Submission Guidelines

Overview of Our Submission Process

The Stanford Journal of International Law (SJIL) accepts article submissions during our regular submissions cycle, which runs annually from June through August. We encourage prospective authors to carefully review the following guidelines before submitting their work.

Submission Specifications

Submissions that do not comply with these specifications will not be considered for review.

Article Requirements

Originality

Submissions must be original and must not have been published elsewhere. If a publication agreement has been executed with another journal, you must promptly withdraw your article from consideration, either through Scholastica or by notifying us at sjil@law.stanford.edu.

Plagiarism

SJIL maintains a strict policy against plagiarism. All submissions must be the original work of the author(s) and must not include any plagiarized material.

Length

We typically accept articles between 15,000 and 25,000 words, inclusive of footnotes. Note submissions may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Style and Citation

All manuscripts must follow the style and citation prescribed by The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (22nd ed. 2025).

Required Documents

Please include the following documents with your submission:

  1. An anonymized manuscript
  2. CV(s) or résumé(s)
  3. (Optional) A cover letter

Anonymization

To maintain fairness and impartiality, SJIL adopts a blind review process. All manuscripts must be fully anonymized:

  • Remove all identifying information from the manuscript, including author names, acknowledgments, and affiliations.
  • If your manuscript includes citations to your own prior work, you do not need to redact them unless they contain self-referencing language such as “my article” or “the author.” In such cases, you must edit or remove these identifying phrases.

Submission Method

We encourage all authors to submit manuscripts via Scholastica. We recognize that the fee associated with submitting manuscripts through Scholastica may cause financial hardship for some authors. As part of their commitment to ensuring broad access to legal publishing, Scholastica is willing to consider requests for fee waivers and other accommodations. Please direct fee waiver requests to support@scholasticahq.com.

At the same time, we understand that not all authors may have access to Scholastica. Hence, starting from August 1, 2025, we also accept articles via the SJIL Submissions Portal, accessible at: https://forms.gle/ppGiQYUH57qsjxYQA.

Note: Starting August 1, 2025, submissions sent via email will no longer be accepted or reviewed.

Review Process

SJIL uses a multi-stage editorial review process. As such, we do not accommodate expedited review requests. We appreciate your understanding as we work to evaluate each submission thoroughly and fairly.

Due to the volume of submissions we receive, we may not respond to every submission individually. SJIL will contact you if your article is accepted for publication.

Contact Information

Please direct any questions or clarifications concerning submissions to sjil@law.stanford.edu.

Note: This email is for inquiries only. Starting August 1, 2025, submissions sent via email will no longer be accepted or reviewed.