Call for Papers: GLS Law Journal, Volume 9 Issue 1 [ISSN 2582-5402]
Faculty of Law, GLS University, Ahmedabad.About the GLS Law Journal
The GLS Law Journal (GLSLJ) is the law journal of the Faculty of Law, GLS University, Ahmedabad, promoted by the Gujarat Law Society. It describes itself as a bi-annual, peer-reviewed, open-access academic journal carrying ISSN 2582-5402, publishing exclusively in English.
The Journal is a multidisciplinary forum for scholarly articles, research and critical discussion on contemporary legal and socio-legal issues of national and global relevance. It aims to disseminate original, analytical and interdisciplinary research reflecting academic integrity, methodological rigour and meaningful engagement with evolving legal challenges, and to acquaint readers with emerging trends, debates and directions in legal and socio-legal studies.
As stated on the Journal's own About page, GLSLJ is indexed in Manupatra, Google Scholar, SCC Online, EBC Reader and J-Gate.
The call and its theme
The Faculty of Law, GLS University has issued a Call for Paper for the upcoming issue of the GLS Law Journal on the theme "Contemporary Legal and Social Issues". Going by the Journal's own archive, the last issue listed is Volume 8 No. 2 (July to December 2026), so the issue now open for contributions is Volume 9 Issue 1 (January to June 2027).
The Journal invites original and unpublished work across a broad range of legal and socio-legal fields, including:
- Constitutional law
- Criminal law
- Corporate law
- International law
- Environmental law
- Technology law
- Intellectual property law
- Labour law
- Human rights law
- Socio-legal studies, public policy and comparative law
Interdisciplinary research drawing from allied social sciences is particularly encouraged. Every submission must demonstrate originality, analytical rigour, clarity of expression and relevance to current national and global legal challenges.
Who can submit
The official call states that submissions are invited from academicians, professionals and research scholars.
On authorship, the poster records that co-authorship is permitted to a maximum of two authors, with at least one author. The Journal's Author Guidelines put the same rule as accepting single-author as well as multiple-author manuscripts up to a maximum of two. Manuscripts must clearly state the current academic or professional affiliation of the author or authors, and contact information for the corresponding author (name, institutional address, phone and email) must be supplied.
Categories of manuscripts and word limits
The Call for Paper poster sets the word limit for the full paper at 4,000 to 5,000 words. The Journal's Author Guidelines page additionally sets out category-wise limits for its regular sections:
- Original research manuscripts - original, argumentative contribution to legal study: 5,000 to 6,000 words
- Law reviews - based on a systematic literature review: 3,000 to 4,000 words
- Case comments - commentary on any important landmark judgment: 2,500 to 3,000 words
- Book reviews - academic and literary review of a significant book related to the legal field: 2,000 to 2,500 words
- Invited editorials - the editors may invite experts to submit an article on a featured subject, with the Chief Editor deciding on authors and subjects
The prescribed word limits are inclusive of footnotes, and the guidelines note that strict compliance with the word count is not emphasised.
Abstract, keywords and structure
Every submission must include an abstract of not more than 300 words describing the manuscript in brief, concisely reflecting the purpose of the research, the major findings and the conclusions. There is no requirement of prior submission of the abstract.
A minimum of 4 to 5 keywords must be listed after the abstract, and should be as specific as possible to the research topic. The title should be concise, descriptive, unambiguous and accurate.
On structure, the Journal asks authors to ensure:
- A clear introduction stating the research problem and purpose
- Logical organisation using headings and sub-headings
- Coherent legal reasoning supported by authoritative sources
- A concise conclusion summarising key arguments and implications
- For empirical or socio-legal submissions, a clear indication of methodology and data sources
Formatting and citation style
The abstract and full paper have to be submitted mandatorily in both PDF format and a Word document. Files must be in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word or RTF format, single-spaced, with italics used rather than underlining (except for URLs), and all illustrations, figures and tables placed within the text at the appropriate points rather than at the end.
The Journal's manuscript format prescribes:
- Body text in Times New Roman, 12 pt
- Footnotes in Times New Roman, 9 pt
- Main headings in Times New Roman, bold
- Margins of 4.9 cm top and bottom, 4.5 cm left and right
- Full justified alignment
- Line spacing of 1.2 pt for body text and 1 pt for footnotes
Citation style: all submissions must be prepared in accordance with the Harvard Bluebook, 20th edition. Only footnotes may be used as the form of citation; endnotes will not be accepted. Non-conformity with the referencing style is a ground for rejection.
Originality, plagiarism and AI content
Submitted articles must be non-plagiarised, and non-compliance will lead to rejection of the submission. The work must be original, unpublished and an outcome of the author's own efforts, and must not be under consideration with another journal at the same time.
- The plagiarism limit should be below 10%
- The AI content percentage should be within 15%
Where available, URLs for references must be provided. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their research findings, and submissions must not contain misleading or incorrect representations. Authors must also disclose any funding organisation and funding identification number, and provide a declaration of conflicting interests. Where a manuscript involves empirical data, a brief data availability statement must be included.
Peer review and editorial policy
The GLS Law Journal follows a double-blind peer review system. All submissions undergo an initial editorial screening to assess suitability, originality and compliance with submission requirements. Manuscripts found suitable are forwarded to expert reviewers for independent evaluation, and the identities of authors and reviewers remain concealed from each other throughout, with the section editorial team allotting manuscript ID numbers that serve as identification through the process.
The Editorial Board considers reviewer comments before making a final decision on acceptance, revision or rejection, and that decision is final. The Journal states that manuscripts are evaluated solely on academic merit, originality, relevance, clarity, methodological soundness and contribution to legal scholarship, without regard to the author's race, gender, nationality, institutional affiliation, professional status or personal reputation.
The Journal does not tolerate plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate or redundant publication, misrepresentation of authorship, citation manipulation, or submission of misleading research findings. It also states that manuscripts containing defamatory, hateful, discriminatory or abusive content, or content intended to incite hostility against any individual or group, will not be accepted.
Fee, copyright and how to submit
Fee: the official Call for Paper poster, the Manuscript Submission Guidelines and the Editorial Policy of the GLS Law Journal do not mention any submission, processing or publication charge. The Journal describes itself as open access.
Copyright: at the time of submission the corresponding author must complete, sign and upload the Copyright Declaration Form confirming the originality of the manuscript and granting consent for publication. Once published, the manuscript may not be republished, reproduced or self-published on any other journal, platform or medium without prior written permission of the GLS Law Journal.
How to submit: the poster directs authors to send their paper to glslawjournal@glsuniversity.ac.in. The Journal's About page confirms the same email and also offers the online submission portal at the Journal's OJS site, where authors log in or register to make a submission. The last date to submit is 31 October 2026.