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Submission Guidelines

The views represented in the articles, essays, interviews, and columns published on the blog do not represent the views of the Law and Other Things editorial board, or affiliated universities and partnerships.

LAOT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Scope of the Blog

LAOT is India’s oldest law blog. Since 2005, it has provided a platform for discussions on the latest developments in public law and international law, with a focus on India. We accept analytical blog-style pieces for publication in the areas of:

  1. Constitutional law
  2. Criminal law
  3. International law
  4. Environmental law
  5. And other private law matters that have public implications or are analysed using a public law framework. 

We encourage all authors to review pieces published on the Blog to better understand the kind of pieces we accept. Notably, we do not accept:

  1. Bare case summaries
  2. Pieces solely related to private laws or corporate laws, 
  3. Pieces that have no implication or connection with India or Indian laws
Content and Structuring your Submission

We look for analytical blog-style pieces between 1,200-1,500 words. While we occasionally accept longer pieces, we encourage you to stick to this limit. At LAOT, our editors look for three primary aspects when assessing your submission:

  1. Novelty: Make sure you have an argument that stands out from what has already been written. You can do this by selecting a new and upcoming topic or development in the law, reframing an existing issue with a theory or framework that has not been done before, undertaking comparative research, etc.; the choice is yours. Lacking inspiration? Take a look at our Writing Prompts!
  2. Research: Your piece must cover and show familiarity with at least the fundamentals of the specific issue(s) that it is being written on. We encourage authors to engage with academic articles on a specific topic, and try to adopt a conceptual framework to the topic, as opposed to simply referring to case laws. That being said, we equally accept well argued pieces that solely rely on judgements as well. Opinions presented in pieces should be substantiated with factually grounded explanations and analysis.
  3. Coherence: Your piece must convey what it intends to do. Pay close attention to how you structure your submission and the use of language to convey this. 

While our editors will help you with improving these three factors if we decide to accept your submission, adherence to the above three principles will result in a greater chance of your piece being published quickly.

Copy-Editing and Formatting Guide
  1. For formatting of the headings (Times New Roman 12)- Title must be bold and underlined. First-level headings must be in bold. Second-level headings must be in italics. Formatting of headings and sub-headings must be done in the “Normal” style and not under the “Heading” styles. The first letter of each word in the heading should be capitalised. Also there is no need to number the headings. Submissions must also include a short 1-2 sentence summary of the argument made in the piece. Use this template as a reference.
  2. Please use UK English spellings. Example: “Submissions so labelled will be prioritised in our judgement”. Note, for legal contexts “judgment” is used.
  3. Except for short posts, sub-headings are needed.
  4. We generally prefer active voice over passive voice.
  5. Short sentences are preferable to long winded ones (that tend to lose clarity). It is preferred that sentences do not go beyond 50 words. The same principle applies for paragraphs.
  6. We prefer to avoid or minimise footnotes, but rather to use links. Please check that the links actually work, and are the right ones. Only in case online sources cannot be found, footnotes may be used.
  7. Links should not take up more words in a sentence than required. The source should preferably be linked at the verb, when discussing an action; and at the noun(s), when introducing the source or discussing an entity, concept, or event. For judgments, please use India Kanoon or SC Observer.
  8. Judgements must be written in italics. Use v. and not vs.; State of West Bengal v. Union of India.
  9. Please define all abbreviations when used for the first time; The Chief Justice of India (“CJI”). Use this in case of case abbreviations as well. We always use round brackets.
  10. Please avoid the use of “Hon’ble” for courts or tribunals. We assume it!
  11. The word “Court” is capitalized when referring to a specific court, but not if it refers to courts generally.
  12. Quotations can be in italics to distinguish them from the original text.
  13. Dates may be written 12 May 2024.
  14. Use of the symbols § and ¶ should be avoided. Instead, “sections” and “paragraphs” are to be written in full text. However, symbols can be used when making reference to  paragraphs in judgments (Ex: The Court in A v B (¶ 12-15) held that XYZ).
  15. In reference to the statutory/regulatory provisions, “Section”, “Rule”, or “Regulation” are written with the first letter in caps.
How to submit

Please submit your submissions using this form. Submissions will no longer be accepted through our email ID, from 1 January 2025.

  1. Submissions may be co-authored with a maximum of 2 authors.
  2. Files must be submitted in MS Word Document formats (.doc or .docx).
Review Process
  1. You will receive an automated response once the form is submitted. Upon submission your article will be allotted to an editor from our Student Editorial Board, who may take up to 10 days to respond to you via email with our review.
  2. Pieces shortlisted by our student editors are then sent to the Editorial Board for their feedback, which may take 7-14 days. 
  3. As the process includes multiple rounds of review and incorporation of comments and feedback from student editors, editors and authors, the entire process may take up to 1 month. 
  4. LAOT does not allow cross-publication. If your piece has been submitted to another platform during any part of the review process without intimation, this may be dealt with strictly, including temporary blacklisting from submitting to us. 
  5. All submissions are run through Turnitin to assess for plagiarism and use of artificial intelligence. Pieces found to have excessive use of either, or both, shall not be reviewed. 


For any queries regarding how to submit, the status of your submission, etc, contact us here.

 

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