New Challenges for Transnational Civil and Commercial Law in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Rethinking the Role of Law and Legal Institutions in Times of Crisis

Following the fast spread of Covid-19, many countries around the world have imposed special measures on their populations such as self-isolation and restriction of movement and assembly, which are also directly affecting legal relationships, transactions and national legal systems overall. It is anticipated that there will be an increase in legal disputes due to Covid-19 restrictions and this proposed international research collaborative will focus on new challenges in the area of transnational civil and commercial law in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. . The objectives are to: (i) create a network of universities; (ii) deepen the law and social science scholarship on transnational civil and commercial law in the wake of pandemic; and (iii) inform policy and industry discussions taking place among law and social science researchers world-wide around the effects of Covid-19. The proposed International Research Collaborative will have several research streams, originating from the intersection of the participants’ expertise and interests. The streams of the project are: 1. Theoretical considerations of the impact of Covid_19 restrictions on legal systems 2. New challenges for civil and commercial law 3. Impact on international judicial cooperation.