Recent Developments and Future Perspectives of Private International Law – A Reading from Portugal

On 8 October 2026, the Colégio da Trindade of the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra will host the I Meeting of Private International Law Professors, entitled Recent Developments and Future Perspectives in Private International Law – A Reading from Portugal.

As already noted on this blog in connection with the call for papers Crossing Dialogues, Disciplines and Borders: How far can Private International Law go? taking place on 9–10 October 2026, the present meeting forms part of a closely connected sequence of initiatives in Coimbra.

The initiative seeks to establish a structured forum for reflection on private international law scholarship in Portugal, fostering closer academic exchange among colleagues and enhancing awareness of the research topics currently developed across Portuguese law faculties. In doing so, the meeting aims to strengthen disciplinary cohesion while also promoting the dissemination of Portuguese private international law scholarship both domestically, among students and legal practitioners, and internationally.

The seminar is organised by Rui Manuel Moura Ramos, Afonso Patrão, Dulce Lopes and Rui Dias, and is supported by national funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), within the scope of project UID/04643/2025.

The programme will open at 10h00 with a welcome session by Dulce Lopes (Instituto Jurídico, FDUC), Dário Moura Vicente (FDUL) and Pedro Gonçalves (Director of the FDUC).

This will be followed by a first set of interventions (10h15–11h00) on Remarks on Network-Building in Private International Law, featuring keynote contributions by Guillermo Palao Moreno (University of Valencia), President of the Spanish Association of Professors of International Law and International Relations, and Ilaria Viarengo (University of Milan), member of the Governing Council of the Italian Society of International Law and EU Law.

The academic programme will then proceed with four thematic panels covering core areas of the discipline.

The first panel (11h00–12h00), Selected Perspectives on the General Part of Private International Law, will be moderated by Dulce Lopes (FDUC) and include contributions by Dário Moura Vicente (FDUL), Luís Barreto Xavier (UCP Lisbon) and Jéssica Marques Ferreira (FDUP, CIJ). A discussion will follow.

After a networking lunch, the second panel (14h00–15h20) will address Liability and Contracts (From Tradition to Modernity), under the moderation of Rui Dias (FDUC), with interventions by Luís Lima Pinheiro (FDL), Anabela Gonçalves (EDUM), Maria João Mimoso (UPortucalense) and Joana Torres Ereio (Uría Menéndez).

The third panel (15h20–16h20) will focus on Succession and Property (Reconceptualising Wealth in Cross-Border Private Relationships of Individuals and Companies), moderated by Afonso Patrão (FDUC), with contributions by João Gomes de Almeida (FDL), Frederico Sobrinho (FDUC) and Carolina Costa (FDUC).

Following a joint discussion and coffee break, the fourth panel (17h00–18h10) will examine Personal and Family Status (Identity and Changing Family Patterns), under the moderation of Nuno Andrade Pissarra (FDL), with contributions by Rui Moura Ramos (FDUC), Helena Mota (FDUP, CIJ), Elsa Dias Oliveira (FDL) and Geraldo Rocha Ribeiro (FDUC).

The event will close at 18h25 with final remarks by Rui Manuel Moura Ramos (Professor Emeritus, FDUC).

Although primarily conceived as an academic meeting, the initiative is also intended to be relevant for practitioners dealing with cross-border legal relationships, including lawyers, judges and other legal professionals. The diversity of topics addressed – from general principles to family and succession law – reflects the continuing relevance of private international law in structuring transnational private relationships in an increasingly complex legal landscape.

Further information and registration are available here.