Research

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Lincoln Law Journal (LLJ) is a flagship journal of the Research Development Cell of the Lincoln College of Law, Sirhind, Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab. It is an open access, peer-reviewed and refereed academic law journal dedicated to providing incisive legal scholarship on issues that are at the forefront of contemporary legal disclosure thereby generating a cross current of ideas on emerging issues from the legal world.

LLJ is intended to ignite the initiative and desire of law students, academicians, advocates and all other stakeholders to contribute to the field of law by publishing original work. The erudite response of legal luminaries shall be solicited to enable readers to explore challenges that lie before lawmakers, lawyers and the society at large, in the event of the ever-changing social, economic and technological scenario.

Apart from publishing the journal on an annual basis, the Research Development Cell of Lincoln College of Law hosts a number of events throughout the year such as –

• Workshops on legal writing & research
• Discussions on contemporary legal issues

The Lincoln Law Journal, on behalf of the Lincoln College, intends to collaborate with eminent lawyers, law firms, media persons, etc. to enhance the quality of the publication as well as customize the experiences of the participants at events organized by the Research Development Cell of the College.

Authors will be provided with the following: A soft/hard copy of the Certificate of Publication and a complete book of the journal.

THEME

Any appropriate theme related to socio-legal aspect of law is acceptable. The LLJ does not restrict itself to any particular area of law and welcomes contributions from all fields of law.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

The fee is to be paid after acceptance of the Manuscript.

• Rs. 800 for Single Authored manuscript.
• Rs. 1000 for Co-authored manuscripts (Max. 2, including the author).
• Rs. 1200 for 3 authored manuscripts (Max. 3, including the author).

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

I. Types of Submissions accepted by the Lincoln Law Journal:

Manuscripts on any topic of contemporary legal relevance meeting the below-mentioned criteria:

• Articles = 5000-7000 words
• Case notes = 2000-5000 words
• Legislative Comments = 1000-3000 words
• Book reviews = 1000-3000 words

The word limit is inclusive of the abstract and exclusive of the footnotes.

II. General Submission Guidelines:

• Submissions should be accompanied by a covering letter including the name of the author, email ID, mobile number and the name of the author’s institution.
• Submissions must be in electronic form sent via email.
• Submissions must be made to [email protected].
• The manuscript itself should not contain any information that can be used to identify the author. These details must only be mentioned in the covering letter.
• All submissions must be in (.docx) format. They must be word-processed and compatible with Microsoft Word 2007 and above.
• Manuscripts submitted to the journal must not be written by more than 2 authors.
• Manuscripts must include an abstract of 250-300 words (included in the word limit). The abstract must highlight the structure and essence of the manuscript.
• Manuscripts not in conformity with these guidelines may be rejected at the sole discretion of the editor.
• Submissions should also be accompanied with a Declaration Form which can be downloaded from the link given below.

III. Citation Standards:

• Citations must strictly conform to the standards laid down in OSCOLA 4th edition (The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities).
• Submissions must use only footnotes as a form of citation.
• Speaking/substantive footnotes are discouraged.

IV. Style Guidelines:

• Title [Times New Roman, 13 points, 1.5 line spacing, Bold, All Caps, Centre Aligned]
• Abstract [Times New Roman, 11 points, 1.0 line spacing, Italics, Justified]
• Heading Level 1 [Times New Roman, 12 points, 1.5 line spacing, Bold, Small Caps, Centre Aligned]
• Heading Level 2 [Times New Roman, 12 points, 1.5 line spacing, Italics, Capitalize each word, Centre Aligned]
• Heading Level 3 [Times New Roman, 12 points, 1.5 line spacing, Italics, Capitalize each word, Left Aligned]
• Main Body [Times New Roman, 11 points, 1.15 line spacing, Justified, 1-inch margins on all sides]
• Footnotes [Times New Roman, 9 points, 1.0 line spacing, Justified]

PARAMETERS FOR EVALUATION

Grammar/Language: The style of writing should be academic, without errors of syntax, grammar and punctuation and the language should be crisp and concise.

Plagiarism Check: Plagiarism check is the first level of scrutiny every manuscript shall go through. Each manuscript shall strictly conform to the plagiarism guidelines and any instance of plagiarism over and above the permissible limit shall make the manuscript liable for immediate rejection. The final discretion in this regard rests solely with the editors. A manuscript having no footnotes shall be rejected at Stage I of Plagiarism Check since it does not meet the minimum criteria of the Law Journal. Paraphrasing as well as verbatim usage of content without appropriate citation of authorities shall qualify as plagiarism. Any instance of plagiarism in the Introduction or Conclusion of the manuscript is a ground for immediate disqualification of the manuscript. Secondary plagiarism (plagiarism of the sources relied upon) is a ground for immediate disqualification of the manuscript.

Structure/Logical Coherence: The manuscript should follow a logical scheme of arrangement and must ideally address a question of law, a grey area or a hypothesis and provide a conclusive analysis of the same.

Contribution to Existing Literature: The manuscript must contain more than just a restatement of existing laws, facts and analysis and should, of itself, be novel. The manuscript must add to the existing corpus of knowledge on the particular topic.

Contemporary Relevance: The manuscript should shed light upon recent developments relating to the topic and provide reasons as to why the subject matter is relevant at the present moment.

Referencing and Research: The manuscript must reflect in-depth, and not just superficial, research. The author needs to be aware of what citation is required in the circumstances, when to cite (and when not to cite) and the relevance of that citation.