The Graduate School of Law (GSL) of Nagoya University successfully hosted an online workshop on 17 December 2025, titled “Digitalized Dispute Resolution: Significance and Challenges”. The event was held as part of UNCITRAL Asia Pacific Day 2025, a flagship annual initiative of the UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RCAP) aimed at promoting awareness of UNCITRAL legal instruments and the importance of legal harmonization among law students and academics across the region.Each year, RCAP collaborates with leading universities in the Asia-Pacific to deliver such outreach events. This year’s workshop was organized under the leadership of Professor Dai Yokomizo (Nagoya University) and featured two substantive sessions delivered by distinguished experts.The first session opened with a keynote address by Professor Dr. Maud Piers (Coordinator, Center for the Future of Dispute Resolution, Ghent University; Of Counsel, Gantenberg Dispute Experts), entitled “Mind the Gap: Overlooked Challenges in AI and Arbitration.” Drawing on her extensive academic expertise and technology-driven arbitration practice, Professor Piers provided an insightful and engaging overview of the current state of artificial intelligence in arbitration. She highlighted critical challenges facing arbitral proceedings, including cybersecurity threats, data governance risks, algorithmic bias, and the increasing use of deepfakes. Notably, she also discussed recent court practice concerning deepfake evidence and emerging defensive strategies. The keynote was followed by a lively Q&A session, which generated thoughtful questions and active discussion among participants.The second, shorter session was delivered by Mr. Kazuaki Takahashi (Legal Officer at UNCITRAL RCAP), who presented on “An Overview of UNCITRAL’s ‘Dispute Resolution in the Digital Economy’ Project.” Mr. Takahashi first outlined UNCITRAL’s earlier work on online dispute resolution before introducing the ongoing Dispute Resolution in the Digital Economy initiative. He also explained the current legislative work of UNCITRAL Working Group II, particularly its focus on the use of artificial intelligence in dispute resolution processes.The workshop attracted more than 20 participants, including students, scholars, and legal practitioners with a strong interest in digital dispute resolution and arbitration. The event provided a valuable platform for knowledge exchange and engagement with cutting-edge developments at the intersection of law, technology, and dispute resolution.Nagoya University Graduate School of Law looks forward to the continued and fruitful collaboration with UNCITRAL RCAP and hopes to host further joint events in the coming years.This event is part of the “Lawyer Training Program for Globalization”, funded by a donation from the Shinnippon-Hoki Foundation.

Professor Narangerel Sodovsuren, Honorary Doctor of Nagoya University and one of Mongolia’s leading legal scholars, was awarded the “Chinggis Khaan” First Class Order of Mongolia, one of the highest state honors of the country, in November 2025. This highly prestigious order is conferred by the President of Mongolia upon a single individual each year who has made outstanding contributions to the nation’s development and to the advancement of academic and cultural fields.Professor Narangerel Sodovsuren has played a central role in shaping Mongolia’s legal system, contributing to constitutional development, legal education, and the advancement of legal scholarship. Over more than 50 years at the National University of Mongolia, he has educated numerous researchers and legal professionals, while also contributing to the promotion of international cooperation.He has also been deeply engaged in academic collaboration between Mongolia and Nagoya University, significantly contributing to the expansion of the Graduate School of Law’s international academic network.The Graduate School of Law sincerely congratulates Professor Narangerel Sodovsuren on this prestigious honor and pays tribute to his exceptional achievements.

On December 5, 2025, the Graduate School of Law at Nagoya University was privileged to host Professor Timo Minssen, Professor of Law at the University of Copenhagen and Founding Director of the Center for Advanced Studies in Biomedical Innovation Law (CeBIL). He delivered a hybrid lecture, held in Seminar Room 4 at ALEP and streamed online via Zoom, titled “Law, AI, Democracy and human dignity: Denmark’s legislative initiative in the fight against deepfakes”.Professor Minssen opened his presentation by outlining the challenges posed by contemporary issues of quantum sovereignty and resilience, and their implications for democracy and human dignity. From this broader context, he introduced Denmark’s recent legislative initiative to combat deepfakes by creating a private-law based cause of action.Professor Minssen examined the concrete harms associated with deepfakes, particularly in electoral contexts where manipulated content can spread rapidly and shape public opinion in a very short time. The Danish proposal was presented as an effort to construct a new private cause of action within copyright law, inspired by the “right to one’s own image” and relying on established copyright enforcement mechanisms to protect individuals against unauthorized, dignity-harming uses of their likeness.Professor Minssen emphasized that this new instrument is intended to function as one additional layer in a broader, multi-layered regulatory system, complementing instruments such as the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, the Digital Services Act, among others.The lecture concluded with an active Q&A session, which included discussion on the compatibility of Denmark’s proposal with the wider EU legislative architecture.This special lecture series is part of the “Lawyer Training Program for Globalization”, funded by a donation from the Shinnippon-Hoki Foundation.

Bakxshillo Kamolovich Khodjaev has been appointed Rector of Tashkent State University of Law. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation at the same institution. Dr. Khodjaev studied in Japan from 2014 to 2018, completing his doctoral program in comparative law at Nagoya University. His field of specialization is unfair competition law, and he wrote his dissertation under the supervision of Professor Shuya Hayashi.After returning to Uzbekistan, he held various important positions at the Ministry of Justice from 2018 to 2020. In 2020, he became the Chair of the Department of Business Law at Tashkent State University of Law, and from 2020 to 2022 he served as Dean of the Faculty of Private Law. Since 2022, Dr. Khodjaev has served as the University’s Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation.The appointment of an NU@GSL alumnus as Rector coincides with an important period of reform in legal education and scholarship in Uzbekistan. According to the President’s new decree, as the newly appointed Rector, Dr. Khodjaev is expected to ensure the integration of legal education and practical training, introduce a collegial governance system within the university administration, and enhance the quality of legal education and research so that Tashkent State University of Law enters the QS Top 1000 ranking by 2030. In addition, the university is expected to relocate to its new campus between 2025 and 2028.We wish Rector Dr. Khodjaev, as an NU@GSL alumnus, every success in effectively implementing these major tasks. 

