Program & Events

Session 1
The Concept of Property: A Tribute to James Penner
This panel celebrates the work of James Penner, recipient of the 2026 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Prize, whose scholarship has reshaped contemporary understanding of the nature and structure of property. The panel will explore major contributions and themes in Penner’s work, including separable “things,” exclusionary norms, and the bundle-of-rights debate, as well as the connections between conceptual, doctrinal, practical, and philosophical approaches to property law.

Session 2                                                  
Property, Human Rights, and International Law
Bringing together scholars and practitioners working across these fields, this panel will examine how property rights are recognized, limited, and contested in international and transnational contexts, including through human rights frameworks and investment law regimes, as well as the mediation of property disputes between nation-states.  Discussion will address questions about the status of property as a human right, the relationship between property protections and state regulatory authority, and the role of international law in shaping domestic property systems. The panel will also consider tensions between private ownership, public interests, and distributive concerns in a global setting.

Session 3
Other People's Things: Trusts, Entities, and Fiduciaries in Property
This panel examines forms of ownership in which control and benefit are divided across persons, from private trusts to corporate and charitable entities.  The discussion will showcase current debates in fiduciary law, and the significance of the wider set of questions they present for our understanding of property and ownership. The panel will also address the conceptual and practical implications of separating legal and beneficial interests across different institutional settings.

Session 4
Roman, English, and Other Legacies: The Role of History in Property Law
More than other areas of basic private law, property draws upon and reflects historical sources and practices in a wide range of contexts and applications.  This panel will explore how and why historical considerations shape contemporary property law.  Discussion will address the uses and limits of historical analysis in property theory and doctrine, including questions about continuity, adaptation, and divergence. The panel will also consider how appeals to history inform present-day debates about ownership, authority, and the evolution of property institutions.

Session 5
Intangible Property in an Interconnected World
This panel examines how legal regimes governing intellectual property, digital assets, and other non-physical ownable assets operate across borders, and the extent to which globalization complicates or reshapes traditional territorial assumptions. Discussion will address questions about jurisdiction, enforcement, and regulatory coordination, as well as the tension between claims of a “borderless” digital environment and the continuing role of nation-states and their subdivisions in defining and protecting property rights. The panel will also consider how emerging technologies and transnational markets are transforming the structure and scope of intangible property.

Session 6
Comparative Perspectives on Compensation for Government Takings
This panel explores how different legal systems approach compensation for government expropriation of private property, focusing in particular on English, American, and Canadian law.  It will examine when compensation is required, how it is measured, and how doctrines vary across jurisdictions and institutional settings, as well as differences in more general attitudes and institutional approaches to property protection.  The panel will also consider what comparative experience reveals about the purposes of compensation and the relative advantages and disadvantages of varying strategies for securing property rights.

Session 7
Of Locke, Bentham, and Blackstone: English Contributions to Property’s Philosophical Foundations
This panel will discuss normative justifications for property law, with a special emphasis on the contributions of major English theorists.  It will explore how themes of labor, productivity, security, and legal order have shaped enduring understandings of ownership and its moral underpinnings.  The discussion will consider the continuing influence of writers like Locke, Bentham, and Blackstone on contemporary property theory, as well as the tensions among their approaches.