Author Archives: Svan Relac

In memoriam Zoran Pokrovac

We are saddened to note that Professor Zoran Pokrovac, a long-standing member of the Croatian section of the IVR and its president from 2011 to 2015, passed away on 24 September 2025. Professor Ivan Padjen has written an In memoriam, which is available here.

ZLTG Members on the 17th CEE Forum, Split, 25-26th September 2025

Three members of the Zagreb Legal Theory Group participated in the 17th CEE Forum for Young Legal, Political, and Social Theorists, held at the Law Faculty of the University of Split on 25th and 26th of September 2025.

Paula Sviben delivered a presentation titled “The CJEU’s Conceptual Approach to the Rule of Law and Judicial Independence.”

Svan Relac delivered a presentation titled “Is Lex Posterior Necessary in Legal Systems?”

Marianela Delgado delivered a presentation titled “Why Conceptual Analysis Matters in Evidentiary Debates: Lessons from Gender-Motivated Crimes.”

CfP: 17th Central and Eastern European Forum of Young Legal, Political and Social Theorists

17th Central and Eastern European Forum of Young Legal, Political and Social Theorists will take place on 25-26th September 2025 in Split, Croatia. The conference is aimed at students, PhD students as well as young post-docs and professors coming from all over the world (not only from Central and Eastern Europe).


The conference language is English. If you wish to participate, please send an abstract of about 300-500 words at ceeforum2025@pravst.hr by 10 June 2025.

A detailed CfP can be found here.

CfP: CEENJ 2025

The 2025 (CEE)NJ (Central and Eastern European Network of Jurisprudence) Conference is to take place at the premises of the Mykolas Romeris University in VIlnius (Lithuania), Faculty of Law on September 18-20, 2025.

The topic of the the 2025 CEENJ conference is “Jurisprudence in Central and Eastern Europe: Work in Progress 2025”.

Contributions to the whole gamut of jurisprudential issues, from legal philosophy and theory to social, psychological, economic or other theories of law, are welcome. Dogmatic (doctrinal) and empirical (historical, sociological, economic, etc.) studies of law with a strong conceptual content are also acceptable. The 2025 CEENJ Conference will also be open to participants working and/or residing outside the European area.

The deadline for submitting applications is June 15, 2025.

For more detail, see please see the official Call for Papers.

Forthcoming Reading Group: Legal Science

10th Reading Group: D. Duarte, Legal Science and J. Penner, On the Nature of Legal Science: Reply to Duarte

26 November 2024: D. Duarte, Legal Science (Paula Sviben) and J. Penner, On the Nature of Legal Science: Reply to Duarte (Rafaela Krešić). (Trg Republike Hrvatske 3, dvorana III, 13:00 – 14:30h).

3rd CALSP Student Conference, 9th May 2025

The Croatian Association for Legal and Social Philosophy and Theory of Law and State (CALSP/IVRCroatia) is organizing a new edition of a student conference in legal theory.

The Third CALSP Student Conference: “Current State and Upcoming Challenges of Legal Theory andPhilosophy of Law, 2025” will be held in person at the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb on May 9, 2025.
Contributions to a wide range of legal issues, from legal philosophy and analytic legal theory to social theories of law, are welcome. Dogmatic (doctrinal) and historical, sociological, economic, etc., studies of law with strong conceptual, theoretical or philosophical content are also acceptable. Applications are open to all undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students and run until February 28, 2025.

Full text of the call can be found here.