Boundaries Unbound: Private International Law of Employment in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Dr. Ernest Ako is a DAAD Scholar specializing in International Human Rights Law and is the Head of the Department of Legal Studies at the Faculty of Law, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. His current research focuses on workers' rights within the global Artificial Intelligence (AI) labor supply chain, with particular emphasis on those in the Global South. Dr. Ako's research draws upon his expertise in human rights to address issues related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDGs 4, 5, 10, and 16, as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063, with a focus on advancing quality education, promoting gender equality, upholding human rights, and strengthening institutions. His scholarly contributions have been featured in esteemed publications such as the Global Review of Constitutional Law, the Oxford Handbook of Foreign Relations Law, the African Human Rights Law Journal, and the African Human Rights Yearbook. In addition to his academic and research endeavors, Ako actively participates in pro bono human rights cases in Ghana’s courts, advocating for the defense of Ghana’s Constitution and the rights of vulnerable individuals and minorities. Learn more via Leiden profile page.

Professor Miriam A. Cherry teaches contracts, employment law, business associations, and a seminar on the future of work. Her scholarship focuses on these areas of law and their intersection with technology and globalization. Professor Cherry serves as the Faculty Director for the Center for Labor and Employment Law.* She is a member of the American Law Institute and served as the Chair of the AALS Contracts Section. Cherry joined the faculty after a decade at Saint Louis University Law School, where she served as Associate Dean for Research & Engagement and as Co-Director for the William C. Wefel Center for Employment Law. She was also a visiting researcher with the United Nations – International Labor Office in Geneva, Switzerland.

A prolific scholar, Cherry has authored over 40 law review articles concerning employment, business, and contract law topics. Her work has also published in peer reviewed journals and translated into French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Korean.  Cherry has also written several books. Her popular contracts textbook, Contracts in the Real World, published with West Academic, entered its second edition in 2021. That same year she also published Work in the Digital Age with Aspen publishers, the first textbook to focus on the future of work.  Prior to academia, Cherry clerked for Justice Roderick Ireland of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and Judge Gerald Heaney of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. She also practiced transactional law in Boston, drafting and reviewing contracts in the context of mergers and acquisitions. She graduated from Dartmouth College, summa cum laude, and from Harvard Law School, cum laude. Learn more via faculty profile page.

Professor Theophilus Edwin Coleman is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at the University at Buffalo School of Law, Buffalo, New York, an Assistant Professor of Law at the Jacksonville University College of Law, Florida (USA) (commencing 1 July 2026), a Senior Research Associate at the Research Center for Private International Law in Emerging Countries (RCPILEC) at the Faculty of Law of the University of Johannesburg and an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Ghana School of Law. He previously served as a Lecturer at the Department of Practical Business Law at the University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Law, and a Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for International and Comparative Labour and Social Security Law, also at the Faculty of Law of the University of Johannesburg.

Edwin’s research focuses on inequality in international private law, particularly the intersection of private international law and employment in the era of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI). He also publishes on labour and employment law, contract law, international commercial law, conflict of laws, and African legal philosophy. He is the co-author of the leading and authoritative textbook on Labour Law in Ghana, published by LexisNexis. Dr. Coleman has authored or co-authored numerous journal articles and book chapters. He is currently working on two books: Individual Labour Law in Ghana (with Professor LG Mpedi) and Private International Law of Employment in Africa (with Professor Chukwuma Okoli).

Dr Coleman is the Co-Founder and Co-President of the Labour Law Society of Ghana. He is also a member of the African Labour Law Society, the International Human Rights Group (under the auspices of the Human Rights Centre of the Central South University, China), the South African Society for Labour Law (SASLAW), and the International Law Association. He also served as an editor for the Private International Law Interest Group of the American Association of International Law. Learn more via faculty profile.

Professor Matthew Dimick is Professor of Law at the University at Buffalo School of Law, and, director of The Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy. His scholarship can be broadly categorized under the heading of law and political economy. He is the author of the forthcoming book from Cambridge University Press, The Law and Economics of Income Inequality: A Critical Approach. Recent work has explored the epistemological status of “race” under capitalism, labor law and the republican theory of domination, a comparative evaluation of antitrust and labor law in correcting for firms’ market power, and the relationship between altruism, income inequality, and preferences for redistribution in the United States. He is currently undertaking a study on capitalism and antidiscrimination law and, along with John Abromeit and Paul Linden-Retek, is editing a volume on Jürgen Habermas’s legal and political theory.

