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Submitting to the Journal

The Philippine Law Journal welcomes submissions for its volumes published in print, as well as its online companion, the PLJ Forum. We are looking for works that are of interest to legal scholars, and we welcome multidisciplinary approaches to legal scholarship.

Submissions may be legal articles, student notes, essays, book reviews, or comments on recent jurisprudence or legislation. Authors must indicate whether their submission is intended for print publication or for the Forum, although the Editorial Board may recommend publication in the Forum for a piece submitted for print and vice versa.

The Journal posts its call for papers, which include submission deadlines and other relevant information, on its website and social media accounts.

Designation of Submissions

A submitted work may be designated as an article, note, essay, comment, book review, feature, or Forum piece depending on its form and substance. Authors may be guided by the following descriptions:

  1. Articles comprehensively engage with and advance the literature on topics relevant to law or its adjacent fields and use the tone and conventions of academic writing.  We encourage authors to limit articles to 20,000 words, excluding footnotes.
  2. Notes are works written by J.D. students at the University of the Philippines College of Law, regardless of form and substance. This does not include works by students enrolled in other law schools or in the College of Law’s graduate program.
  3. Essays are opinion submissions that are not necessarily limited by the form of academic writing. Although commonly shorter in length than articles, essays present clear arguments and address matters of interest to legal scholars. We encourage authors to limit essays to 15,000 words, excluding footnotes.
  4. Comments are works primarily intended to critically engage with a certain development in law, such as a recent case or piece of legislation, in addition to summarizing the salient points of the material. Comments are usually shorter in length and less comprehensive than articles but offer a clear argument for or against the subject. When the work critiques a forthcoming or a published book, it is designated as a Book Review. We encourage authors to limit comments and book reviews to 10,000 words, excluding footnotes.
  5. Features are works commissioned by the Journal from specific persons for a specific undertaking or purpose.
  6. Forum pieces are works submitted for online publication on the PLJ Forum and are shall not exceed 7,500 words, excluding footnotes. Unlike works published in the print edition, Forum pieces are not limited to the tone and convention of academic writing. Authors may submit works addressing issues of general scholarly interest that are timely and novel.

Manuscript Specifications

To be considered for publication and to streamline review, manuscripts must adhere to the following form and citation requirements. Submissions that do not conform may, at the discretion of the Editorial Board, be declined without review. Manuscripts must be emailed to [email protected] with the required attachments.

Length: There is no minimum word count required, but authors are asked to observe the following word count limits, excluding footnotes:

  • Articles and Notes: Not exceeding 20,000 words
  • Essays: Not exceeding 15,000 words
  • Comments and Book Reviews: Not exceeding 10,000 words
  • Forum (Online): Not exceeding 7,500 words

Exceeding these limits shall weigh significantly against the acceptance or publication of the manuscript.

File Format: Manuscripts should be submitted in Word (.doc or .docx) format in 11.5 pt Garamond font with single spacing. PDF submissions will not be considered.

Abstract: Authors are encouraged to include a short abstract and a set of keywords on the first page of the manuscript.

Anonymization and Author Information: Authors must remove any identifying information—such as name, affiliation, and acknowledgements—from the manuscript file. For background verification purposes, authors may attach a separate file containing their curriculum vitae or resume to their submission email. This document is used solely for reference during the editing process and will not be shared with, nor considered by, the Editorial Board during deliberations.

Preemption Check: To facilitate review, authors are encouraged to include a brief preemption memorandum (1-2 pages) on the significance and originality of their submission.

Citations: Authors must support their claims with credible sources and proper citations. As a policy, the Journal publishes pincites for all citations except when a source is used merely as an illustrative example. We encourage authors to pincite their work and refer to the Philippine Law Journal Manual of Style and Citation or the Bluebook (22nd ed. 2025) when formatting their footnotes.

Research Data: Authors conducting empirical research should provide the relevant datasets together with their submission.

Inquiries

Inquiries regarding submission, editorial standards, publication, and similar matters may be made via email to [email protected]. You may also check the Philippine Law Journal website (www.philippinelawjournal.org) or social media pages (Facebook: /philippinelawjournal; Bluesky: @phillawjournal.bsky.social; X: @PhilLawJournal) for related announcements.