Call for Papers: MNLU-CS Student Law Review, Volume V [Online; deadline 30 November 2026]

The MNLU-CS Student Law Review (SLR) is a student-run flagship annual publication that offers a platform to engage in contemporary legal debates. This call is for Volume V.

The SLR is devoted to academic open access. All papers published on the official page of the MNLU-CS Student Law Review are instantly and publicly available upon publication.

Submissions are invited on any topic of contemporary legal relevance. The word limit is exclusive of the abstract and the footnotes.

• Research Articles: 6,000-10,000 words
• Short Articles: 4,000-6,000 words
• Case Notes: 2,000-4,000 words
• Legislative Comments: 2,000-4,000 words
• Book Reviews: 2,000-4,000 words

• Call for Papers commences: 15th October
• Deadline for submissions: 30th November
• Publication of the journal: Mid April

• The submission must be the original and unpublished work of the author and must not be simultaneously considered by any other publication.
• A manuscript must not be co-authored by more than two persons. Authors may send only one submission for the author or team of co-authors.
• Every submission must be accompanied by a short abstract not exceeding 250 words along with exactly 5 keywords.
• Manuscripts must be word processed and compatible with Microsoft Word 2010 or above, and uploaded as a Word (.docx) file.
• The manuscript must not contain any information relating to the identity of the author(s), because review is double-blind. Personal details are submitted only through the Google Form or any other mode permitted by the Editorial Board.
• Submissions are accepted on the basis that they do not violate the copyright or any other rights of a third party and do not include any obscene, offensive, defamatory, or racially insensitive content.
• By sending a submission, the author(s) agree to assign exclusive copyright in the work to MNLU-CS, which may publish and reproduce it in any manner it sees fit, with due acknowledgement to the author and subject to the doctrine of fair use under the Copyright Act, 1957.
• The Editorial Board may make minor stylistic or grammatical edits without seeking author approval. Once submitted, withdrawal requests are not entertained after the review process has commenced.

All manuscripts are checked using plagiarism detection software (Turnitin or similar software). Submissions with more than 20% plagiarism are rejected outright. Manuscripts may not contain more than 20% AI-generated content, and a violation leads to rejection. Manuscripts are also subject to detailed scrutiny for plagiarism, AI-generated content and the accuracy of the AI-Use Disclosure Statement during the content review stage. The full Plagiarism and AI Policy is linked as a separate document.

• Citation: Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA), 5th Edition, 2026. Only footnotes are accepted; speaking or substantive footnotes are prohibited. Footnotes: Garamond, 10 pt, single spacing, justified.
• Title: Garamond, 16 pt, Bold, SMALL CAPS, centre aligned.
• Abstract: heading in Garamond, 14 pt, Bold, SMALL CAPS, centre aligned; text in Garamond, 12 pt, Italics, justified, 1.5 line spacing. Exactly five keywords follow, listed as Keywords: word1; word2; word3; word4; word5.
• Level 1 headings: Garamond, 14 pt, Bold, SMALL CAPS, centre aligned, Roman numerals (I, II, III).
• Level 2 headings: Garamond, 13 pt, Bold, Capitalise Each Word, justified, capital letters (A, B, C).
• Level 3 headings: Garamond, 13 pt, Bold, Italics, sentence case, justified, small letters a), b), c).
• Level 4 headings: Garamond, 13 pt, Italics, sentence case, justified, small roman numerals i, ii, iii.
• Main body: Garamond, 12 pt, line spacing 1.5, justified, no paragraph indentation with space after paragraphs. Non-English words are italicised, titles of judicial decisions are in bold and italics, and emphasis is shown with single inverted commas.
• Quotations: Garamond, 12 pt, line spacing 1.15, justified, italicised and enclosed within double quotation marks, indented 1.0 cm from both left and right of the text margins.
• Title, abstract, headings and main body are indented 1.0 inches from both left and right margins.

• Technical review: designated members of the Student Editorial Board check formatting, citation, plagiarism and AI-related requirements. A manuscript without footnotes, or not conforming with the footnote formatting guidelines, is rejected outright.
• Student review: manuscripts that clear the technical review go to content review by student editors, who examine substantive quality, coherence, legal analysis, originality and overall suitability. Manuscripts may proceed to the Peer Review Phase or be rejected at this stage.
• Peer review: shortlisted manuscripts are evaluated by members of the Peer Review Board with relevant academic or professional expertise, who are not disclosed until the publication of the Journal. A manuscript may be accepted, returned for revisions, or rejected.

Content review uses six criteria: Grammar and Language; Structure and Logical Coherence; Contribution to Existing Literature; Contemporary Relevance; Referencing and Research; and Conformity with the MNLU-CS SLR Plagiarism and AI Policy.

Within four weeks of submission, authors receive an acknowledgement of receipt. If a contribution is not accepted, the author is notified by email. The decision of the Editorial Board is final.

All submissions are made through the designated Google Form, where authors upload a Word (.docx) file of the manuscript. For queries, write to studentlawreview@mnlua.ac.in.