On November 25, 2025, the Graduate School of Law at Nagoya University was privileged of hosting Professor Alain Strowel from Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain, Belgium). He delivered a hybrid lecture, conducted both in-person and online, titled “Generative AI: the Largest Ever ‘Theft’ of Intellectual Labor? Review of Copyright Developments in the EU and US and Possible Reform to Tackle the Risks of AI Slop and AI Model Collapse”.Professor Strowel opened his presentation by illustrating the profound impacts of generative AI on the creative sector, emphasizing the widespread use of copyrighted works for AI training and how this practice might contribute to a “theft of intellectual labor”. He highlighted significant risks, including legal uncertainties, the proliferation of “AI slop” and the threat of “AI model collapse” if models are trained mainly on synthetic data.Specifically, the professor detailed that the ability of AI to create competing content quickly and at minimal costs has contributed to a sharp decline in the earnings of self-employed authors and artists. Although major companies are increasingly securing licensing deals with AI developers, individual creators often left with little or no incentives at all. Thus, as the professor suggests, these problems should be resolved through the introduction of reinforced incentives of “improvement of market solution” and “new unwaivable remuneration right for creators”.The lecture concluded with active Q&A session, as the attendees asked question from the floor and through the online platform.This special lecture series are part of the “Lawyer Training Program for Globalization,” funded by a donation from the Shinnippon-Hoki Foundation.

On October 22, 2025, the Graduate School of Law at Nagoya University was privileged of hosting Professor Giorgio Fabio Colombo from the Ca’Foscari University of Venice (Italy), who delivered a special lecture titled “Salient Features of International Commercial Arbitration”.As a distinguish scholar and practitioner in the field of international commercial arbitration (“ICA”), professor Colombo explained the key characteristics that distinguish ICA from other methods of dispute resolution, while also highlighting its advantages and certain limitations in the context of contemporary global practice. He further elaborated on the principal features of ICAs administered under institutional rules of arbitrations and ad-hoc arbitrations, explaining the favorable aspects of each model.Professor Colombo then delved into the practical aspects of arbitration by explaining how to draft a robust arbitration agreement and wisely select place of arbitration. This is particularly important because a valid arbitration agreement serves as a legal foundation enabling the parties to proceed to arbitration, whereas, a poorly drafted arbitration clause may fail to reflect the parties` true intentions. The choice of seat, on the other hand, determines the procedural framework governing the arbitration and the availability of interim measures. Consequently, selecting a seat that is supportive of arbitration and backed by a pro-arbitration judiciary is crucial for the success of the process.The lecture concluded with an engaging question and answer session, emphasizing the continuing global significance of ICA in the modern dispute resolution landscape.This special lecture is a part of the “Lawyer Training Program for Globalization”, funded by a donation from the Shinnippon-Hoki Foundation.

On September 29, Nagoya University held the Third Ius Commune Award Ceremony and Thesis Presentation. The Ius Commune award was established in 2023 to further promote the training of legal professionals who will help lead Asia in the future, and to encourage and support the development of students’ research. This prize is administered with donations to Nagoya University’s “Asian Legal Professional Support” Special Fund.At the award ceremony, Mr. KHAKIMOV Said-Islom-Bek Khakim Ugli and Mr.RETH Sarakvivat, this year's Excellence Award (First Place) awardees, and Mr. NAKAYA Yuji,  the Excellence Award recipient were presented with plaques and supplementary prizes, followed by a presentation of their winning theses.The ceremony and thesis presentations were attended by about 50 guests. The audience included donors to the Nagoya University “Asian Legal Professional Support” Special Fund, professors,current students, and the general public.■Introduction of Awardees： https://www.law.nagoya-u.ac.jp/faculty-of-law-news/2025-09-04.html■About Prize of Ius Communehttps://www.law.nagoya-u.ac.jp/kikin/#ius_commune

On September 3, 2025, the Graduate School of Law at Nagoya University had the honor of hosting Dr. Aris Georgopoulos, Assistant Professor in Public Law and European Law at the School of Law of the University of Nottingham (UK) and Head of the Innovation, AI, Strategic and Defense Procurement Research Unit of the Public Procurement Research Group. He delivered a lecture titled “Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Public Sector Governance: Bellerophon Rising?”.Dr. Georgopoulos opened his presentation by illustrating AI’s crucial role in public procurement by exemplifying the UK medical services during the COVID-19 pandemic. He emphasized that AI can significantly improve public services in crisis situations by ensuring the timely delivery of essential supplies and services. He also addressed the risks and challenges on the contestability of AI-generated decisions by citing controversial cases, such the Netherlands’ System Risk Indication (SyRI) case and the UK’s “Windrush” Visa Applications Algorithm.The lecture further explored global AI regulatory approaches. The US favors “light touch” approach that fosters innovation-friendly framework with decentralized oversight. Whereas, the EU supports a risk-based, centralized approach that focuses on ethical AI and transparency. In this race, China prioritizes state-driven and innovation-led development with strong national oversight, while the UK develops a proportional approach, blending elements of both US and EU models.The lecture concluded with active audience engagement, with participants asking question both in person and through online platform.This special lecture series are part of the “Lawyer Training Program for Globalization,” funded by a donation from the Shinnippon-Hoki Foundation.