UCL Centre for Law, Economics and Society at UCL Laws to host 21st Annual ASCOLA Conference in 2026

The Centre for Law, Economics and Society (CLES) at UCL Laws will serve as the principal organiser of the 21st Annual Conference of the Academic Society for Competition Law (ASCOLA), to be held in London in July 2026. This landmark event will take place as part of UCL’s bicentennial celebrations, highlighting two centuries of academic excellence and global leadership in legal scholarship.

UCL CLES and its members Professor Ioannis Lianos, Dr Deni Mantzari and Dr Stavros Makris will lead on the part of UCL the organisation of this major international gathering of competition law scholars, in close collaboration with King’s College London (KCL) as co-organiser, and with the support of the University of Cambridge, the Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS) at Queen Mary University of London, and the University of Oxford.

The successful bid was spearheaded by Professor Ioannis Lianos, founding Director of UCL CLES. His recent reappointment to the ASCOLA Executive Board further underscores his pivotal role in bringing this prestigious conference to London and will facilite the much needed collaboration for the realisation of this event. Professor Lianos will also head the steering committee of the conference.

“We are honoured to host ASCOLA’s 21st Annual Conference during UCL’s bicentennial year,” said Professor Lianos. “This is a moment to showcase UCL Laws as a hub for cutting-edge thinking in competition law, and to build deeper collaborations across disciplines and institutions."

Professor Eloise Scotford, Dean of UCL Laws, said: “Hosting the ASCOLA conference is a significant recognition of the exceptional standing of UCL’s competition law team. It demonstrates the Centre for Law, Economics and Society’s commitment to interdisciplinary research and its impactful work on the most pressing global issues on competition law and policy.”

ASCOLA’s annual conference brings together scholars from around the world to present cutting-edge research on competition law and policy. The 2026 conference promises to be one of the most exciting in the Society’s history, thanks to the depth and diversity of the UK’s academic community and the vibrant research culture fostered by UCL CLES and its partners. The conference will also integrate the 2026 Valentine Korah celebration and the 2026 Cambridge/UCL Competition Law and Policy Hub into its events.

Further details regarding the conference theme, call for papers, and programme will be announced in due course.