Policies

Contents

Articles

The Berkeley Journal of International Law invites submissions of original manuscripts on novel issues relating to comparative, transnational, public, or private international law that generally focus analysis on more than one country.

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Requirements

Submissions must include:

  1. a current CV or resume for each author,
  2. a cover letter containing:
    • all contact information for each author (email address and phone number),
    • total Word Count (with footnotes),
    • number of footnotes, and
    • an explanation of the contribution the article will make to the field of international law, and
  3. the article itself, which must comply with the following standards:
    • Length: At a minimum, submissions must be 10,000 words, including footnotes. In our experience, most authors are best able to convey their point in 18,000 to 30,000 words, including footnotes. Manuscripts of 33,000 words or more are strongly discouraged and may not be reviewed on the basis of such length.
    • Format: All manuscripts must be in Microsoft Word-compatible format. Citations should conform to the most recent edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, and authors should be prepared to supply any cited sources upon request.

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Policies and Guidelines

Please review the following closely.

  • Author Eligibility: We accept article submissions from academics, legal scholars, and practitioners. Ph.D. students who are three or more years into their program are eligible to submit their dissertations as regular article submissions. Current J.D. and LL.M. students are not eligible to submit pieces as regular articles and should instead participate in the Student Note Contest. Please see the Student Note Contest section below for more information.
  • Submissions Process: BJIL accepts submissions electronically only. We prefer to receive submissions through ExpressO, though submissions through Scholastica and email (bjilsubmissions@law.berkeley.edu) are acceptable. Please refrain from submitting through multiple platforms.
  • Submissions Timeline: Submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis until the issue is filled. We aim to begin reviewing articles by August 15th for publication the following spring and by January 1st for publication the following fall. Submissions are less frequently monitored from May through July, and will likely receive an automated message acknowledging receipt.
  • Expedited Review: BJIL’s Submissions Committee strives to give full and careful consideration to every article it receives and to inform authors of all final decisions in the timeliest manner possible. On a case-by-case basis and upon request, BJIL will provide expedited review for authors who have received an offer of publication from another journal. Please direct requests for expedited review to the Submissions Editors at bjilsubmissions@law.berkeley.edu with the subject line “EXPEDITED REVIEW” and the title of your article. Requests should specify (1) the journals that have accepted the article, (2) the deadlines those journals have given to respond to their offers, and (3) the latest possible date and time the author can receive a response from BJIL. While we work to accommodate requests for expedited review, we generally cannot guarantee a response within a specific deadline and may ask for extensions as needed.
  • Withdrawals: If you wish to withdraw your piece from consideration, please do so by using the withdrawal options on ExpressO and Scholastica, or email bjilsubmissions@law.berkeley.edu.

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    Student Note Contest

    The Berkeley Journal of International Law has a Student Note Contest for student-written submissions on issues relating to comparative, transnational, public, or private international law that generally focus analysis on more than one country.

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    Student Note Requirements

    Student Note Submissions should be sent to bjilstudentnotes@gmail.com and must include:

    1. the email subject line “Student Note Submission: [Title of Paper]”
    2. a cover letter containing:
      • the title of your piece,
      • an abstract,
      • total Word count (with footnotes), and
      • an explanation of the contribution that your article or thesis makes to the field of international law.
      • Do not include your name or any other identifying information, such as your school or an acknowledgement of helpful professors, in your cover letter.
    3. the article or thesis itself, which must be formatted as a double-spaced Word document and should be, at a maximum, 14,000 words (including footnotes). To preserve anonymity, the Student Notes themselves should contain no identifying information.

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    Student Note Guidelines

    Please review the following closely.

    • Author Eligibility: All Berkeley and non-Berkeley current J.D. and LL.M. students, as well as Ph.D. students three years or less into their programs are eligible to submit Student Notes for consideration.
    • Submissions Process: Student Notes are reviewed and selected anonymously by the Submissions Editors.
    • Submissions Timeline: BJIL publishes Student Notes in both our Fall and Spring issues. All submissions for our Spring 2016 issue (34:2) must be received by Friday, December 22, 2015 at 5 p.m. PST. Please check back here for deadlines for future submission cycles.

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