AJIL invites submissions on issues relating international law and on the closely cognate subjects of global governance, transnational law, and foreign relations law. The Journal generally does not publish manuscripts focused entirely on private or commercial law, comparative law, or the law of any one jurisdiction. AJIL Unbound publishes symposia of short, original essays on select topics. AJIL will not consider submissions whose contents have been or will be published elsewhere.

To Submit Work to AJIL:

1. Decide what type of manuscript you would like to submit. AJIL regularly publishes manuscripts that fall into each of the following categories:

• Articles: up to 30,000 words (including footnotes). Articles involve in-depth research and analysis and make significant contributions to the field.
• Essays: up to 11,000 words (including footnotes). Essays tend to be more exploratory in tone or structure, sometimes with less extensive footnotes. They are often designed to intervene in an ongoing conversation or to initiate a new one.
• Current Developments: up to 11,000 words. Current Developments analyze and explain the significance of recent events in the field.
• Editorial Comments: up to 11,000 words. Editorial Comments are written by members of the AJIL Board of Editors.
• Book Review and Review Essays: up to 5,000 and 8,000 words, respectively. Book Reviews and Review Essays are solicited by the section editor, Jeffrey Dunoff. Suggestions for books to be reviewed and for topics for longer review essays, which cover multiple books, should be submitted to Justine Stefanelli by email: [email protected].
• International Decisions and Decision Essays: up to 3,500 and 8,000 words, respectively. International Decision and Decision Essays are case notes on final decisions—that is, decisions not subject to further appeal—of international or national courts or tribunals relating to international law. Proposals to write an International Decision or Decision Essay, which covers multiple decisions, may be submitted to the section editor, Olabisi D. Akinkugbe by email: [email protected]. More information about International Decisions and Decision Essays can be found here.
• Contemporary Practice of the United States: This content is generated by the section editor, Jacob Katz Cogan, and is not open to outside submissions. 

2. Consider the following general guidance: every submission, no matter the type, should clearly articulate the issue that it addresses; explain why this issue is significant for the AJIL readership; situate the issue in legal and factual context; defend its research methods and positions taken, especially in light of any contrary approaches that might be advanced; cite all source material in a consistent style that reasonably conforms to AJIL’s standard practices; and be edited carefully for clarity and style. Please be especially careful to avoid plagiarism of any kind—including of your own earlier work. Also identify work that is generated, whether in whole or in part, by large-language models or other AI tools.

3. Submit your manuscript via AJIL’s online sybmission system on ScholarOne or via Scholastica, unless otherwise noted above.

For Submissions to AJIL Unbound:

AJIL Unbound supplements AJIL’s print edition by publishing symposia on a wide range of topics in public and private international law with particular attention given to topics that are likely to have lasting relevance. Symposium essays are short, original works of scholarship that are timely, readable, and broadly accessible. AJIL Unbound is committed to publishing a diverse range of contributors and encourages proposals that reflect the diversity of the international law community. Symposium proposals should be sent to the AJIL Administrative Editor, at [email protected].

Article types (AJIL)

AJIL accepts the following types of article:

• Article*
• Agora*
• Book Review
• Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law*
• Current Developments*
• Editorial Comment*
• Essay*
• International Decisions*
• Letter to the Editor
• Notes and Comments*
• Review Essay*

* If publishing Gold Open Access, all or part of the publication costs for these article types may be covered by one of the agreements Cambridge University Press has made to support open access.

Article types (AJIL Unbound)

Unbound accepts the following types of article:

• Essay:  3,000 words, inclusive of footnotes.

All article types in AJIL Unbound are published Gold Open Access, with no charge to the author.

Advice from the Editors-In-Chief on submissions to AJIL

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