Central University of Karnataka

Theme Categories and Eligibility

Themes

The journal invites research on any topic connected to contemporary legal affairs. Submissions should either directly focus on the discipline of law or establish a connection with legal theories or subject matter. Topics may include analyses of legal institutions, societal institutions shaping legal developments, foundational theories of jurisprudence, or interdisciplinary studies that incorporate legal interpretation, even if they originate outside the core domain of law. Additionally, themes exploring hypothetical scenarios regarding the nature or trajectory of legal developments in society, as well as studies addressing international or national events with the potential to impact legal issues, are also welcome for publication.

Categories of Submission

1. Research Papers (Minimum 5,000 words):

   Research papers should provide an in-depth examination of a legal topic, focusing on problem-oriented research questions. They must outline the study's objectives, include a review of relevant literature, and present a comprehensive and analytical conclusion.

2. Legislative Analysis (Minimum 2,000 words):

   This section invites analysis of laws, bills, policies, rules, regulations, or by-laws, whether enacted by any authority classified as a "State" under the constitutions of sovereign nations. Authors are encouraged to provide their academic perspectives on these legal instruments, ensuring that comments remain scholarly rather than activist or politically biased.

3. Case Commentaries (Minimum 1,500 words):

   This section focuses on the analysis of judgments issued by judicial or quasi-judicial bodies worldwide, established under a recognized source of law. Authors must include the case's facts, judgment, and a well-reasoned conclusion, accompanied by their academic insights, avoiding activist or political viewpoints. Note: Submissions on cases still pending in courts will not be accepted.

4. Book/Article Reviews (Minimum 1,500 words):

   This section is dedicated to reviews of prominent law books or articles published in reputable journals. Reviews should offer thoughtful critiques and insights into the material being analyzed.

   In addition, the Board of Editors may prefer to publish lectures and speech of eminent jurists or scholars whose views are prominent for the welfare of the legal fraternity.

Eligibility

All interested authors who possess knowledge on the subject matter related to law or intend to deal with a topic of law can publish their contributions in the journal. There is no minimum age requirement or qualification requirements; provided all authors must fulfil the requirements of the journal and maintain the standard of academic integrity.

Guidelines for Graphics

Authors are required to submit all graphical images and diagrams in an editable format. If figures, diagrams, or images are included within the manuscript, authors must also provide a high-resolution PDF version of each image separately via email, referencing the manuscript submitted through the online submission form.

For Self-Created Images:

• Submit the original, editable/vector format wherever possible (e.g., graphs, diagrams). Avoid creating line- or text-heavy diagrams using raster-based programs like Photoshop.
• Keep text or lines on separate layers from any photo, or provide two versions of the image: one with labels and one without. For example, use Illustrator or PowerPoint to add text/lines and share the original .AI or .PPT file.
• Ensure all images are high resolution, with a minimum of 300 dpi at the desired final size.

For Previously Published Images:

• Online journal images are often low-resolution and unsuitable for press-quality publications. Authors should contact the original author or publisher for high-resolution, editable files.
• Obtain permission from publishers or copyright holders to adapt figures, and include the citation, license, or permission details in the captions. Authors are responsible for acquiring all necessary permissions before submitting.
• Redrawing a figure does not alter copyright. If the original author can recognize the figure as their work, permission to adapt or modify it is still required.

Author Checklist

All the authors are fully bound by the format and instructions provided herein, along with the other Rules and Principles of the Journal to maintain uniformity, publication ethics, academic integrity, and quality of the journal. The instructions regarding preparing contributions for the journal are as follows:

Title

1. The title shall be written in clear and simple language;
2. The concepts to be dealt with in the manuscript shall be highlighted in the title;
3. Abbreviated forms shall be avoided and the full form of each concept or name shall be used unless it is impossible;
4. The scope of the title shall be narrowed down to the best possible extent to make a detailed justification about the subject matter under study;
5. The title shall be phrased concisely and the length shall be limited; and
6. The format shall be Times New Roman, Font Size 14, Bold, Centre Aligned, and in Capital Letters with Line Spacing 1.5, and space between paragraphs shall be kept automatic.

Abstract and Keywords

Abstract Guidelines

An abstract is mandatory for all contributions. While framing the abstract, the following instructions are to be followed:-

1. The length of the abstract shall in no case exceed 250 words.
2. It shall briefly introduce the subject-matter under study, methodology, and objective, and give a brief insight into the conclusion derived from the study.
3. The abstract shall be written in clear and simple language with minimum utilization of technical terminologies as far as possible.
4. Abbreviated forms, symbols, indicators, etc., shall be avoided to the best possible extent.
5. The Format for writing the abstract shall be Times New Roman, Font Size 11, Bold, Italics, Justified Aligned, Line Spacing 1.0, and remove space between paragraphs. However, the heading ‘abstract’ at the top shall be written in Capital Letters.

