What We Publish
The Journal is a peer-reviewed publication devoted to the legal dimensions of cyber conflict and cybersecurity. We consider original, unpublished work in three formats:
- Articles. Full-length scholarship offering a substantial and original contribution — typically 15,000 to 35,000 words, including footnotes.
- Essays & Comments. Shorter, focused interventions on a discrete legal question or a recent development — typically 5,000 to 15,000 words.
- Practitioner Briefings. Concise, rigorously sourced analysis written for the bench, the bar, and government and security professionals.
Subjects of particular interest include the international and domestic law governing cyber operations, the law of armed conflict and the jus ad bellum as applied to cyberspace, sovereignty and attribution, critical-infrastructure protection, autonomous systems, national-security and cybersecurity policy, and the legal frontier of emerging technology.
Submission Process
Manuscripts are submitted online through our submission portal. On receipt, the corresponding author receives an immediate acknowledgment bearing a reference number and a secure link to track the submission’s status through review, decision, editing, and publication. The Journal considers submissions on a rolling basis.
Review is conducted blind. To preserve anonymity, the manuscript itself should omit the author’s name, affiliation, acknowledgments, and any self-identifying references; author details are collected separately on the submission form.
Manuscript Preparation
- Submit in Microsoft Word (
.docx) or PDF. - Include an abstract of 150–250 words and a short author biography (entered on the form, not in the manuscript).
- Citations must conform to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation and appear in footnotes. Legal citations should be complete and independently verifiable.
- Original work only; the piece must not be published or under review elsewhere.
- Observe the word ranges above; a compelling contribution is the paramount criterion.
Review Process & Decisions
Every manuscript is evaluated by the Editorial Board for fit, originality, methodological rigor, and quality of argument, and its citations are checked against their sources. Authors receive an initial decision — accept, minor revision, major revision, or decline— within a reasonable period, together with the Board’s feedback. To support our editors, the Journal employs AI-assisted tools for initial screening and citation verification; all editorial decisions rest with our editors and Board.
After Acceptance
Accepted manuscripts are edited to the standard of the leading law reviews: our editors work with the author through substantive and line edits and conform every citation to Bluebook form, always preserving the author’s argument and voice. The author reviews and approves material changes before publication. See our editing policy for detail.
Rights & Licensing
Authors retain copyright and grant the Journal an exclusive license to publish. Published articles are released to readers under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) license, are assigned a permanent DOI, and are indexed on Google Scholar — ensuring the work is citable, discoverable, and preserved.
Publication Ethics
The Journal expects original, unpublished work that is not concurrently under review elsewhere. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of their factual and legal assertions and must disclose any competing interests or funding. The Journal follows recognized standards for corrections, retractions, and the integrity of the record.
Why Publish with the Journal
- Peer-reviewed by scholars and practitioners across law, the military, security, and technology.
- Law-review-standard editing, with every citation verified and conformed to Bluebook.
- A permanent DOI and Google Scholar indexing for lasting citability and reach.
- A global readership of legal, military, and security professionals since 2012.
- Author-friendly terms — you keep your copyright.
Questions may be directed to the editors at info@jlcw.org.