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Policies & Guidelines

The Indian Arbitration Law Review (IALR) requests that authors comply with the following submissions guidelines. The IALR is unlikely to consider submissions which substantially deviate from the requirements set out below.

Conditions of Publication

Exclusive Submission Policy

All submissions to IALR should be original and should not be simultaneously considered by any other publication.

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Indemnity for Liability

Submissions are accepted for publication on the condition that they do not infringe the copyright or any other rights of any third parties and that the work does not contain any obscene, offensive, defamatory, or racially prejudiced material. All submissions will be checked for plagiarism by the Editorial Board.

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Copyright Policy

The author agrees to give IALR all the necessary rights to produce, distribute and publish the manuscript, including but not limited to offline or online media.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions revolving around arbitration are welcome from law students, whether at undergraduate or postgraduate level, academicians and practitioners. However, the submissions must be in English language.

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All submissions must be accompanied by an abstract not exceeding 300 words. Case Comments and Book Reviews do not need abstracts. The abstract must expressly include the novelty and usefulness of the idea that the author wishes to put forth and must categorically mention the specific contribution of the article beyond the existing available literature.

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Furthermore, the submission must also be accompanied with a covering letter indicating the name of the author, contact details (Phone number, Email ID, Address), title of the submission, institutional affiliations (if any) and academic qualifications of the author. The submissions will be reviewed and edited by the Editorial Board under the supervision of the Editor-in-Chief.

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Submission must be sent in the MS Word (.docx) format to ialr@nliu.ac.in with the subject

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“Submission – <Title of the manuscript>”.

Parameters for Evaluation

All manuscripts shall only proceed to content evaluation after clearing a strict and thorough plagiarism check. Infringing, offensive or plagiarised submissions will be liable for rejection.

Stages of Content Review

  • Grammar/Language

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The evaluation shall not only be limited to errors in grammar and punctuation but extend to the quality of language. The style of writing must be academic, and the language used must reflect it. Furthermore, the structuring of sentences and manner of communication is crucial. The language can neither be too simplistic nor too complicated and redundant.

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  • Structure/Logical Coherence

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Whether or not the author has employed a consistent flow throughout the entire manuscript will be evaluated. The arguments and assertions made by the author(s) must be systematically underlined and have logical and legal coherence

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  • Contribution to Existing Literature

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The author(s) must consider the contribution of the manuscript to the general discussion. Merely quoting precedents to talk about a particular arbitration topic would be inadequate. On the other hand, writing more innovatively and originally would be appreciated.

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  • Contemporary Relevance & Context

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IALR aims to publish manuscripts discussing topics of contemporary and recent legal scholarship or topics, which include a unique perspective on arbitration. This criterion is both objective, as well as subjective. The author must highlight in the manuscript the purpose of such a topic is of legal or socio-economic relevance in the current scenario.

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  • Referencing & Research

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Referencing is the most objective criteria; however, the quality of authorities is of greater importance than quantity. Quality is generally indicated through preference given to academic authorities such as books, journals, treaties, case law, etc., as opposed to newspaper articles and blogs. In terms of quantity, both over-citation, as well as a thorough lack, must be avoided.

IALR is looking for outstanding, original and argumentative contributions on arbitration. We are interested in work that will make worthwhile reading for both the general reader, who may not be an expert in the field, as well as seasoned academicians and practitioners. We also publish highly specialised work that makes an excellent contribution to the field.

Style Guidelines

The Indian Arbitration Law Review accepts submissions in the following categories: 

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  • Long Articles (4,000 – 8000 words): The article must be a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of a contemporary issue in arbitration law and should include references to a range of sources and contributions in the form of alternatives and suggestions.

  • Short Articles (2000-4000 words): The article must be an analysis of a contemporary issue in arbitration law and should include a reference to a range of sources and contributions in the form of alternatives and suggestions.

  • Case Comments (1500-4000 words): The comment must be an analysis of a recent judgment, bringing out its relevance in light of the development of arbitration law, views expressed in the judgment and the opinion(s) of the author.

  • Book Reviews (1000-3000 words): The review must be a crisp account of a recently published book on arbitration, including the issues explored and related arguments of the author.

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All word limits are exclusive of footnotes and abstracts.

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The journal is flexible on the word count depending on the quality of the submission up to 10%, at the discretion of the Editorial Board. Authors are permitted to cite their previous published work. However, the manuscript should not contain any references to the identity of the authors. Co-authoring (with no cap on authors) of papers among individuals of the same or different institutions is permissible.

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Formatting Guidelines:

  • The submission must be word-processed and in Times New Roman font.

  • The main text should be in font size 12 with 1.5 line spacing and footnotes in font size 10 with single line spacing.

  • The citations must conform to the style of OSCOLA (4th Edition), given below.

  • Manuscripts should only use footnotes as a means of citation. No other method shall be permitted.

  • Substantive footnotes are permissible.

The Indian Arbitration Law Review

Mini Oscola Style Checklist

This journal follows the OSCOLA style of citation: (1) 4th ed, Hart 2012; and (2) International Law Sources, Oxford 2006. Both are available here: http://www.law.ox.ac.uk/publications/oscola.php. This checklist is merely a guide, and is not to be considered exhaustive in its scope. 

 

REFERENCE STYLE

  • References given in footnotes.

  • Reference style is always OSCOLA.

  • General:

    • Et al: not used. If 3 or more authors, list the 1st author followed by ‘and others’. 

    • Page spans are full elided: 1942-9.

    • Latin phrases: not allowed.

    • Ibid: allowed. Or repeat the citation in an abbreviated form. E.g. Jones (n 27).