Keywords Guidelines

Every abstract shall be followed by a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 6 keywords. The keywords shall follow the same format as that of the abstract, i.e. Times New Roman, Font Size 11, Bold, Italics, Justified Aligned, Line Spacing 1.0, Remove space between paragraph. However, the heading ‘keywords’ at the top shall be written in capital letters.

Manuscript Guidelines

The authors are advised to follow the following instructions while writing their manuscripts:

For Research Papers

1. The manuscripts shall begin with an introduction and must contain a conclusion at the end. For research papers, the authors shall provide their suggestions, if any along with the conclusion under the heading "CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS", or shall provide the suggestions before the conclusion, but no separate heading for suggestions shall be made after the conclusion;
2. All research paper shall highlight the main objectives of the study and shall also clearly establish its scope and the nature of the study;
3. For empirical research, the size of the sample and the nature of the sample shall be highlighted;
4. Research questions shall be established;
5. The analysis of the facts shall follow a conceptual framework highlighting the main concepts that are studied within the course of the research;
6. The facts and findings must have clear nexus and must establish the link between the objectives of the study and outcomes of the research; and
7. The fluency of the research shall be maintained.

For Legislative Analysis:

• Submissions that analyse any Bills, or Rules, or Laws, or Regulations, etc. passed by any legitimate authority across the globe shall fall under the category of legislative analysis;
• For legislative analysis, the authors are required to mention the full details of the subject matter dealt with in the paper, like the name of the enacting authority, the name of the State or Body under whose authority such enactment is made or pending, the number of the Bill of Law, etc.;
• The subject matter dealt upon must be a recent one or must be such on which a new matter of issue or fact has arisen, or controversy has appeared;
• The authors must highlight the reason for dealing with such subject matter and must state why such analysis is important in the present context; and
• The authors must provide a conclusion along with the suggestions, if any, at the end; provided in all cases conclusion must be the last heading.

For Case Commentaries:

• The case commentaries might be on any recent case or judgment decided by any Court of Law in any Sovereign Nation or by any International Judicial Authority;
• The Case commentaries shall not be made on any case pending before any Adjudication Authority if publication of such commentaries is likely to amount for Contempt of Court according to the Indian Jurisprudence, even if it does not amount for any illegal offense under any law in force, or existence;
• All case commentaries shall provide a proper introduction highlighting the need and importance of the commentary and how it is relevant at the present context;
• The introduction shall be followed by the facts of the case, the arguments for and against, in brief, the nature of the case, the judgment provided, and at last the conclusion with the opinions of the authors; and
• No personal opinions without proper factual support, or no discriminatory, or defamatory, or any other kind of malicious interpretations shall be made against any Judicial Authority, or any Sovereign Authority, or any Political Authority, or any other kinds of Legitimate Authorities across the globe, provided constructive criticisms with factual pieces of evidence are allowed.

For Book/Article Reviews:

• Any scholarly review made on famous or important articles published in reputed journals, or books published by a reputed publisher, or even any other publications in the field of law; provided the author shall make a proper justification regarding the importance of such a review;
• All review articles shall provide a basic introduction highlighting the details of the original publication on which the review is made;
• The reviews shall contain a comparative study with other published, or unpublished scholarly pieces of literature on the subject matter of the concerned publication which has been reviewed for justifying the contents of the original publication; and
• The reviews shall contain a conclusion at the end highlighting the opinions of the author.

Special Lecture Session

The Journal shall also publish important lectures, or speeches, or presentations on subject matters related to the law made by eminent personalities with the permission and approval of such personalities.

General Formatting Guidelines

These formatting guidelines are different from those provided for Title, Abstract, and Keywords, these guidelines are only for the actual body of the submissions.

Headings Style

• Main Headings: Must be in BOLD and CAPITAL LETTERS.
• Sub-Headings: Must have Roman numerals, be bold, and typed in small case.
• Sub-sub Headings: Must be typed in italics.
• Paragraph spacing must be automatic.

Citations and Visuals

Citations and References

1. All sources from where information has been used for writing the manuscripts, or the references of the authorities whose data has been applied during the research shall be duly acknowledged by providing citations and references;
2. The Journal accepts citations by way of both in-text citations and expanded references;
3. APA style of referencing shall be followed.
4. The Journal encourages the authors to use information from verified and authentic sources. Citations from unauthorized blogs or publications might amount to a rejection of the submissions; and
5. Unnecessary referencing shall be avoided and efforts shall be made to provide due credit to the authors and authorities whose information, research works, or any other materials have been applied by the author(s) in their research works.

Figures, Tables, and Diagrams Formatting

1. All the Figures, Tables, and other Diagrams shall be provided in a centrally aligned format and shall not be included in between the running texts of the manuscripts;
2. The name of the Figure, Tables, and Diagrams shall be provided right below such figures, tables, and diagrams and shall be duly cited by way of footnoting;
3. For self-created figures, tables, diagrams, graphs, etc. the authors shall mention the term self-created in the footnote section; and
4. For more information on the resolution and other graphical guidelines kindly refer to the section Guidelines for Graphics.