Dimick’s research has appeared in both law reviews and economics, political science, and sociology journals, and has been featured in The Atlantic, Vox, Jacobin, and the On Labor blog. He has made regular contributions to Jacobin magazine and the Legal Form blog. He teaches regularly in contracts, law & society, labor law, employment law, and employment discrimination law and has also taught courses in federal income taxation, tax policy, and comparative and international labor and employment law.

Dimick holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a JD form Cornell Law School. Prior to coming to the University at Buffalo Law School, he was a Law Research Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center. After law school and before graduate school, he worked for the Service Employees International Union in Washington, DC. Learn more via The Baldy Center.

Dr. Beligh Elbalti, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Law and Politics at the University of Osaka, was born and raised in Tunis, Tunisia. He first came to Japan in 2008 to study private international law at the Graduate School of Law, Kyoto University. After obtaining his Ph.D. in 2014, he worked at Kyoto University as an assistant professor and at Doshisha University as a visiting lecturer before assuming his post as an associate professor at the Graduate School of Law and Politics, Osaka University, in 2017. Dr. Elbalti’s main research areas are Japanese law, private international law, international civil procedures, comparative law, and Islamic law.

In the world of law, understanding the nuances and complexities of legal systems across borders is crucial. Not only is it important when dealing with international legal procedures, but studying the approaches of different jurisdictions can give insights into the strengths and weaknesses of our own legal frameworks, ultimately fostering legal innovation and reform. Elbalti’s interest in private international and comparative law fields stems from a deep curiosity about how legal systems shape societies and influence individual rights and obligations.... Continue reading:  "Laws and borders"

Professor Elmarie Fourie, HOD: Public Law, Director: CICLASS at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) completed her B. Proc degree (1994) and an Advanced Diploma in Labour Law (cum laude) at RAU in 2002. In 2005 the LLM degree in Labour Law was conferred upon her by the University of Johannesburg. She was awarded the chancellor’s medal (2006) for the best master’s degree student in the faculty of law and the South African Society for Labour Law prize for the student with the best results in the LLM degree in Labour Law. Elmarie joined the Centre for International and Comparative Labour and Social Security Law (CICLASS) as the co-ordinator of the centre. In 2006 she joined the Department of Mercantile Law and lectured labour law during 2006 and 2007.

Currently she is a senior lecturer, Head of Department: Public Law, the programme co-ordinator for the PG (Dip) in Labour Law, the programme co-ordinator for the LLM in Labour Law and lectures labour law and social protection to the undergraduate and postgraduate students. She has published on labour law, social protection and legal education in national and international journals. Elmarie has presented papers at more than 35 national and international conferences. Learn more via profile page.

Desmond Israel, Esq, is a lawyer and digital policy specialist with over 15 years of experience in data privacy and cybersecurity. He also practices technology law across Africa and the United States. He is Founder and Lead Consultant at Information Security Architects Ltd; Partner leading the Cyberlaw & Technology Practice at AGNOS Legal Company; Senior Policy Analyst at ILAPI; and Head of the Department of Public Law and Governance at GIMPA Law School. His expertise spans privacy governance, cyber risk, AI law, digital regulation, and cross-border data issues. Through advisory work, research, public speaking, and publications, he contributes to practical, rights-conscious frameworks for governing emerging technologies and strengthening institutional resilience.

Joshua Kyeremateng, Esq, is an alumnus of Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth scholarship and a Global Excellence Scholar pursuing his Doctor of Laws (LL.D) degree at the Faculty of Law, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He is a practicing lawyer called to the Ghana Bar. He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree from the University of Johannesburg in South Africa and Texas A&M University in the State of Texas, USA. Mr. Kyeremateng’s research interest explores the untrodden path of the fourth industrial revolution and its impact on African law. The enforcement of constitutional rights, labor law, and corporate law are the core areas of practice in his legal career.

Bio forthcoming.

