Submission Guidelines and Policies

THE CALL FOR PAPERS IS NOW OPEN – SUBMIT BY 31ST OCTOBER, 2025.

About the Journal

The NALSAR Student Law Review is the bi-annual, double blind, student edited and peer reviewed law review of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. As the flagship publication of the University, NSLR is committed to encouraging and enhancing quality legal scholarship in India. 

Volume XVI is now open for submissions. NSLR follows a collaborative editorial process that supports authors through multiple stages of review and editing while maintaining rigorous standards of academic integrity. 

Eligibility to Submit

NSLR welcomes original and unpublished work from undergraduate and postgraduate students, research scholars, practitioners, policy professionals and faculty members working in law and allied disciplines. Interdisciplinary contributions that engage seriously with legal methods are also encouraged. Co-authorship is permitted for up to two authors. 

Submission Guidelines

Manuscripts may be submitted in the following broad categories:

  1. Articles: An article must comprehensively analyse a specific issue. It must study the status quo, indicate the lacunae therein, and suggest potential solutions. An article may also employ a comparative, historical or multi-disciplinary approach to strengthen the author’s argument. An article should be between 5,000 and 8,000 words.
  1. Essays: Essays are more concise than articles, in terms of scope and conceptualization. An essay should be between 3,000 and 5,000 words.
  1. Comments: A comment critiques a recent judicial pronouncement, landmark case or any recent legislation or bill before the parliament or a state legislature. The word limit for a comment is between 1,500 and 3,000 words
  1. Book Reviews: A critical review may be undertaken of a book related to the law. The word limit for a review is between 1,500 and 3,000 words.

All word limits are exclusive of footnotes. The Editorial Board retains discretion to relax word limits for submissions that justify additional length through depth of research and clarity of argument. 

Every manuscript must include an abstract not exceeding 200 words that states the central thesis, outlines the structure of the argument and indicates the principal contribution to the literature or practice. The abstract should appear at the beginning of the manuscript

By submitting, authors confirm that their work does not infringe third party rights. All manuscripts are screened for plagiarism. Plagiarised, self plagiarised or inadequately attributed work will be rejected. The journal may request underlying data for empirical pieces and may ask for documentation to verify quotations and sources in doctrinal and theoretical work. 

NSLR follows an exclusive submission policy. Submissions must be original and must not be under consideration at any other publication. 

Formatting and Style Requirements

All manuscripts must comply with the following guidelines:

  1. Submissions should be in an editable word-processing format, with a .doc or .docx extension.
  2. The text must be in Times New Roman throughout.
  3. The main body of the text should be in 12-point font with 1.5 line spacing.
  4. Footnotes must be in 10-point font with single line spacing.
  5. Footnotes are to be used for citations; endnotes are not permitted.
  6. A single blank line should separate paragraphs and section headings.
  7. Each new paragraph must begin with a one-inch indent.
  8. Hyperlinks should be avoided. Where included, they must appear in black and must not be underlined.
  9. Citations must conform to the Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA), Fourth Edition.

Submission Process

We accept submissions in a .doc or .docx format via google form. Kindly note that any manuscript received in a manner other than through the form will not be considered for publishing.

Authors should also provide a biographical statement while making the submission. It should contain their full names, academic or professional affiliations, degrees completed or in progress, and accurate contact information.

Anonymisation

To ensure a fair and anonymous review process, please follow these guidelines when preparing your manuscript:

  • Personal Details: Place your name, affiliation, biographical details, and any acknowledgments limited to the google form. 
  • Personal Data: Kindly remove all hidden and personal data in the document.
    To anonymise a Word document, use the Document Inspector to remove personal information by going to File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document, then selecting the “Document Properties and Personal Information” box and clicking Inspect and Remove All.
  • First Page: Include only the manuscript’s title on the first page of the main text.
  • Self-Citations: Anonymise all self-citations. 

Editorial and Peer Review Process

NSLR strives to conduct a fair and efficient review. Acknowledgement of receipt is generally provided within a few days of submission. The preliminary and the first editorial review typically conclude within three to four weeks from acknowledgment. 

NSLR follows a structured multi-stage editorial and peer review process as outlined below:

  1. Preliminary Review. Upon receipt of a manuscript, the Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editors conduct a preliminary review to verify anonymity, length, and formatting. Submissions that are unsuitable or in breach of the exclusive submission policy shall be rejected at this stage, and the Author(s) shall be informed at the earliest.
  2. First Editorial Review. Submissions that pass the preliminary screening are then assessed on language and clarity of expression, identification of legal or policy issues, depth of research, coherence of structure, originality, and contribution to scholarship. The reviewer may recommend either a second editorial review or rejection, with or without the option to resubmit.
  3. Peer Review. Manuscripts approved by the Board of Editors are forwarded for double-blind peer review by two or more external experts. Peer reviewers assess methodology, novelty, doctrinal accuracy, engagement with literature, and overall contribution. The peer reviewer may recommend acceptance, revision, or rejection.
  4. Acceptance and Editing. When a manuscript is recommended for acceptance, the Author(s) may be required to incorporate revisions suggested by the Editorial Board and peer reviewers. Substantive and stylistic changes must be completed within the deadline communicated. Once revisions are approved, the Editorial Board undertakes substantive and line editing to ensure compliance with NSLR style. Authors are given an opportunity to review these edits for accuracy before final publication.

Note: The overall process may take a few weeks where manuscripts proceed to second review and peer review. At each stage, the Author(s) may be required to make substantive, structural, or stylistic changes. All editorial decisions are made by the Board of Editors and are final. Authors are encouraged to read these policies carefully.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

All articles are released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This license permits anyone to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute, and copy the contributions, provided that proper attribution is given to the author(s). No additional permission is required from the author(s) or the Editorial Board, although the journal requests to be informed of any reuse of its publications.

Copyright and Licensing 

Authors retain copyright in their work published by NSLR. As a condition of publication, authors grant NSLR a non-exclusive, royalty-free, and transferable licence to reproduce, publish, archive, index, and distribute the work in print and electronic formats, including databases and open access repositories, for the full term of copyright and any renewals.

Indemnification

By submitting a contribution to NSLR, the author(s) agree to indemnify and hold harmless NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and NSLR against any claims, suits, or consequences arising from allegations of copyright infringement, unauthorized use, or violation of rights resulting from the publication of their work in the journal.

Contact

All queries may be directed to studentlawreview@nalsar.ac.in. Correspondence should include the manuscript title where relevant. 

NSLR’s Submission Guidelines and Policies are in line with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines on good publication practice.