Submission Guidelines

Note: The author(s) are requested to go through all the submission guidelines, formatting guidelines, and other policies provided herein to avoid rejections of their submissions.

1. Co-authorship is limited to a maximum of two, but in no way can authorship increase to more than 3;
2. All submissions must contain proper citations referring to the sources used in writing the concerned Articles and must adhere to the formatting guidelines strictly, failing which will result in summary rejection of the Articles;
3. All submissions shall include an Abstract highlighting the novelty of the idea of the Research as well as the Conclusion derived in brief;
4. The Abstract shall contain 4-6 keywords;
5. The Manuscript submitted must not contain any details regarding the Author(s) for which a separate cover letter shall be submitted along with the manuscript mentioning the details as regards- the name, designation, institution, email id as well,and phone numbers of all the Authors, in case the submissions consist of CoAuthors. (Note- all such information shall be used only for the Journal and nothing else);
6. The Manuscript must be in Doc. Or Docx. The format is in a Word file. PDF or any other format will not be accepted.
7. All the submissions must also contain a Declaration, the format of which is provided under the Section Forms.
8. All submissions must be made through the form provided under the Section Submit Here; and
9. In case of any difficulties in submitting then kindly mail us.

Rules and Regulations

1. The permissible limit of Plagiarism is 10% beyond which, submissions shall be summarily rejected;
2. The submissions shall not include any defamatory, insulting, political, or such other like comments;
3. Gender-neutral terminologies shall be used;
4. The submissions in no way shall be less than the minimum word limits fixed for eachcategory;
5. All the references shall be duly cited;
6. All submissions shall be original, unpublished, and shall also not be under consideration anywhere else;
7. The decision of the Editorial Board regarding the acceptance and rejection of Articles shall be final.
8. The copyright of the articles shall be transferred to the publisher after their publication in the Journal;
9. If any defamatory, political, communal, discriminatory, or any such other kind of comments are made injuring the moral sentiments, or legal reputation, of any particular race, community, or other categories of groups of people or individuals, or threatening the integrity and security of the Nation, or injuring the reputation of the Government or the State at International or National levels, or amounting to sedition, in any of the articles and such articles get published in the journal for which if legal action arises, then the respective author(s) of such articles shall be made individually liable and the Publisher shall not be held liable in any case, provided such articles shall be immediately removed from the journal on receiving intimidation of such allegations from appropriate legal authorities in this behalf;
10. The concerned author(s) shall also be held individually liable for the violation of copyrights of third parties and the publisher shall be responsible for removing such articles from the journal immediately after receiving the intimidation of such allegations with requisite proof and pieces of evidence in support of such allegations; and
11. Submission of contributions to this journal shall mean that the authors have agreed to all the terms and conditions including the publication policy and other rules and regulations of the Organization and the Journal and no dispute whatsoever shall amount on the ground of ignorance of any rules, regulations, terms, and conditions, etc. mentioned or published in the official website.

Submission Checklist

CUK Journal of Legal Studies requires the authors to kindly check for the following things before making their submission:

1. All the documents and submissions shall be made in Word format, no PDF shall be submitted and if any PDF file is submitted then such submissions shall be presumed to have been rejected and neither the organization nor the publisher is responsible for communicating about such rejections to the respective authors;
2. The following documents are required to be submitted along with the manuscripts: a. Cover Letter b. Copyright Agreement c. Declaration Form (Publishing Agreement) and d. Formal Photographs of all the authors (the format for all three documents are provided under the Section Forms);
3. The manuscript shall not mention any details of the author(s) and the file shall be saved by the name of the title of submission;
4. The manuscript shall follow all the formatting guidelines provided in the Authors Guidebook and shall include: an abstract and keywords for all the categories;
5. The references shall be duly formatted according to the prescribed format and the validity of the hyperlinks for online sources shall be duly cross-checked; and
6. The authors shall go across all the other rules and policies before making the final submission.

Error Correction

Errors are an unavoidable part of publishing, and errors can surface even after a manuscript has been published. To address such situations, CUK Journal of Legal Studies has established a mechanism for correcting post-publication errors.

Process for Correcting Errors:

• Author-Initiated Corrections: Authors are responsible for notifying the Editorial Board of any significant errors found in their published work. Upon approval, a separate erratum write-up will be published on the journal's website and linked to the original article. The decision to publish an erratum rests solely with the Editorial Board.
• Reader-Initiated Corrections: If readers identify errors and inform the Editorial Board, the erratum will only be published with the approval of at least one of the manuscript’s authors (if multiple authors are involved).
• Unaddressed Errors: If the identified error is significant enough to affect the journal's quality, and the authors cannot be reached within 90 days of notification, the journal reserves the right to remove the manuscript from its website after the 90-day period expires.

Additional Considerations:

• New Information: The discovery of new relevant information after the publication of a manuscript will not qualify for an erratum. However, authors can submit this information as supplementary material within one year of the manuscript’s publication.