Call for Papers: Xavier Law Review, Volume II (2026) [Double-Blind Peer Reviewed, No Publication Fee]

The Xavier Law Review is an academic-led, double-blind peer-reviewed journal of Xavier Law School, published by St. Xavier's University, Kolkata. Established in 2025, it is published annually, once a year. Xavier Law School is a constituent unit of St. Xavier's University and has been running its five-year integrated B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) and B.Com. LL.B. (Hons.) programmes since 2019 under Bar Council of India approval, alongside LL.M. and Ph.D. programmes.

The journal sets out to promote scholarly research by both experienced and emerging scholars, and publishes original contributions in areas not strictly limited to law, including interdisciplinary work such as law and economics, law and sociology, law and political science, law and linguistics, and legal history. Its stated aims are to offer a forum for academic collaboration to early-career, mid-career and experienced scholars working on local and global laws from within and outside India, to reach a readership beyond legal academics that includes economists, anthropologists, sociologists, criminologists, historians, political scientists and practitioners, and to uphold academic integrity and academic freedom in all its activities.

The Editorial Board invites academicians, scholars and legal practitioners to submit original, unpublished manuscripts on any broad topic of law, including legal history, jurisprudence, international law, private law, constitutional law and criminal law, as well as interdisciplinary research examining law and legal phenomena from the perspective of economics, sociology, political science, philosophy, history and anthropology. The call is not confined to any particular theme. Diverse methodologies are welcome, whether the work makes an original theoretical contribution or is grounded in empirical research. Submissions must be original, argumentative and analytical rather than merely descriptive.

Three categories of submission are accepted:

• Original full-length research article - 5,000 to 7,000 words
• Perspectives / opinion-based article - 3,000 to 4,000 words
• Book review - 1,500 to 2,000 words

All word counts are inclusive of footnotes. Manuscripts already published or accepted for publication elsewhere will not be considered. Submissions significantly exceeding or falling short of the range may be considered in exceptional cases, but authors are advised to keep to the limit.

• Title, abstract and keywords: the title must be concise and unambiguous; every submission must carry an abstract of no more than 250 words summarising the key arguments and findings, plus 5 to 7 keywords reflecting the content of the manuscript.
• File format: the manuscript must be submitted as an MS Word file.
• Typeface: Times New Roman throughout, including headings, sub-headings and footnotes. Title in bold, font size 14, centre aligned. Main text font size 12. Footnotes font size 10.
• Spacing: line spacing of 1.5 for the main text and 1 for the footnotes.
• Headings: justified, bold, font size 12. Sub-headings: justified, italic, bold, font size 12.
• Tables and figures: clearly labelled, numbered sequentially and placed within the text. Table names go above the table and figure names below the figure. Supplementary material may be submitted as a separate file.
• Citation style: OSCOLA (Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities), 4th Edition. References must be checked for completeness, accuracy and consistency.

All submitted articles go through a double-blind peer-review process in which the identities of both the author or authors and the reviewers are kept anonymous throughout. Authors must therefore ensure that the manuscript file itself contains no identifying information.

A separate cover letter must accompany every submission, stating the title of the paper, the type of submission, the full name of the author and any co-authors, academic title, institutional affiliation, telephone or mobile number, email ID of each author and co-author, the word length of the article, and a declaration of originality. Xavier Law School also circulates a Consent to Publish and Transfer of Copyright form, under which the author assigns copyright in the contribution to the Xavier Law Review while retaining the right to republish it in a printed collection consisting solely of the author's own works, subject to notice and proper credit. The signed form is to be emailed to xlr@sxuk.edu.in.

Authors are requested to email two separate files, the cover letter and the manuscript (including title, abstract and keywords), to xlr@sxuk.edu.in. There is no online portal and no submission fee.

The deadline for abstracts is 25 August 2026. Authors will be notified whether their abstract has been accepted by 30 August 2026, and the full paper is due by 30 November 2026.

The call states no submission charge, processing charge or article publication charge at any stage. All articles published in the journal are available free for everyone to read and download, and authors receive a hard copy of the journal.

Queries about the call, the scope of a proposed contribution or the submission process should be addressed to the Editorial Board of the Xavier Law Review at xlr@sxuk.edu.in. The announcement was published on the St. Xavier's University, Kolkata website on 23 July 2026.