The University of Belgrade Faculty of Law is now receiving paper proposals for the Second student conference on legal history – the Iustoria 2021, to be held on the 25th and 26th of March, 2021, its topic being “Law and Religion”

The reason for the topic is the fact that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Vidovdan (St. Vitus’ Day) Constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1921), which, among many other changes, was the first in this region to introduce multi-confessionalism instead of one state religion. The question of the relationship between the state and the church and the position of different religious denominations in the modern state is certainly still relevant today; however, the connection between law and religion has lasted since time immemorial. The emergence of the first norms of primitive law is predominantly related to religious commandments and taboos. Most legal systems of the Antiquity have noticeable connections with religion – from irrational means of proof such as ordeals and oaths, through contractualformalism in the old ius civile, to special regulations on the position of the clergy. Monotheistic religions bring with them a different view of society and law, and many new topics, such as the relationship between secular and religious regulations, the influence of religious norms on everyday social relations (especially marital and family relations) or the punishment of crimes against religion. In all societies, one can speak to a greater or lesser extent about the issue of the legal position of members of other religions, but it is monotheism, together with numerous religious conflicts and schisms, that intensifies this issue. The colonial expansion of the Western powers also raises the question of the attitude of (Christian) colonizers towards the religions of the conquered population. And the modern age also brings states that separate themselves from religion – whether it is a matter of distancing in the form of secularism, or a conflict characteristic of communist states. We’re looking forward to applications on all of these and many other issues related to the main topic!

All students of graduate and post-graduate studies pertaining to law or other humanities are eligible to apply for the conference. The applications should contain basic personal information (name and surname, faculty, department, level and year of study), along with an extended abstract containing anywhere between 500 and 1000 words. Applications are accepted in either Serbian or English.
The applications should be e-mailed to iustoria@ius.bg.ac.rs before the 15th of January, 2021 (extended until February 15th, 2021). The students will be informed by the 25th of January whether or not their application has been accepted. A provisional programme for the conference will be announced by the 1st of February. Drafts of the chosen papers need to be sent by the 15th of March. For any additional information you may enquire at the same e-mail address, or consult the official Facebook page of the conference – https://www.facebook.com/iustoria/

Just like on last year’s conference, apart from the presentations given by their colleagues, the students at the conference will have an opportunity to attend several lectures given by renowned experts – more details on this will be available in the final version of the programme.
Given the fact that the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic is still uncertain, we will make a decision by the 25th of February whether the conference will be held live or online. If it is held live, we’ll do our best to secure accomodations either in student dorms or with student host families for those participants who don’t reside in Belgrade. These arrangements will depend on the number of available spots.
The final versions of the papers presented at the conference, with final changes and corrections submitted within a reasonable time after the conference, will be submitted for publication in the journal „Vesnik pravne istorije / Herald of Legal History“.Herald of Legal History”.