Content: The Yale Journal of International Law (YJIL) is committed to publishing cutting-edge, provocative, and thoughtful scholarship at the forefront of international, comparative, and transnational law. The Journal publishes works that include international, comparative, or transnational elements as an intrinsic part of the central legal argument.YJIL does not publish pieces that confront solely the domestic law of one nation-state or articles on the topic of foreign actors in a domestic legal context, such as United States immigration law. The goal of the Journal, furthermore, is to publish new ideas and viewpoints rather than to summarize areas of international law. YJIL aims to provide a forum for a broad diversity of opinion.
Format: All manuscripts should be submitted in English with both text and footnotes typed and text double-spaced. Footnotes must conform to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (20th ed.), and authors should be prepared to supply any cited sources upon request.
Length: For the print edition, we particularly welcome the submission of articles and essays under 30,000 words (including footnotes). Articles above 35,000 words are strongly discouraged. These guidelines will be a factor in consideration for publication. While the Journal is a general interest publication, we presume that most readers will have at least a basic understanding of key ideas in the field of international law and encourage authors to cite to these basic tenets with footnotes rather than extensive exposition.
Author Eligibility: We accept article submission from practicing attorneys and legal scholars, as well as Ph.D. and S.J.D/J.S.D. students. Current J.D. and L.L.M. students at the Yale Law School are not eligible to publish articles in YJIL’s print edition, though we encourage those students to submit Notes and Features . Current J.D. and L.L.M. at other schools are not eligible to publish in YJIL’s print edition.
Submission Process: YJIL requires that all articles be submitted through the Scholastica online submission system. Articles not submitted through this platform will not be considered. We also request that all authors attach a résumé or CV to their submission. Due to the high volume of submissions the Journal receives, we regret that we are unable to offer feedback on submitted drafts not accepted for publication. The Journal will also not respond to direct email inquiries regarding the status of an article’s review.
Submissions Timeline: The Yale Journal of International Law reviews article submissions for Issue 1 of the current Volume starting on or about February 21 of each calendar year. The Journal reviews article submissions for Issue 2 starting on or about August 1 of the each calendar year. During both submissions cycles, the Journal will accept submissions until the issue is filled.
Review Process: YJIL is distinguished among international law journals for its thoughtful, professional editorial review process. In addition to rigorous cite-checking and Bluebooking, all articles selected for publication receive two rounds of substantive feedback in the form of “edit letters” (usually around five to six pages each in length) containing the Editorial Board’s suggestions for further honing the author’s argument and improving the structure and development of the piece. Nevertheless, YJIL authors retain full control over the final content of their work, and all comments and suggestions offered by YJIL’s Editors are optional.
Expedited Review Requests: We appreciate the effort that authors have put into the articles submitted to the Journal, and we promise to give all articles full consideration and to notify authors of all final decisions in as timely a manner as possible. While we will try our best to accommodate requests for expedited review, we cannot guarantee that we can accomplish an expedited review by a specific deadline. To request an expedited review, please submit a request for expedited consideration through Scholastica.