About the Journal

Background and Mission

Welcome to the website of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law e-Journal. Established in late 2009 under the auspices of the IUCN Academy’s Research Committee, the Journal aims to provide:

• a valuable resource for IUCN Academy members, other institutions and scholars interested in keeping abreast of environmental law developments worldwide, including:
  • innovative and critical thinking
  • policy developments
  • legal developments
  • new case law
• a forum for facilitating the participation and engagement of a broader array of scholars in the IUCN Academy’s network, especially younger and emerging academics.
• a platform for promoting global information exchange and debate amongst environmental law scholars.
• a tangible “Academy product” which will raise the profile of the IUCN Academy and grow its membership.

Editorial Committee

The Co-Editors of the e-Journal are Elizabeth Kirk (University of Dundee  - United Kingdom) and Alexander Paterson (University of Cape Town - South Africa). The Co-Editors are supported and assisted by the following Editorial Board:

• Paul Martin (University of New England - Australia)
• Tianbao Qin (Wuhan University - China)
• Francesco Sindico (University of Surrey – UK)
• David Hodas (Widener University - USA)

The Secretariat of the IUCN Academy, located at the University of Ottawa in Canada, provides administrative and technical support.

Structure of the e-Journal

Each issue of the e-Journal is divided into the following three parts:

• Part 1 - Commissioned/Selected Articles:
  • Content - on any topic although themes may be selected by the Editorial Committee for each issue.
  • Articles specifically commissioned/selected by the Editorial Committee.
  • 3/4 articles per issue.
  • Maximum Length (4000 words).
• Part 2 - Country Reports:
  • Content - Reports on any interesting developments in policy/statute/case law in the author’s jurisdiction.
  • See the Country Report Guidelines for further information.
  • Voluntary submissions although where there is a dearth of submissions from certain regions, the Editorial Committee may actively solicit contributions from such regions.
  • Organised/presented on a regional basis (continent by continent).
  • Maximum Length (3000 words).
• Part 3 - Book Reviews/Short Opinions/Letters to the Editors:
  • Content – self-explanatory.
  • Voluntary submissions although the Editorial Committee may actively solicit book reviews if the need arises.
  • Maximum Length (1000 words).

Language Policy

While the desire is to ultimately translate and publish the e-Journal in all six working languages of the United Nations (English, French, Russian, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic), financial realties and expediency in the editing, review and publishing process currently dictate that the initial official languages for the e-Journal are English, Spanish, French and Chinese. All prospective articles, reports, books reviews and opinion pieces must therefore be written and submitted in one of the above languages.  All contributions will be published in the language in which they are originally submitted. Each contribution will however be accompanied by a short abstract in English.