Student Notes

Content

The Yale Journal of International Law (YJIL) is committed to publishing cutting-edge, provocative, and thoughtful scholarship at the forefront of international, comparative, and transnational law. We publish works that include international, comparative, or transnational elements as an intrinsic part of the central legal argument. We do not publish pieces that confront solely the domestic law of one nation-state or articles on the topic of foreign actors in a domestic legal context, such as U.S. immigration law. The goal of YJIL, furthermore, is to publish new ideas and viewpoints rather than to summarize areas of international law. YJIL aims to provide a forum for a broad diversity of opinion.

Format

All manuscripts should be submitted in English with both text and footnotes typed and text double-spaced. Footnotes must conform to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (21st ed.), and authors should be prepared to supply any cited sources upon request.

Length

We particularly welcome the submission of Notes under 15,000 words (including footnotes). Notes above 17,500 words are strongly discouraged. These guidelines will be a factor in consideration for publication. While YJIL is a general interest publication, we presume that most readers will have at least a basic understanding of key ideas in the field of international law and encourage authors to cite to these basic tenets with footnotes rather than extensive exposition.

Author Eligibility

Current Yale Law School J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. candidates may submit pieces for consideration as Notes. Graduating students are eligible to submit Notes during the June drop date in the year that they graduate. Law students outside of Yale University are not eligible to publish through YJIL.

Submissions Timeline

Student Notes may be submitted during either of the two submissions review cycles, which occur in early January and early June. Additional submissions review cycles may be announced throughout the year.

Submission Process

Please closely follow the instructions below to submit a Note, as they are critical to maintaining the integrity of our review process. Please include the following documents in Microsoft Word format (.doc):

  1. A copy of your Note with all identifying information removed from the text. Please place the word count in the beginning of the text and label the document as follows: [Last 4 Digits of Your Student ID].YJIL_Note.[Drop Date].doc
  2. (Optional, but encouraged) A preemption memo of two pages or less with all identifying information removed from the text. The memo should address the originality and significance of the submission.Please label the document as follows: [Last 4 Digits of Your Student ID].YJIL_Memo.[Drop Date].doc
  3. A Personal Information Sheet, labeled as follows: [Last 4 Digits of Your Student ID].YJIL_Infosheet.[Drop Date].doc. Please include the following on your personal information sheet:
    1. Your name
    2. The last four digits of your student ID number
    3. The title of your note
    4. The word count
    5. Your email address
    6. Your phone number

Please follow the below steps to anonymize the metadata of the copy of your Note and the preemption memo (if you are submitting one).

  • On a Mac:
    • (1) Select “Tools.”
    • (2) Select “Protect Document.”
    • (3) Under the “Privacy” header, check the box that says “Remove personal information from this file on save.”
    • (4) Select “Ok” and save your document.
  • On a PC:
    • (1) Select the “File” menu tab and then select “info.”
    • (2) Select “Check for Issues” and then select “Inspect Document.”
    • (3) Keep all the boxes checked and click “Inspect.”
    • (4) In the results, click “Remove All” next to “Document Properties and Personal Information.”
    • (5) Click “Close” and save your document. 

Review Process

YJIL is distinguished among international law journals for its thoughtful, professional editorial review process. In addition to rigorous cite-checking and Bluebooking, Notes selected for publication typically receive two rounds of substantive feedback in the form of “edit letters” (usually around three to four pages each in length) containing the Editorial Board’s suggestions for further honing the author’s argument and improving the structure and development of the piece.