News & Events

Call for Submissions | Volume 36(1) of NLSIR Journal and NLSIR Online

December 12, 2023

The NLSIR invites submissions for the upcoming Volume 36(1) of its Journal as well as for the journal’s blog,  NLSIR Online.

NLSIR Journal

The NLSIR Editorial Board invites original, unpublished manuscripts for consideration for the upcoming Volume 36(1) of the Journal.

The National Law School of India Review (NLSIR) is the flagship student-edited law review published by the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru. It is a bi-annual, peer reviewed journal and holds the unique distinction of being cited thrice by the Supreme Court of India. NLSIR has also been cited by courts abroad, such as the High Court of South Africa.

NLSIR is a generalist law review and aims to:

  • Publish scholarship of the highest calibre in Indian law.
  • Publish comparative studies that yield unique insights for the development of Indian law.
  • Promote legal scholarship with respect to India and the broader Global South.
  • Promote deliberation on legal issues within the legal profession, the government, academia, industry, and civil society.
  • Promote top quality legal writing with respect to law students and early-career legal academics.

Submission Guidelines for NLSIR Journal Volume 36(1)

All submissions, as a general rule, should conform to NLSIR’s mandate and aims and must have some relevance for Indian law.

Submissions may be made under any one of the following categories:

  • Long Article (5,000 to 10,000 words): Submissions in this category are expected to engage with a topic, and existing literature, comprehensively, and offer an innovative reassessment. Purely theoretical pieces, e.g., pieces on jurisprudence or legal philosophy, are also welcome.
  • Essay (3,000 to 5,000 words): Submissions in this category are much more concise and targeted in terms of issue identification and argumentation.
  • Legislative/Case Comment (2,500 to 5,000 words): Submissions in this category are supposed to critique a contemporarily relevant judicial pronouncement or legislative measure.
  • Book Review (2,000 to 3,000 words): Submissions in this category are supposed to engage with a recent book that is concerned with one or more legal issues.

Please note that all word limits are indicative in nature and exclusive of footnotes. The NLSIR Editorial Board is flexible with respect to the word count depending on the quality of the submission. Please refer to our submission guidelines for more information.

Submission Process

All submissions must be made via the NLSIR Digital Commons Repository. NLSIR does not accept submissions over email. NLSIR endeavours to revert to authors with the first round of editorial review within 4 weeks of submission.

The deadline for submissions is 28th February 2024.

Additional guidelines

  • Please ensure that your submission is made as a Microsoft Word document (.docx).
  • The manuscript should be anonymised and should not contain any personal identifiers (e.g., author name, institutional affiliation, personal acknowledgements, etc.).
  • Manuscripts should be accompanied by a cover letter.
  • Manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of around 150 words.

Contact Details

For any queries and concerns, please contact or visit the website.

NLSIR Online

NLSIR is currently inviting submissions on all areas of the law, including case comments, interdisciplinary analyses, comparative studies, etc.

NLSIR Online was launched as a companion blog to the NLSIR print journal in 2018. The goal of NLSIR Online is to provide a platform for concise, timely academic commentary on contemporarily relevant issues in the law that has relevance for Indian law. In terms of mandate, NLSIR Online mirrors the mandate of the print journal.

Submission Guidelines for NLSIR Online

  • Submissions should be between 1,500 and 3,000 words approximately. However, we are flexible with the word count depending on the quality of the submission.
  • The manuscript must be submitted via this Google Form. Current students at NLSIU, Bengaluru must submit their manuscripts via this special form.
  • Manuscripts must be submitted in a .docx (Microsoft Word) format.
  • Manuscripts must not contain any personal metadata or identifiers (e.g., author details, institutional affiliation, acknowledgements, etc.).
  • Co-authorship is permitted.
  • Submissions must be original and must not be under simultaneous consideration for publication on any other platform.
  • All references must be hyperlinked.

For additional details, please refer to the detailed NLSIR Online Submission Guidelines.

All manuscripts submitted to NLSIR Online undergo a round of review by the NLSIR Editorial Board. NLSIR is committed to reverting to authors with a decision on publication within two to three weeks. NLSIR invites submissions on a rolling basis and does not have any fixed submission deadline.

For any queries and concerns with respect to NLSIR Online, please contact us at or visit our website.