Student Notes
The Berkeley Journal of International Law invites submissions of original Student Notes by J.D. and LL.M candidates and recent graduates of Berkeley Law on novel issues relating to public or private international law, broadly defined.
We are currently accepting and reviewing Student Note submissions to BJIL, Volume 45, Issue 2, which will be published in December 2027 on a rolling basis, until November 1, 2026.
Please review our ↓ Submissions Guidelines (Student Notes) ↓ before submitting.
Submission Guidelines (Student Notes)
A complete Student Note submission must include the following two materials:
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An original manuscript of a Student Note relating to a matter of public or private international law, broadly defined. The manuscript must comply with the following guidelines:
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Length: Student Note submissions may vary in length between 7,000 and 25,000 words (including footnotes), and must be in compliance with our AI-use policy.
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Submission Format: All manuscripts must be in Microsoft Word-compatible format.
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Citations: All footnotes should conform with the most recent edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (most recent edition). Authors should be prepared to supply any cited sources upon request.
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Anonymization: All manuscripts must be anonymized and contain no identifying information. Follow the steps compiled here by the California Law Review’s editorial board to scrub all metadata off the manuscript of the Student Note. Please do not email BJIL editors directly about your submission or a prospective submission.
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Abstract: The Student Note must include an abstract between 250 and 400 words.
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AI-use disclosure statement which can be downloaded here. All authors must sign this statement.
Information for Student Note Authors
Submissions Process: BJIL only accepts Student Note submissions via email. Please email your Student Note submissions and any other Student Note-related questions to bjilstudentnotes@berkeley.edu.
Please use the following email format:
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Subject Line: The subject line of the email should be “BJIL Student Note Fall 2027 Issue: [Title of Student Note].”
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Berkeley Email: You must email us from your @berkeley.edu account.
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Attachments: Your email must have two attachments:
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An anonymized, submissions-guidelines compliant Student Note manuscript.
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A signed draft of the AI disclosure statement.
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Author Eligibility: Student Note authors are subject to specific eligibility criteria.
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Current Students: We accept submissions from J.D. and LL.M. students who are currently enrolled at Berkeley Law.
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Recent Graduates: J.D. and LL.M. graduates of Berkeley Law who completed their degrees no earlier than May 2026 may also submit notes for consideration in the current open cycle for Volume 45:2 (Fall 2027).
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Doctoral Candidates: We do not accept notes from J.S.P. and J.S.D. candidates at Berkeley Law. Advanced doctoral students can submit articles through the regular process
BJIL’s Publication Timeline: BJIL publishes twice a year—the fall issue in December and the spring issue in May—under a single masthead. The 2026-27 editorial team will publish one student note in each of its two issues. We will only be accepting Student Note submissions during our two open windows.
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Fall: Submissions open on March 15 and closes on November 1. We will make offers of acceptance no later than December 15.
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Spring: Submissions open on November 2 and closes on March 16. We will make offers of acceptance no later than May 1.
Expedited Review
We do not entertain expedited review requests for Student Notes.
Use of AI:
BJIL does not accept scholarship authored or co-authored by AI. BJIL's Editorial Board has issued an AI Use Policy for Authors which can be found here. Authors submitting Student Notes for consideration in the 2026-27 cycle must be in conformity with this policy and must sign the AI disclosure statement.
By submitting a Student Note to BJIL you acknowledge that your submission complies with the BJIL AI Use for Authors Policy.