provide organisational support, as spelled out below. The IISL is unable to provide any form of insurance, so participants are responsible for their own travel and health insurance, arrangements or costs.

6.    The IISL offers its publication venues to workshop groups: its open access journal Oñati Socio-Legal Series (OSLS), indexed in Web of Science’s ESCI and in Elsevier’s Scopus, or one of its book series, namely Oñati International Series in Law in Society, published in English by Bloomsbury-Hart, or Oñati: Derecho y Sociedad, published in Spanish by Dykinson. Workshop participants will be offered a presentation about these venues of publication at some point during the workshop. As a general rule, a condition of hosting a workshop is that the IISL is entitled to first refusal of publications. Should the workshop organisers have other publication plans, they are expected to clearly express their intentions in the moment of submitting their workshop application. For further information, see the Workshop Publication Guidelines or refer to Leire Kortabarria.

7.    If accepted, the proposer of the workshop will be asked to confirm acceptance. The title and dates of the workshop will then be publicised on the IISL website and other publicity material. The organiser will then be contacted again, normally 4-5 months prior to the date of the workshop, to supply the list of participants with full contact details, and a revised programme. The IISL will then send an email to participants, with a pre-registration and final registration form. The organiser should send the final programme to the IISL 6 weeks before the workshop date. Final registration forms must be received from participants three months before workshop date. All participants will be sent by the IISL the final programme and a list of participants, and this information will be posted on the IISL website.

8.    To contribute to the service costs the Institute incurs in hosting workshops, a workshop fee will be raised, which shall be paid by all participants, including the organizers. The services included in this fee are spelled out below (conference package). The workshop fee for 2026 will be as follows:

• €175 non-members of the RCSL, professionals,
• €150 members of the RCSL, professionals,
• €70 for students, unemployed or retired people.

Note: This fee is subject to revision in the year 2025. All participants, including organizers, co-presenters, and participants regardless of duration or specific details of their participation are subject to the payment of the above mentioned rates. Exceptions will only be made for specifically announced events, which may be opened to other guests at the Institute at favourable conditions and do not give access to catering or other specific workshop services.

9.    The conference package covers usage of workshop spaces, basic catering and collective transport services as well as organisational support.

Coffees and meals: The conference package includes two main meals in selected restaurants, one welcome dinner, and the coffee for the breaks (two days). The shared meals will be organised in the middle of the day. Alternatively, participants may also go to bars/cafés in Oñati for pintxos, or other restaurants of their choice for meals if they prefer, at their own expense. Several restaurants offer a 3-course menu in the middle of the day and several bars/cafés have pintxos. Organisers who have supplementary funds can request additional or different meal arrangements, e.g. for a meal in a higher-class restaurant and pay for it directly in the restaurant(s). Several high-quality restaurants are available near Oñati. Transportation may be needed, and would have to be paid for separately.

Transport services: As part of the conference package, the Institute will organise and pay for a bus from Zumarraga train station and Bilbao airport and city to Oñati the evening before and the morning after the workshop, as follows:

• From Bilbao city to Oñati on Wednesday 19.00, and from Bilbao airport 19.30.
• From Zumarraga train station to Oñati on Wednesday 19.30.
• From Oñati to Bilbao airport/city and Zumarraga train station at 08.30 the morning after the workshop  (Saturday).

Participants will be met by a driver who will be holding a Card with the initials IISJ/IISL and logo of the Institute.

Organisational support: The staff of the Institute supports the workshop proposers in organisational matters and specifically helps with booking accommodation for the participants at the Antia Residence, organising meals and transports (in as much as they form part of the conference package), payment procedures, and all related communication. Papers and presentations for the workshop can be made available, for access by participants, on the IISL intranet. On the days of the workshop, staff will be available for questions and support to help everything go according to plans.

All the participants will have to pay for their accommodation themselves (if needed). The Residencia Antia, belonging to the Institute, could offer accommodation for 18 persons occupying separate rooms (it will depend on the number of visiting scholars at the time of the workshop) at very affordable rates. Breakfast will not be served in the Residencia, but there are several cafeterias nearby to drop by on the way to the Institute. Participants not staying in the IISL Residence could be lodged in a nearby hotel, Hotel Ongi|Iraipe or Hotel Torre Zumeltzegi. The prices in the hotels are more expensive. Reservations for accommodation at the Antia Residence can be made through the Institute according to the date of arrival of the Registration forms. Hotel reservations will be made directly by the participants.

The seminar room in the Antigua Universidad can comfortably seat 20-25 people. Technical equipment is included, and there will be help with the set-up. The room will be prepared with drinking water and name tags for the participants.

Publication support as indicated in point 6 makes a further extra in collaborating with the Institute.

10.    Participants must make and pay for their own international travel arrangements.

PLEASE NOTE: A workshop will be cancelled if there are fewer than 15 scholars participating in person.

Application form: https://www.iisj.net/en/application-formworkshops