    • Do not use full stops in abbreviations. Separate citations with a semi-colon. 

    • Use ‘cf’ for ‘compare’. E.g. ‘Cf Ashworth (n 27) 265-67.’

    • Use ‘See’ to point the reader somewhere. E.g. ‘See n 27, below’.

  • International Arbitration Cases: 

    • First citation to a case in the text should be a short form of the case name, but including all parties involved. After this first citation, follow author on short form.  The first citation to a case in the text should be accompanied by a footnote which includes the full case name as registered by the applicable arbitral institution, and following the below rules:  
      • ​Style:  Name of case as registered in institution, case number, case document name (Date Month Year) pinpoint citation
        • ​Use italics for name of case as registered.  Consult ICSID website for official name of case.  If non-ICSID case, consult the appropriate institution’s website for official name.  If ad hoc arbitration, use name of case as printed on the case document.

        • For case number, use official number assigned by particular arbitral institution (e.g. ICSID Case No ARB/03/15).

        • For case document name, use name printed on official document (e.g. Decision on Jurisdiction).

      • Example: El Paso Energy International Company v Argentine Republic, ICSID Case No ARB/03/15, Award (31 October 2011) para 10.

    • Subsequent footnotes to the same case document should follow a short version of the case or proxy.
      • ​Example: El Paso (n 4) para 112.

*Note: Different case documents (e.g. awards, decisions, orders, letters, etc) from the same case are treated as separate citations.  

  • Treaties:

    • The first citation to a treaty in the text can be a short form of the treaty name (but not an acronym), but there should be a corresponding footnote that includes a citation to the full name of the treaty and the date of adoption and/or signature and entry into force).  An informal/shortened title may be given in parentheses before the pinpoint reference, and used in subsequent references.

      • Example 1: Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (opened for signature 18 March 1965, entered into force 14 October 1966) (‘ICSID Convention’) art 45.

      • Example 2: Agreement between the Republic of France and the Republic of Austria on the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments (signed 12 March 1999, entered into force 16 October 2000) (‘France–Austria BIT’) art 11.

  • Rules of Arbitration Institutions and Organizations:

    • First citation in the text can be a short form, eg ‘ICSID Arbitration Rule X‘, but there should be a corresponding footnote that includes a citation to the full name of the rules and contains the date of entry into effect.  A short form can be used thereafter.
      • Example 1: ICSID Rules of Procedure for Arbitration Proceedings (‘ICSID Arbitration Rules’) (April 2006) r 45
      • Example 2: IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration (‘IBA Rules’) (29 May 2010) art 4.

 

  • Legislation:

    • Follow OSCOLA.

  • Journal Articles: 

    • Style: Author, ‘article title’ (publication date) volume ∙ OSCOLA abbreviation of journal title ∙ first page of article, pinpoint citation. 

    • Example: Wenhua Shan, Norah Gallagher and Sheng Zhang, ‘National Treatment for Foreign Investment in China: A Changing Landscape’ (2012) 27 ICSID Rev—FILJ 120, 135.

  • Books and Reports:

    • Style: Author(s) name, Title (edition publisher year) pinpoint citation.

    • Example 1: Gerald Aksen and others (eds), Global Reflections on International Law, Commerce and Dispute Resolution: Liber Amicorum in Honour of Robert Briner (ICC Publishing 2005) 601–53.

    • Example 2: Report of the Executive Directors on the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (18 March 1965) paras 9–10.

  • Chapter within Book or Report:

    • Style: Author, ‘article title’ in ∙ names of editors (eds), name of book (publisher, place ∙ year) pinpoint.

    • Example: Mark Tushnet, ‘Corporations and Free Speech’ in David Kairys (ed), The Politics of Law (Pantheon 1982) 253, 256.

  • Press Releases:

    • Example: Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada Press Release, ‘Minister Fast Highlights Successes of Prime Minister Harper-led Trade Mission to China’ (22 February 2012) 3 http://www.international.gc.ca/media_commerce/comm/news communiques/2012/02/22a.aspx?lang=eng&view=d accessed 10 May 2012.

  • Newspapers and Magazines:

    • Example: Pablo Garibian and Rachelle Younglai, ‘Canada, Mexico Ask to Join Pan-Pacific Trade Talks’ Reuters (13 November 2011) 5 <www.reuters.com/article> accessed 16 March 2012

 

  • The Internet (HTML Websites):

    • Example: Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, ‘Fact Sheet on the Investment Chapter of AUSFTA’ <link> accessed 3 August 2012.

 

CITATION FORMAT 

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  • Format: superscript number. 

  • Footnote marker appears after all punctuation.

  • No need to repeat case name in footnote if already given in the citation.

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QUOTATIONS

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  • More than 3 lines: displayed as separate text. No quotation marks.

  • Use single quote marks.

  • Double quotation marks for quotes within quotes.

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ABBREVIATIONS

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NUMBERS AND DATES

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  • Number spans partly elided, e.g. 526–29, 2005-06.

  • Date format: 29 November 2020.

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CAPITALIZATION

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  • Use ‘Claimant’, ‘Respondent’, ‘Tribunal’, ‘ad hoc Committee’ for a particular case; and ‘Award’, ‘Decision’ or ‘Order’ for a particular case document. Use lower case if referring to multiple cases/case documents or if making reference to the term in the generic sense.

  • ‘State’ or ‘States’ always capitalized if referring to a nation-State/country, either specifically or generically (e.g. the State of France, the State party to the dispute, investor–State dispute).  Government capitalized if referring to a specific government (e.g. the French Government), but not capitalized if making reference to the term ‘government’ in the generic sense. 

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