Dr. Tulani Musawenkosi Mafulela is a Lecturer in the Department of Practical Business Law, Faculty of Law, at the University of Johannesburg, where he teaches Business Law 1A/1B. He holds an LLB, an LLM in Commercial Law, and a PhD in Law from the University of the Witwatersrand, awarded on 9 December 2025. His doctoral research, Vicarious Liability and Corporate Groups, examined the delict-based liability of multinational corporations under South African law. Mafulela is a non-practising Advocate of the High Court of South Africa. He has co-supervised and supervised LLM research projects, including studies on directors’ fiduciary duties and modern contract drafting, contributing to the training of postgraduate legal scholars.

Mafulela's research interests focus on Delict (tort), Corporate Law, Constitutional Law, and Business and Human Rights Law, with current projects exploring The Right to Remedy in Cross-Border Cyber Delicts and Vicarious Liability through Quasi-Agency for Corporate Groups. He has published a book chapter on alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and cross-border delictual liability under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

Mafulela has presented his research at international and regional conferences, including the Digital Technology Conference 2026 (Unisa), the 22nd Annual International Conference on Law 2025 (Athens, Greece), and the Southern African Law Teachers’ Conferences in 2020, 2022, and 2024. He serves on the Faculty of Law Research Committee and Fundraising Committee, is a reviewer for leading journals, and acts as an external examiner for LLM and BCom Law programs across multiple universities. Learn more via profile page.

Professor Letlhokwa George Mpedi completed his B Juris (1996) and LLB (1998) at Vista University. In 2001 the LLM degree in Labour Law was conferred upon him by the then Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg). He twice received the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) award (in 2000 and 2001) for purposes of researching in Germany for his LLM dissertation and LLD thesis, respectively).

Upon completing his LLB he was employed as a Junior Lecturer in the Department of Mercantile Law at Vista University (Mamelodi Campus). He joined the Centre for International and Comparative Labour and Social Security Law (CICLASS) at the then Rand Afrikaans University as a researcher in 2000. In August 2003, Professor Mpedi accepted a position as a Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Social Law in Munich (Germany). Upon his return from Germany in 2006, he was employed as a Deputy Director at CICLASS. In the same year, the LLD degree in Mercantile Law was conferred upon him by the University of Johannesburg.

Before his current position as Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Mpedi served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic and Executive Dean (Faculty of Law) at the University of Johannesburg. He lectured labour law and social security to LLB, post-graduate and certificate students and has delivered papers at numerous national and international conferences. Professor Mpedi has published widely on social security and labour law in South Africa, Southern Africa, and Anglophone Africa. His most recent publications include a co-authored book Labour Law in Ghana (2022) published by LexisNexis, South Africa. Professor Mpedi is an NRF-rated scholar. He is placed in the B category (i.e., a researcher who enjoys considerable international recognition by peers).  Learn more via profile page.

Professor Yuko Nishitani is an Honorary Senior Fellow of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. Yuko is Professor of Private International Law at Kyoto University and Vice President of the Hague Academy of International Law. After her studies in Japan, she received a Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg. She did research in New York, Paris, Hamburg, Cologne, Milan, Florence, and The Hague. She has been a Visiting Professor in the U.S., Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Israel, and Taiwan. She was also a Director of Studies and Lecturer at the Hague Academy of International Law. She served in several Legislative Committees and represented the Japanese Government at the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Learn more via Cambridge profile page.

Dr. Chukwuma Okoli is inter alia the author of two major books on conflict of laws that were published in 2020: (a) Place of Performance: A Comparative Analysis (Oxford: Hart 2020), and (b) Private International Law in Nigeria (with Professor Richard Frimpong Oppong) (Oxford: Hart 2020). He specialises in conflict of laws, international commercial litigation and international civil procedure. He is also a qualified Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and has previously provided consultancy services on the content of Nigerian law. He is an Assistant Professor in Commercial Conflict of Laws at the University of Birmingham, Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, one of the editors on conflictoflaws.net, and a co-founder of the Nigerian Group on Private International Law.

Okoli is a qualified Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria since 2008. He practiced law in reputable law firms for about three years in the area of domestic and international commercial transactions. He also holds an LLM in International Commercial Law (with distinction) from the University of Aberdeen and undertook his PhD in commercial conflict of laws (University of Luxembourg), where his PhD was without corrections. He graduated with a Second Class Upper Division both at the University of Benin, Nigeria in 2007, and Nigerian Law School, Lagos Campus in 2008.

