CNLU Journal of International Trade and Investment Law (JITIL), Inaugural Issue [Published by Thomson Reuters]

The CNLU Journal of International Trade and Investment Law (JITIL) is the flagship journal of the Centre for Research in International Trade and Investment Law (CRITIL) at Chanakya National Law University, Patna, Bihar. It is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal to be published by Thomson Reuters.

The Journal invites submissions for its inaugural issue, which it aims to release by April/May 2027.

There is no fixed theme for this issue. The Editorial Team has intentionally kept the Call open in the interests of a broader range of scholarship, and authors are free to choose any topic falling broadly within the domain of international trade and international investment law.

• Purely legal-doctrinal submissions are welcome, but the Journal encourages work that touches upon larger socio-economic or geopolitical questions.
• Submissions dealing with national laws on trade and investment are welcome, though authors are encouraged to connect their work with the broader field of international trade and investment law.
• For Long Articles, Short Articles and Case Comments, the introductory paragraphs should lay down the argumentative spine of the submission as well as the structure of the piece.

• Long Articles: 8,000 to 10,000 words
• Short Articles: 5,000 to 8,000 words
• Case Comments: 2,500 to 3,500 words
• Book Reviews: 1,500 to 2,000 words

The word count is exclusive of footnotes and does not include any annexures an author may wish to provide alongside the submission, such as in the case of empirical work.

• Long Articles and Short Articles may have up to 2 authors.
• Case Comments and Book Reviews must be single-authored.
• Where there is more than one author, the submission email must also CC the co-author.

• Font: Garamond
• Font size: 12 for body text and 14 for headings and sub-headings
• Line spacing: 1.5
• Citation and footnoting: OSCOLA, 4th edition

Authors must NOT mention any identifying details in the text or the metadata of the main submission document, as doing so may lead to summary rejection.

All submissions must be original, unpublished work and must not be under consideration elsewhere. Submissions are checked with similarity-checking software, and any submission with a similarity index above 20% may be summarily rejected; the Editorial Team's decision on plagiarism and text similarity is final.

The Journal strongly discourages the use of generative artificial intelligence in preparing the substantive content of a submission, and all submissions are checked for AI use. AI tools may be used only in an assistive capacity to format citations and make minor language, grammar, spelling or punctuation improvements. The Editorial Team reserves the right to reject a submission or seek clarification where unethical AI use is suspected, and the responsibility for the integrity, originality and accuracy of the work rests with the authors.

Submissions must be made as an MS Word document by email to jitil@cnlu.ac.in on or before 1 December 2026, 11:59 PM IST. Submissions received thereafter will not be entertained except at the discretion of the Editorial Team.

The subject line must read “Submission for the Inaugural Issue of JITIL” followed by the category of submission in square brackets.

The email must be accompanied by a cover letter setting out the names of the author and co-author (if any), institutional affiliation and contact details (email ID and phone number). Where there is more than one author, the cover letter must clearly indicate which author is the Corresponding Author and the nodal point for communication with the Journal.

The Editorial Team aims to inform authors of the outcome of their submissions within 6 to 8 weeks of the submission deadline. The inaugural issue is targeted for release in April/May 2027.

The Call for Papers states no submission, processing or publication fee.

• Editor-in-Chief: Prof. (Dr.) Faizan Mustafa, Vice-Chancellor, CNLU, Patna
• Editor: Dr. Utkarsh K. Mishra, Associate Professor and Director, Centre for Research in International Trade and Investment Law, CNLU, Patna
• Associate Editor: Taha Bin Tasneem, Assistant Professor, CNLU, Patna