Call for Papers: Environmental Law & Practice Review (ELPR) Volume X | NALSAR Hyderabad

Board of Editors (2024-2025) of the Environmental Law and Practice Review (ELPR), NALSAR Hyderabad invites submissions for volume X of the Journal.

About ELPR

ELPR is a publication of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, India. It seeks to encourage scholarship in the field of Environment Law & Policy. It is a double-blind, peer-reviewed journal committed solely to the developments and trends that characterize Environmental Law. ELPR publishes articles on a variety of issues such as natural resources law, environmental policy and other such allied topics pertinent to Environmental law.

Publication Policy

• We accept contributions in the form of articles, essays, book reviews, case comments/legislative critiques, and notes.
• ELPR firmly believes in the importance of originality of ideas, and therefore, any material submitted to the Journal should not have been published elsewhere or be under consideration at any other publication.
• Joint authorship is permitted, and there is no specific cap on the number of authors per submission. Plagiarism in any form shall result in instant rejection of the submission.
• The decision of the Board of Editors in this matter is final and binding.
• The Editorial Board of ELPR shall not be responsible for any material that is libelous or scandalous, and the author shall be deemed to have obtained the permission of the referred author in case the work is unpublished.

Theme

The Journal welcomes submissions from academicians, legal practitioners, students, and researchers from the legal community. The research articles may focus on, but are not limited to, the suggested broad themes:

• Comparative Approaches in International Environmental Law
• International & Regional Environmental Governance
• Concept of Justice, Equity, Global Divide in Environmental Negotiations and Diplomacy
• Green Financing, Taxation, Reporting, and Disclosure Standards
• Environmental Law and Technology
• Environmental Judicial Review Systems and "Environmental Constitutionalism"
• Climate Change Litigation and its Future
• Role of Intellectual Property Rights in the Era of Climate Change
• Interlinkage with Human Rights and Indigenous Community Rights
• Any other contemporary issues intricately related to the above themes

Nature of Contributions

1. Article

• An article may be an exposition of lacunae prevailing in contemporary laws of any country, a comparative study of different laws, or the publishing of research data and analysis in the area of environmental sciences and law.
• Along with articles engaging in current contemporary themes, pure theoretical works are also welcome.
• It is advisable that the article has a theme or a core argument around which it would ideally revolve.
• The author is expected to make a comprehensive study of the subject and offer fresh innovative solutions for the same.
• The article should not exceed 10,000 words (inclusive of footnotes).

2. Essay

• An essay, as opposed to an article, is expected to be more concise and succinct in scope and ought to engage in a contemporary problem in the field of environmental sciences and law without indulging in excessive theorizing.
• The beauty of a good essay lies in the ability of the author to put forward original arguments, observations and criticisms without compromising on brevity.
• Moreover, an essay should ideally focus on a legal debate interpretation of the law(s) with a genuine approach to the problem.
• It should essentially be a concrete and logical manuscript built around a specific/ particular predicament. In other words, the norm is specificity rather than generality.
• An essay should not exceed 6,000 words (inclusive of footnotes).

3. Case Comment/Legislative Critique & Notes

• The author may choose to critique an existing legislation, which may be an Act, Regulation, Rule, Scheme, Policy, Guideline, etc. In the alternative, the author may also critique and analyze a bill which is tabled before the Parliament of any country.
• A case comment requires a thorough analysis of the various aspects of the legislation and may focus on the consequences of changes and amendments that would entail before and after its implementation (if the author suggests any).
• A case comment/legislative critique should not exceed 3,500 words (inclusive of footnotes).

4. Book Review

• A book review shall ideally incorporate a complete analysis and an overview of the book, along with special reference to the original author's ideas, writing style, etc.
• Direct lifting of more than thirty words (i.e. a paragraph) from the book being reviewed is strictly discouraged and will result in immediate disqualification.
• The book being reviewed must pertain to core issues of environmental law or science.
• It must not date back more than three years from its date of issue/ publication in the public domain. Although there is no strict word limit for a book review, it should be concise enough to provide the reader with a holistic review of the book.
• A book review should not exceed 3,000 words (inclusive of footnotes).

Submission Guidelines

1. Format

• Submissions are preferred in Times New Roman font, with 1.5 line spacing.
• The main text should be in font size 12, and footnotes in font size 10.
• All submissions must be compatible with Microsoft Word.

2. Word Limit

As has been already indicated, the word limit, inclusive of footnotes, is as follows:

• Article – 10,000 words
• Essay- 6,000 words
• Case Comment/Legislative Critique & Notes – 3,500 words
• Book Review – 3,000 words

3. Citation Format

• OSCOLA citation format needs to be followed throughout the submission.
• Speaking footnotes are discouraged.

4. Abstract and Final submission

The full-length paper must be submitted in italics on or before 31st March 2025 for the double-peer review process. A maximum of 5 keywords are to be provided along with the abstract of 250-300 words in italics. The submissions may be directed to elpr@nalsar.ac.in.

5. Biographical Information of Authors

• A separate document with biographical information of the authors must also be attached, including the following details: Name, E-mail address, Postal Address, Name and Address of the Institution, Course (if applicable), and Academic Year.
• Please do not mention the above-mentioned information in the main manuscript, as this would allow the editorial board to successfully conduct an anonymous review.

Contact

For queries, contact elpr@nalsar.ac.in.