His principal research interest is in all aspects of Private International Law/Conflict of Laws, with a special focus on global perspectives, Nigeria, Africa, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Asia. He has significant publications on these subjects. He has been invited to speak at numerous international conferences, including delivering a keynote address and a distinguished public lecture. He has also provided expert opinions on Nigerian law to Dutch courts. Okoli is particularly interested in the development of private international law in Africa and is working closely with other scholars to improve the subject in Africa. Learn more via faculty profile. page.

Dr. Solomon Okorley is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg. He holds a B.A. in Social Sciences (Hons.) and an LLB (cum laude) degrees from the University of Cape Coast, an LLM in International Commercial Law and a Doctorate in Law from the University of Johannesburg; and a Certificate in Transnational Company Law from the University of Antwerp, Belgium; a Diploma in Artificial Intelligence and International from the Hague Academy of International Law Centre for Studies and Research.

Okorley’s research and publications span a wide range of subjects, including Artificial Intelligence and Law, International Commercial Arbitration, International Trade Law, International Commercial Law, Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments, Sustainable Development Goals, and International Family Law. Learn more via profile page.

Professor Richard Frimpong Oppong joined the faculty at Osgoode Hall Law School in 2024. He has taught in the USA and UK and at Thompson Rivers University. He completed his PhD at the University of British Columbia and Post-doctoral studies at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University. He holds a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School, a first-class Master of Laws degree in Commercial Law from the University of Cambridge, and a first-class Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ghana. He was called to the Ghana Bar in October 2003 after completing the professional law course at the Ghana School of Law with distinction. He received the John Mensah Sarbah Certificate of Honour and the Charles Mensah-Cann Memorial Prize awarded to the best graduating student there.

Oppong is a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists, and an Associate Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law. He was a member of the Working Group of The Hague Conference on Private International Law that drafted The Hague Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts, 2015.

The Curatorium of The Hague Academy of International Law has selected him to deliver a special Course, comprising five magisterial lectures, during the private international law session in the summer of 2026. Before this, he served as the Director of Studies at The Hague Academy of International Law during the private international law session in the summer of 2012. He is the Program Advisor to the Tanzanian-German Centre for Eastern African Legal Studies which offers LLM and PhD programs on East African integration.

Oppong maintains research and teaching interests in private international law, international arbitration, contract law, domestic and international sale of goods law, and regional trade and economic integration in Africa. He has published widely and made outstanding contributions to advancing the law with his scholarship. He has published eight books (comprising four sole-authored books, two co-authored books and two co-edited books) and over 55 articles, book chapters, and book reviews. Learn more via profile page.

Professor Marta Pertegás Sender, LL.M. and Ph.D. Leuven; Dr. h.c. Lund, holds professorial positions at the Faculties of Law of Maastricht University (The Netherlands) and the University of Antwerp (Belgium). Since 2019, she has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg (South Africa) and, since 2021, an Adjunct Professor at IE Madrid (Spain).

At Maastricht University, she currently serves as one of the two Directors of M-EPLI (Maastricht European Private Law Institute). She has extensively researched, lectured, and published on international dispute resolution, the private International Law of the European Union, and the work of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Through projects commissioned by the European Commission, such as the PAX Moot Court Competition in Private International Law and other outreach activities, she aims to raise awareness of uniform private international law and foster transnational exchanges in this field. Pertegás was a full-time member of the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law between 2008 and 2017. Her primary responsibility related to projects in international civil procedure and commercial law, including the adoption of the 2015 Hague Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts, the promotion of the 2005 Choice of Court Convention, and preparatory work on the 2019 Judgments Convention

Pertegás has also contributed to legislative projects of the European Union and other intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). 

She currently serves on the Executive Board of the Dutch Branch of the International Law Association and on the GEDIP (European Group of Private International Law). Professor Pertegás holds a Spanish Law degree from the University of Barcelona, an LL.M. in European Law, and a PhD from the K.U. Leuven (Belgium). She was a member of the Bar of Barcelona and Brussels between 1998 and 2008 and, for years, worked as of counsel for Brussel-based law firms. Learn more via profile page.